So Rockley couldn't convert their silicon photonics patents into marketable, revenue generating products, despite hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, but CAI feels they can? 

I am skeptical as the science doesn't change just because there is a new kid on the block like CAI.

Too early to tell what it may mean for Poet, but I suspect CAI didn't announce a dollar value of the acquisition in case they end up spinning their wheels with the Rockley IP just like Rockley did.  CAI wouldn't want the world to know how much money they ended up spending on something that might not work out.