VIAVI Invests in PCIe 7.0 Testing Amid Rising Data Bandwidth Demands
Event summary
- VIAVI Solutions is investing in a new PCIe 7.0 protocol analysis testing platform, including analyzers, exercisers, and interposers.
- The new platform will be showcased at the PCI-SIG Developers Conference from May 6-7, 2026, in Santa Clara.
- PCIe 7.0 doubles the bandwidth and throughput of PCIe 6.0, operating at 128 GT/s.
- The platform supports full-stack analysis for PCIe, IDE, NVMe, and CXL 3.x and beyond, with Python API scripting capabilities.
The big picture
The investment underscores the escalating demand for higher bandwidth and throughput in data centers and emerging computing applications like AI/ML and quantum computing. PCIe 7.0’s doubling of bandwidth is a direct response to these needs, and VIAVI’s move positions them to capitalize on the testing and validation services required for this new generation of hardware. This also highlights the increasing complexity of hardware validation as data transfer rates accelerate.
What we're watching
- Competitive Landscape
- VIAVI's positioning as one of the few companies with PCIe compliance testing expertise suggests a limited competitive set, but the emergence of new players in this niche is a risk to VIAVI's margins.
- Adoption Rate
- The pace at which PCIe 7.0 adoption spreads across data centers and other key industries will dictate the demand for VIAVI’s testing solutions and impact their revenue growth.
- Integration Complexity
- How effectively VIAVI integrates the Xgig Software Suite and Python API scripting into the new platform will influence user adoption and the platform’s overall value proposition.
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