TL;DR
Get business pricing on networking and server gear
- Business-only prices and quantity discounts
- Tax-exempt purchasing
- Multiple users, one account, clear invoices
PsiQuantum has demonstrated an 8×8 optical circuit switch built on its silicon photonics platform, reporting 1.2 dB insertion loss, 40 dB crosstalk performance and reconfiguration in less than 3 milliseconds. The company is providing samples to selected prospective customers and says it plans commercial products, but has not disclosed product specifications, pricing or customer commitments.
PsiQuantum has announced an 8×8 optical circuit-switching demonstration for potential use in AI data centers, reporting 1.2 dB insertion loss, 40 dB crosstalk performance and reconfiguration in less than 3 milliseconds. The company says it is sharing demonstration samples with selected prospective customers as it works toward commercial products, extending a silicon photonics platform developed for its fault-tolerant quantum-computing effort into a separate infrastructure market.
The figures come from testing in PsiQuantum’s own laboratories, according to the company’s announcement, and are described as typical results. PsiQuantum said the demonstration exceeded its initial targets and operated without optical amplification. The company has not published independent test results or details of the conditions and measurement methods behind the reported performance.
The device is an 8×8-radix demonstration vehicle, meaning it is a prototype for routing optical connections among ports. PsiQuantum says it is providing samples to selected potential customers and developing commercial products that it expects to announce in the coming months. It did not name customers or provide a launch date, product price or production-volume plan.
The company says the demonstration uses its low-loss silicon photonics platform, developed over nearly a decade for utility-scale quantum computing. It also said barium titanate integration at 300mm wafer scale is not needed for the demonstration or its initial planned products. PsiQuantum described that technology as a possible route to faster, more advanced future products, rather than a component of the switch currently being shown.
Optical Switching for AI Networks
Large AI computing systems rely on networks to move data among processors and other equipment. PsiQuantum argues that as those systems grow, the connections between compute resources can become a constraint, creating demand for ways to route data with greater efficiency. Optical circuit switches are one approach to managing those connections, but the company’s demonstration alone does not establish how its device would perform in a working data center or compare with alternatives.
The announcement matters because it shows PsiQuantum pursuing a potential commercial application for technology developed for quantum computing. If the company can turn its lab results into reliable, manufacturable products, the business could serve customers before its longer-term quantum-computing goal is realized. That outcome remains a possibility, not a confirmed customer deployment: samples are currently going to selected prospective customers, and no purchases or deployments have been announced.
Products Worth Considering
Jackery Explorer 300 Portable Power Station with 40W Solar Panel
Jackery HomePower 1000 Plus v2 Portable Power Station
Bose S1 Pro+ Portable PA Speaker
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
From Quantum Platform to Data Centers
PsiQuantum has spent nearly a decade developing silicon photonics for its stated aim of building useful, fault-tolerant quantum computers. The company says that work involved demanding performance requirements and that some of the resulting platform can also support optical switching for AI infrastructure. The circuit-switch announcement is a move into an adjacent market; it does not replace or confirm a change to the company’s quantum-computing program.
The announcement follows a September 2026 agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce. PsiQuantum said it had signed definitive documentation intended to accelerate research and development, domestic manufacturability and performance of critical components, including optical switches. The available announcement does not specify whether that agreement directly funds or supports the 8×8 demonstration or any particular commercial product.
“This opportunity exists because we chose to solve the hardest scaling problems at the beginning of our roadmap to utility-scale quantum computing.”
— Victor Peng, PsiQuantum chief executive
Commercial Performance Still Unproven
The announcement does not identify the prospective customers receiving samples or say whether any have agreed to test, buy or deploy the switch. It also leaves open how performance was measured, how results vary across devices, and whether the reported figures will hold under sustained operation in data-center conditions. No independent verification is provided in the source material.
PsiQuantum has not disclosed the planned commercial products’ final specifications, manufacturing schedule, pricing or compatibility with existing data-center systems. The 8×8 demonstration’s performance should not be treated as proof of a larger-scale deployment or a finished product. The role, if any, of the company’s 300mm barium titanate integration in later products also remains unspecified.
Customer Samples and Product Plans
PsiQuantum says it is now sharing demonstration samples with selected prospective customers and advancing the platform toward commercial products, with announcements expected in the coming months. The company has not given a specific date or named the next product milestone.
Key developments to watch include whether customers publicly discuss evaluations, whether PsiQuantum releases test methods or further performance data, and whether it provides manufacturing and deployment details. Until then, the switch remains a company-reported demonstration rather than a publicly documented commercial installation.
Key Questions
What did PsiQuantum announce?
It announced an 8×8 optical circuit-switching demonstration aimed at possible use in AI data centers, built on the company’s silicon photonics platform.
What performance did PsiQuantum report?
PsiQuantum reported typical lab results of 1.2 dB insertion loss, 40 dB crosstalk performance and reconfiguration in less than 3 milliseconds, without optical amplification. These are company-reported results, not independently verified figures in the announcement.
Is the switch commercially available?
No commercial availability was announced. PsiQuantum says it is sharing demonstration samples with selected prospective customers and plans to announce commercial products in the coming months.
Does the switch use barium titanate?
PsiQuantum says barium titanate integration is not required for the demonstration vehicle or its initial planned products. The company described the technology as a possible path for faster, more advanced future products.
Does this change PsiQuantum’s quantum-computing plans?
The company says it will pursue the AI data-center opportunity while continuing its work on fault-tolerant quantum computers. The announcement does not report a change to that program.
Source: rss
