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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 under 3 milliseconds in company testing. It is sharing demonstration samples with selected prospective customers, but has not announced commercial product specifications, customer deployments or pricing.
PsiQuantum has unveiled an 8×8 optical circuit switching demonstration aimed at connectivity needs in AI data centers, reporting lab results of 1.2 dB insertion loss, 40 dB crosstalk performance and reconfiguration in less than 3 milliseconds. The quantum-computing company says it is sharing samples with selected prospective customers as it develops commercial products; no deployments or customer commitments were announced.
The demonstration is built on PsiQuantum’s low-loss silicon photonics platform, which the company says it has developed for nearly a decade to support utility-scale quantum computing. According to the company, testing in its laboratories produced typical results of 1.2 dB of insertion loss, 40 dB of crosstalk performance and switching reconfiguration in under 3 milliseconds, without optical amplification. PsiQuantum says these results exceeded its initial targets, but it did not publish independent test results or a detailed testing methodology in the supplied announcement.
PsiQuantum describes the device as an 8×8-radix demonstration vehicle. It is now providing samples to selected prospective customers and says it is advancing the platform toward commercial products, which it plans to announce in the coming months. The company has not provided product pricing, a shipping schedule, named customers or details of planned deployments.
The company said its demonstration and initial products do not require barium titanate (BTO) integration. PsiQuantum says it has developed BTO integration at 300-millimeter wafer scale and uses a 64×64 BTO switch in its quantum systems. It presented that work as a possible route to faster, more advanced future products, rather than a feature of the current demonstration.
Optical Switching for AI Networks
AI data centers rely on networks to move data among large groups of computing systems. PsiQuantum argues that as those systems grow, moving information efficiently becomes a constraint on scaling, and that optical connectivity can help meet the demand. The announcement matters because it shows a quantum-computing supplier seeking a near-term commercial application for photonics capabilities it says were developed for a different, demanding technical goal.
The reported figures may interest data center operators and network equipment buyers evaluating optical circuit switching. However, lab performance is not proof of operational performance: the announcement does not establish how the switch would perform at scale in a live facility, how it compares with competing products under the same test conditions, or what reliability and service requirements it can meet. Its commercial relevance will depend on product details and customer testing that have not yet been disclosed.
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From Quantum Platform to Data Centers
PsiQuantum’s main stated objective remains building fault-tolerant quantum computers. The company says the silicon photonics platform used for the switch was developed in support of that work, whose requirements it describes as more demanding than many requirements for AI data center optical switching. That comparison is the company’s characterization; the announcement does not provide a full set of specifications to compare the applications directly.
The announcement also follows a September 2026 development. PsiQuantum said it had signed definitive documentation with the U.S. Department of Commerce to accelerate research and development, domestic manufacturability and performance of critical components, including optical switches. The supplied material does not detail the agreement’s funding, schedule or specific manufacturing commitments.
PsiQuantum frames AI infrastructure and quantum computing as complementary: more capable data center infrastructure could support quantum-system design and operation, while photonics advances developed for quantum computing may have uses in AI networks. The switch demonstration is a concrete step toward testing that commercial overlap, not evidence that either field’s broader technical challenges have been resolved.
“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
Testing and Product Details Pending
The published performance numbers are PsiQuantum’s lab results; independent validation, test conditions and a detailed comparison against other switches were not included in the supplied material. It is also unclear how the demonstration will perform in customer environments, what capacity or reliability commercial products will offer, and whether the samples will lead to orders or deployments.
The company has not named prospective customers or specified when products will be available. Its reference to announcements in the coming months does not establish a launch date. The scope and practical effect of the September agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce are also not detailed here.
Customer Samples and Product Plans
The next stated step is for selected prospective customers to evaluate demonstration samples while PsiQuantum develops commercial versions. The company says it plans to announce products in the coming months, but has not provided a firm date or disclosed what specifications those products will carry.
Further evidence of commercial progress would include product availability, published technical documentation, independent or customer test results, and named deployments. Until those details emerge, the announcement establishes a tested demonstration and a product-development effort, rather than a confirmed data center rollout.
Key Questions
What did PsiQuantum announce?
It announced an 8×8 optical circuit switching demonstration built on its silicon photonics platform and said it is developing commercial products for AI data center connectivity.
What performance results did the company 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; the supplied material does not include independent testing or full test conditions.
Are the switches available to buy?
No commercial availability date, pricing or order information has been announced. PsiQuantum says it is sharing demonstration samples with selected prospective customers and plans to announce commercial products in the coming months.
Does the demonstration use barium titanate?
No. PsiQuantum says BTO is not required for the demonstration vehicle or initial products. The company describes its 300-millimeter-scale BTO integration as a possible basis for more advanced future products.
Source: thequantuminsider.com
