Finchetto's optical network switch for AI and data communications to be enabled by Pilot Photonics' nano-second switching tunable laser.

LOS ANGELES, March 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pilot Photonics, the Irish integrated lasers firm, has announced a partnership with Finchetto, the company developing the world's first fully optical passive network switch for energy-efficient AI, that will see the deployment of Pilot's line of nanosecond tunable lasers in the development of Finchetto's next-generation switch devices for data centres. Finchetto's fully optical and passive network switch dramatically reduces data network power consumption and latency, with significantly improved network throughput, key features for future cloud and AI data centre scaling and efficiency.

"The tunable laser is critical to switching at the packet level, and until now, we haven't been able to find a faster laser on the market," said Mark Rushworth, CEO and co-founder of Finchetto. "The implementation of Pilot's technology is an important step towards delivering our fully optical and passive network switching."  

Finchetto has successfully demonstrated its optical switching approach using Pilot's lasers and is now designing it into its next generation of demonstrators. The Pilot and Finchetto development teams are working closely together to realise the full potential of the innovative new system.

"Our laser capabilities coupled with Finchetto's exciting roadmap for fully optical passive network switching make for a great match," said Frank Smyth, CTO of Pilot Photonics. "We're delighted to be working together on this project."

Pilot Photonics will be attending OFC 2026 in Los Angeles, California, March 17 to 19, to demonstrate its laser capabilities.

About Pilot Photonics:

Pilot Photonics is a leading innovator in tunable and multi-wavelength laser technology for high-speed optical communications. Its patented comb laser solutions enable dense, energy-efficient interconnects for AI datacentres, telecom networks, and space systems. Founded by pioneers in optical comb technology, the company is driving the transition to the Everything over Optical™ era. 

Website: www.pilotphotonics.com/

About Finchetto:

Finchetto have developed the world's first fully optical passive network switch for data centres, hyperscalers, High Performance Compute and telecommunications. Designed from first principles to enable energy-efficient AI, Finchetto's groundbreaking architecture reduces power consumption by up to 20x and latency by up to 40x compared to traditional network switches. Enabling super-low power, ultra-low latency packet switching at the speed of light with massive throughput, Finchetto's network switch will accelerate AI efficiently and sustainably and reduce global data centre energy demands by up to 20%.

Website: www.finchetto.com/

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