Pilot Photonics Laser selected by Finchetto for Optical Network Switch

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

Mar. 13, 2026 at 4:03pm

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Pilot Photonics, an Irish integrated lasers firm, has announced a partnership with Finchetto, a company developing the world's first fully optical passive network switch for energy-efficient AI. The partnership will see the deployment of Pilot's line of nanosecond tunable lasers in the development of Finchetto's next-generation switch devices for data centers. 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 center scaling and efficiency.

Why it matters

This partnership between Pilot Photonics and Finchetto represents a significant advancement in optical networking technology, which is crucial for the growing demands of AI and data-intensive applications in cloud computing and data centers. The use of Pilot's tunable lasers in Finchetto's optical network switch could lead to substantial improvements in energy efficiency, latency, and throughput, making it a key enabler for the future of sustainable and high-performance data infrastructure.

The details

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 realize the full potential of the innovative new system. Pilot Photonics' laser capabilities, coupled with Finchetto's exciting roadmap for fully optical passive network switching, make for a great match according to the companies.

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

The players

Pilot Photonics

An Irish integrated lasers firm that 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 datacenters, telecom networks, and space systems.

Finchetto

A company that has developed the world's first fully optical passive network switch for data centers, hyperscalers, High Performance Compute and telecommunications. 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.

Mark Rushworth

CEO and co-founder of Finchetto.

Frank Smyth

CTO of Pilot Photonics.

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What they’re saying

“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. The implementation of Pilot's technology is an important step towards delivering our fully optical and passive network switching.”

— Mark Rushworth, CEO and co-founder of Finchetto

“Our laser capabilities coupled with Finchetto's exciting roadmap for fully optical passive network switching make for a great match. We're delighted to be working together on this project.”

— Frank Smyth, CTO of Pilot Photonics

What’s next

Finchetto and Pilot Photonics are working closely together to realize the full potential of their innovative new system, with Pilot Photonics set to demonstrate its laser capabilities at the OFC 2026 conference in Los Angeles in March.

The takeaway

This partnership between Pilot Photonics and Finchetto represents a significant advancement in optical networking technology that could lead to substantial improvements in energy efficiency, latency, and throughput for the growing demands of AI and data-intensive applications in cloud computing and data centers, making it a key enabler for the future of sustainable and high-performance data infrastructure.