Cisco has presented an entangled-photon chip prototype developed with the University of California, Santa Barbara, and opened a quantum-networking laboratory in Santa Monica. Interfax reported the announcements on 7 May 2025. The work targets connections between quantum processors, rather than a replacement for Cisco’s conventional routers already in use.
A photon source for fibre connections
In his 6 May account of the research, Cisco’s Vijoy Pandey describes a photonic integrated circuit operating at room temperature, using telecom wavelengths and existing optical fibre. The company reports power consumption below one milliwatt. These are prototype specifications attributed to Cisco; the announcement does not offer a commercially available chip or a customer deployment timetable.
How the laboratory approaches distributed computing
A separate January 2025 research paper by Hassan Shapourian and six colleagues examines the architecture surrounding such connections. Its first version, published on 9 January, models networks linking multiple quantum processing units through optical switches. The authors compare designs using simulation tools and performance metrics. Their study addresses entanglement distribution, network latency and the probabilistic generation of entangled states.
- A switch-centred architecture shares network equipment between processors.
- A server-centred alternative changes the arrangement of connections and resources.
- A network-aware orchestrator coordinates a circuit compiler with a network scheduler.
A processor connection also needs a way to allocate shared resources and schedule operations.
Company contact
Cisco’s corporate office directory, checked on 6 October 2026, lists 3098 Olsen Drive, San Jose, California 95128, and +1 408 527 9731. This is a corporate office contact; the announcement provides no public booking procedure for the Santa Monica research laboratory.
