We’re not asking for huge amounts of money from anybody to get this done. We don’t need that,” Copetti said. “I don’t think it’s much time before a much bigger player comes along and says to us ‘We want this and we don’t want anyone else to have it.’”

Most shareholders are Canadian, but POET is starting to garner attention south of the border. The stock, which has surged 70% over the past year, is heavily held by institutional investors, with 38% of shares controlled by three firms.