I may have an unfair advantage in my prognostications. I invested in a tech stock in 2008, and am still waiting for my payday. I believe in management, but things are tough for small companies with novel products. It may eventually pay, but it has been a hard lesson. My new focus on POET is sharpened by the hard lessons of my past. Clearly I am no good at this, or I learned some things.  

The moves that POET has accomplished are all the right things: standards bodies, research centers, JVs, supplier partnerships with major companies, agreements with mid-size movers and shakers (Multilane, Adtran, etc.). The foundation is all there.

FIT, and Luxshare don't play around. You can predict gloom, or be suspicious due to the past, but it does not fit with what these companies do. The pain is real in the AI space for better energy efficiency, higher compute productivity. There is no stopping the demand, and the cast of suppliers POET is tangled up with are the ones that will solve it for the hyperscalers. I know the pain of waiting and longing, but this is what we want to see at this point in the game. 

Your cautious balance is fine, it could take a while, so we should all listen to the old timers here. NVIDIA, Apple, Micron; all were millionaire makers if one had the patience.