Cisco Systems, the networking technology giant, has taken a giant leap towards the future of computing by announcing the launch of a quantum entanglement chip prototype and the official inauguration of its new Cisco Quantum Labs. The initiatives, unveiled this week, position the company at the forefront of the quantum computing race, with the promise of making its practical applications a reality significantly sooner than anticipated.
The new “Quantum Network Entanglement Chip” is at the core of the announcement. Developed in collaboration with researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), this chip is designed to generate and control pairs of entangled photons. This phenomenon, described by Einstein as “spooky action at a distance,” allows quantum particles to remain connected in such a way that the state of one instantly influences the state of the other, regardless of the distance. This capability is crucial for quantum information teleportation and for interconnecting multiple quantum processors, overcoming one of the biggest barriers to building large-scale quantum computers.
Promising Features of Cisco’s New Quantum Chip:
- Room Temperature Operation: Unlike many quantum systems that require extreme cryogenic temperatures, Cisco’s chip operates at room temperature.
- Compatibility with Existing Infrastructure: It uses standard telecommunication wavelengths, allowing the use of the vast existing fiber optic network.
- Energy Efficiency: It consumes a minimal amount of energy (less than 1mW).
- High Performance: It is capable of generating up to 200 million entangled photon pairs per second with high fidelity.
Concurrently, Cisco inaugurated the Cisco Quantum Labs in Santa Monica, California. This advanced research center will serve as the hub for the company’s scientists and engineers to develop not only the chip but the entire technology stack required for quantum networks.
Cisco’s strategy, as outlined, is ambitious: to replicate for quantum computing the fundamental role it played in building the classical internet. The company aims to build the network infrastructure that will allow current quantum processors – which today have hundreds of qubits (quantum bits) – to scale to the millions of qubits needed to solve complex problems in areas such as drug development, materials science, logistics optimization, and finance.
“We believe that quantum networks offer the fastest and most practical path to scalable quantum computing,” stated a Cisco spokesperson. “With these advancements, we expect to accelerate the timeline for impactful quantum applications from decades to somewhere between five to ten years.”
Cisco is also focused on a “two-pronged” approach: building the infrastructure for the quantum world of the future and, simultaneously, applying quantum networking principles to bring immediate benefits to classical systems. This includes enhancing security with ultra-secure communications, high-precision time synchronization, and authenticated location verification. Additionally, the company is actively implementing Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) standards in its portfolio to protect current networks against future threats from quantum computers.
This move by Cisco signals a strong investment in the next technological frontier, with the potential to transform industries and usher in a new era of computational capability.
Sources:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cisco-says-it-has-a-new-chip-that-can-make-quantum-computing-useful-more-quickly-8e0fef20 – Cisco says it has a new chip that can make quantum computing useful more quickly
https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/05/07/cisco-unveils-entanglement-chip-to-accelerate-distributed-quantum-computing/ – Cisco Unveils ‘Entanglement Chip’ to Accelerate Distributed Quantum Computing
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/cisco-shows-quantum-networking-chip-opens-new-lab-2025-05-06/ – Cisco shows quantum networking chip, opens new lab
https://qz.com/quantum-computing-chip-cisco-systems-1851779544 – Cisco has joined the quantum computing race