This is all speculation at this point.  Adrian Brijbassi stated his thought on consolidation very clearly and his opinion is worth listening to:

A reminder that it was less than a month ago that the executives of POET said the company would be “huge” and detailed why. I think there is a lack of understanding/appreciation for how few employees are within the company, outside of the scientists. It’s a skeleton crew and they need support staff, which requires funding. Until today's news, I firmly believed the company would be sold within 12 months. There is so much consolidation in the industry and, putting myself in the shoes of the executives, I would have expected them to consider an exit point.

 Now, I see a clear path for POET to gain a massive influx of spending to fund expansion and to grow into an industry giant. A listing for a tech stock on NASDAQ with the potential of this company could balloon its value in a single day of trading.