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Ciena CEO Gary Smith's cautious optimism about AI after the telecom bust
The Wall Street Journal reports Smith sees a sounder customer base than in the telecom boom but remains “suitably paranoid.”
TLDR
The Wall Street Journal reports that Ciena CEO Gary Smith sees important differences between today’s AI build-out and the telecom boom he lived through. Smith says Ciena has not kept up with demand and expects further waves driven by AI inference, agents and robotics. Ciena expects 30% compound annual growth for fiscal 2026 through 2029, according to Smith, who also expects some AI bets to fail.
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