Cisco unveils prototype Quantum Network Entanglement Chip and opens Cisco Quantum Labs
On 2025-05-06 Cisco announced a research-prototype Quantum Network Entanglement Chip and the opening of Cisco Quantum Labs in Santa Monica, California. Per Cisco, the photonic-integrated-circuit chip operates at room temperature, draws under 1 milliwatt, supports standard telecom wavelengths, and generates up to 200 million entangled photon pairs per second. The chip was developed with the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is intended as a building block for a full-stack quantum-networking architecture spanning distributed compilers, entanglement protocols, and post-quantum-cryptography integration.
A room-temperature, telecom-wavelength entangled-photon-pair source on a photonic integrated circuit with a named 200M-pairs/sec rate is a concrete, specification-bearing component advance in the quantum-networking sub-domain from a major networking incumbent, distinguishing it from a roadmap statement.
Cisco's entry into entanglement-source hardware positions a networking-infrastructure incumbent in the distributed-quantum-computing interconnect race alongside specialist photonics players, and a dedicated lab signals sustained investment rather than a one-off demonstration.