Cisco unveils quantum entanglement chip & opens new lab

Cisco has introduced a research prototype of its Quantum Network Entanglement Chip and opened a dedicated quantum research laboratory as part of its ongoing efforts to advance quantum networking technologies.

The announcement includes two key developments: the unveiling of Cisco's Quantum Network Entanglement Chip, developed in partnership with the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the formal opening of Cisco Quantum Labs in Santa Monica, California. The lab will focus on building and testing quantum networking solutions designed to support practical applications of quantum computing.

Today's commercially available quantum processors generally have only hundreds of qubits, but certain potential applications will require millions of qubits. Existing quantum computing roadmaps mostly aim to reach a few thousand qubits by 2030.

Cisco proposes that, as in the evolution of classical data centres, networking smaller quantum nodes together could be critical to scaling quantum computing. This distributed model mirrors the shift from large monolithic classical computers to networked systems, which helped accelerate the power and reach of digital infrastructure over recent decades.

Cisco's new entanglement chip is designed to generate pairs of entangled photons, enabling instantaneous connections for quantum networking via quantum teleportation. According to Cisco, the chip operates at standard telecom wavelengths, making it compatible with existing fibre optic infrastructure.

The chip can be deployed at room temperature as a miniaturised Photonic Integrated Chip (PIC) and is described as energy-efficient, consuming less than 1mW of power. It is also claimed to provide high performance, generating 1 million high-fidelity entanglement pairs per output channel and up to 200 million entanglement pairs per second per chip.

The company states that its strategy enables both quantum data centres and classical applications to benefit from developments in quantum networking. Cisco is advancing research on protocols for entanglement distribution, a distributed quantum computing compiler, a Quantum Network Development Kit, and a Quantum Random Number Generator based on quantum vacuum noise. These projects are being developed within Cisco Quantum Labs.

The Cisco quantum networking platform is vendor-agnostic, intended to work with a range of quantum computing technologies, including superconducting, ion trap, and neutral atom-based systems. Cisco notes that it opted for this approach to create interoperability, similar to its historical practices in classical networking.

Vijoy Pandey, Senior Vice President of Outshift by Cisco, outlined the strategic significance: "Just as Cisco helped build infrastructure for the internet, we're now creating quantum networking technology that will be the foundation for the quantum internet, making quantum computing practical years ahead of current timelines. Our approach could accelerate impactful quantum computing and networking applications from decades away to just 5-10 years."

Pandey also addressed challenges in quantum scaling and Cisco's proposed solution: "Here's the challenge: Today's quantum processors have only hundreds of qubits, while applications require millions. Even the most ambitious quantum computing roadmaps currently only target a few thousand qubits by 2030. Decades ago, classical computing faced similar challenges until we began to connect smaller nodes together through networking infrastructure to create powerful distributed systems within data centers and cloud computing. Just as the use of large classical monolithic computer systems phased out, the future of quantum does not lie in a single monolithic quantum computer. Scaled-out quantum data centers, where processors work together through specialized networking, will be the practical and achievable path forward."

Elaborating on the technical characteristics of the new chip, Pandey said: "A key part of our quantum networking vision is Cisco's quantum network entanglement chip, developed as a prototype in collaboration with UC Santa Barbara. It generates pairs of entangled photons that enable instantaneous connection regardless of distance through quantum teleportation—what Einstein famously described as 'spooky action at a distance.'"

Regarding the company's lab-based initiatives, Pandey explained: "While today marks the formal opening of the Cisco Quantum Labs facility in Santa Monica, our team has been developing fundamentals of the quantum networking stack for years. The lab serves as a facility where our researchers can experiment with quantum networking solutions that bridge both theoretical concepts and practical implementation. Our approach is detailed in our arXiv paper 'Quantum Data Center Infrastructures,' which outlines the architecture needed for distributed quantum computing systems."

Pandey highlighted the broader security aspects of quantum and classical networking: "In parallel, Cisco teams are implementing Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) NIST standards across our portfolio, ensuring classical networks remain secure in a post-quantum world."

Pandey described Cisco's dual-track quantum networking strategy: "Quantum Network for the Quantum World: We're building infrastructure to connect quantum processors at scale, enabling distributed quantum computing, quantum sensing, and optimization algorithms that could transform critical applications such as drug discovery, materials science, and complex logistics problems. Our quantum network entanglement chip is foundational to this vision. Quantum Network for the Classical World: While practical quantum computing problems might be a few years away, quantum networking principles offer immediate benefits to classical systems through use cases such as eavesdropper-proof secure communication, ultra-precise time synchronization, decision signaling, and secure location verification."

Pandey also commented on the integrated approach: "What makes our quantum networking approach powerful is our focus on both software and hardware development. By developing our own network hardware components such as the chip alongside our full software stack, we gain unique insights into how these elements work together to build complete quantum networking infrastructure. While some companies focus solely on one type of quantum computing technology (superconducting, ion trap, or neutral atom-based systems), Cisco is building a vendor-agnostic framework that works with any quantum computing technology. This approach mirrors Cisco's historical strength in networking – we don't need to pick winners because we're building the networking fabric that will enable various quantum technologies to scale."