Astera Labs Ramps Production of PCIe 6 Connectivity Portfolio Supercharging Advanced AI and Cloud Infrastructure Deployments

Rhea-AI Summary

Astera Labs (NASDAQ: ALAB) announced the production ramp of its comprehensive PCIe 6 connectivity portfolio, expanding its offerings with new gearbox solutions alongside fabric switches, retimers, and active cable modules. The portfolio includes the industry's first purpose-built PCIe gearbox solution, Aries 6 PCIe Smart Gearbox, which bridges PCIe 6 and PCIe 5 ecosystems. The company's solutions have completed qualification with leading AI and cloud server customers, supporting next-generation AI platform deployments. The portfolio integrates with COSMOS software suite for enhanced data center management and is extensively tested in Astera's Cloud-Scale Interop Lab. Major industry players including AMD, Inventec, Micron, Samsung, and others have expressed support for Astera Labs' PCIe 6 solutions, highlighting their importance in advancing AI infrastructure capabilities.

Positive

• Successfully completed qualification with leading AI and cloud server customers
• First-to-market with comprehensive PCIe 6 connectivity portfolio
• Strong industry partnerships with major tech companies (AMD, Samsung, Micron, etc.)
• Solutions enable up to 7 meters reach for GPU clustering
• Integration with COSMOS suite provides enhanced data center management capabilities

Negative

• None.

Insights

Semiconductor Technology Expert

Astera Labs' PCIe 6 portfolio entering production signals strong positioning in critical AI connectivity infrastructure as hyperscalers prepare deployments.

Astera's announcement marks a significant technological milestone as the company transitions its comprehensive PCIe 6 connectivity portfolio from qualification to volume production. This timing is strategically aligned with hyperscalers' rollout of next-generation AI infrastructure, positioning Astera as a key enabler in the AI computing stack.

The new Aries 6 PCIe Smart Gearbox represents a particularly important addition, solving a critical industry challenge by enabling interoperability between PCIe 6 and existing PCIe 5 devices. This accelerates adoption by allowing customers to migrate gradually while maintaining backward compatibility - a significant advantage in complex data center environments.

The breadth of Astera's PCIe 6 portfolio is impressive, covering multiple connectivity vectors:

• Smart fabric switches for AI compute node connectivity
• Signal retimers that solve signal integrity challenges
• Smart cable modules extending connectivity up to 7 meters
• Optical connectivity solutions for longer distances

The COSMOS software suite integration adds substantial value through enhanced observability and fleet management capabilities - critical for hyperscale operations where uptime is paramount.

The endorsements from major ecosystem players (AMD, Samsung, Micron, QCT, Wiwynn) indicate strong industry alignment and suggest Astera has successfully navigated the complex qualification processes required by leading hyperscalers. These partnerships are non-trivial to establish and represent significant competitive validation.

As AI workloads drive increased GPU density and scale-out architectures, the PCIe 6 throughput improvements become essential to prevent I/O bottlenecks that would otherwise limit GPU utilization and system performance. Astera's purpose-built solutions directly address these challenges, enabling the full performance potential of advanced AI infrastructure.

AI Infrastructure Analyst

Production ramp of Astera's PCIe 6 portfolio addresses critical AI bottlenecks, with multiple key customers already qualified and ready to deploy.

Astera Labs' announcement represents a crucial infrastructure advancement as AI deployments scale exponentially. PCIe 6 connectivity is becoming a foundational requirement for AI platforms where throughput demands are intensifying with each GPU generation. The transition from qualification to production indicates Astera has crossed a critical commercialization threshold with hyperscale customers.

What makes this particularly significant is the comprehensive nature of Astera's solution set. Rather than offering isolated components, they've developed an end-to-end connectivity ecosystem that addresses multiple AI infrastructure challenges simultaneously:

• The fabric switches optimize GPU-to-GPU communication - essential for distributed training workloads
• The retimers and gearboxes solve signal integrity issues in dense rack environments
• The optical connectivity options enable flexible physical infrastructure deployments

This announcement coincides with the industry pivot toward inference deployment at scale. Micron's statement specifically highlights how inference workloads generate unprecedented IOPS demands, creating bottlenecks that PCIe 6 helps resolve. This timing aligns perfectly with the market's evolution from training-dominated to inference-heavy deployments.

The validation across nine different ecosystem partners demonstrates Astera's interoperability advantage. Their Cloud-Scale Interop Lab testing ensures compatibility across diverse AI platforms - a critical risk reduction factor for customers deploying at scale.

The introduction of the gearbox solution is particularly strategic, as it enables customers to bridge PCIe generations while migrating to newer architectures. This addresses a common deployment friction point in data centers where technology transitions happen incrementally rather than all at once.

The COSMOS software suite further differentiates their offering by adding management capabilities that extend beyond raw connectivity - addressing observability and security requirements that are paramount in modern AI infrastructure.

New gearbox solution broadens the industry’s most widely deployed PCIe offerings across multiple, diverse AI platforms with leading hyperscale and cloud customers

SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Astera Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALAB), a global leader in semiconductor-based connectivity solutions for AI and cloud infrastructure, today announced its purpose-built PCIe^® 6 connectivity portfolio is ramping production to fast-track deployments of modern AI platforms at scale. Now featuring gearbox connectivity solutions alongside fabric switches, retimers, and active cable modules, Astera Labs’ expanding PCIe 6 portfolio provides a comprehensive connectivity platform to deliver unparalleled performance, utilization, and scalability for next-generation AI and general-compute systems. Along with Astera Labs’ demonstrated PCIe 6 connectivity over optical media, the portfolio will provide even greater AI rack-scale distance optionality. The transition to PCIe 6 is fueled by the insatiable demand for higher compute, memory, networking, and storage data throughput, ensuring advanced AI accelerators and GPUs operate at peak efficiency.

Thad Omura, Chief Business Officer, said, “Our PCIe 6 solutions have successfully completed qualification with leading AI and cloud server customers, and we are ramping up to volume production in parallel with their next generation AI platform rollouts. By continuing to expand our industry-leading PCIe connectivity portfolio with additional innovative solutions that includes Scorpio Fabric Switches, Aries Retimers, Gearboxes, Smart Cable Modules, and PCIe over optics technology, we are providing our hyperscaler and data center partners all the necessary tools to accelerate the development and deployment of leading-edge AI platforms.”

Patrick Moorhead, Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Analyst, Moor Insights & Strategy, said, “Hyperscalers are set to begin PCIe 6-based AI platform deployments this year to meet the explosive bandwidth and low latency demands of emerging AI workloads. Astera Labs is well positioned as an enabler of this industry shift to faster data speeds. Its extensive portfolio of PCIe 6 connectivity solutions and COSMOS software suite can accelerate infrastructure readiness for next-generation AI and cloud-scale deployments.”

Industry-Leading PCIe 6 Connectivity Portfolio

PCIe 6 technology is critical to provide the high bandwidth, low latency interconnects needed to keep the latest GPUs fully utilized for maximum scaling of AI workloads. Astera Labs’ comprehensive PCIe 6 portfolio of purpose-built silicon, modules, and boards is ramping to production across multiple, diverse AI platforms that are ready to deploy in real systems with leading hyperscale customers.  

• NEW Aries 6 PCIe Smart Gearbox – the industry’s first purpose-built PCIe gearbox solution that intelligently bridges the performance gap between the latest PCIe 6 devices and existing PCIe 5 ecosystem. Aries 6 Gearbox solves the challenge of degraded-performance in mixed-generation systems, ensuring full utilization of high-speed lanes and accelerating the deployment of next-generation AI platforms while optimizing rack-scale TCO.
• Scorpio P-Series Smart Fabric Switches – the industry’s first PCIe 6 fabric switches architected for mixed traffic AI head node connectivity deliver predictable, high-performance data flows between GPUs, CPUs, NICs, and SSDs. Scorpio P-Series enables high-bandwidth, low-latency peer-to-peer GPU data ingest while ensuring seamless interoperability across a diverse ecosystem of PCIe hosts and endpoints.
• Aries 6 PCIe/CXL Smart DSP Retimers – as the gold standard for PCIe retimers, these devices solve high-speed PCIe 6.x/CXL^® 3.x signal integrity challenges in AI and general-compute servers with reliable 3x reach extension. Aries 6 Retimers deliver high-performance, low power connectivity while providing a smart connectivity backbone that is reliable, interoperable, and scalable for diverse hyperscale deployments.
• Aries 6 PCIe/CXL Smart Cable Modules (Aries 6 SCMs) – extend PCIe 6.x/CXL 3.x signal reach up to 7 meters for GPU clustering across dense AI racks over copper-based Active Electrical Cables (AECs). Built on the proven track record of widely deployed and field-tested Aries Retimers, Aries 6 SCMs support multiple form factors and configurations to accommodate diverse AI system topologies.
• PCIe 6 over Optics Technology – enables PCIe 6 optical connectivity for GPU and AI accelerator scale-up clustering across longer distances to enhancing rack-scale data center flexibility. Astera Labs’ optical DSP technology easily integrates into AOC modules and optical transceivers, supporting future optical connectivity standards through software-defined configurability.
  

The expanded PCIe 6 portfolio integrates with the COnnectivity System Management and Optimization Software (COSMOS) suite to deliver a smart, customizable connectivity backbone with unprecedented data center observability, enhanced security, and extensive fleet management capabilities. COSMOS enables unmatched insights into the state and health of accelerated computing platforms to ensure maximum uptime and availability.

Astera Labs’ PCIe-based solutions are rigorously tested in the company’s Cloud-Scale Interop Lab and in customer platforms with leading PCIe hosts and endpoints across multiple PCIe generations and topologies. This essential interoperability and performance testing enables customers to design with confidence, minimize interoperation risk, and reduce overall development time and costs.  

Industry Support

Raghu Nambiar, Corporate VP, Data Center Ecosystems and Solutions, AMD said, “As AI and data-intensive workloads continue to drive demand for ever-faster infrastructure, PCIe 6 becomes a critical technology to unlock the full performance of next-generation data centers. High-speed, low-latency connectivity is essential to harnessing the capabilities of AMD EPYC™ processors and Instinct™ accelerators at scale. Astera Labs’ deep expertise and robust PCIe 6 portfolio make them a valued technology partner in enabling seamless interoperability and performance across heterogeneous compute environments.”

Vincent Lin, Business Group President, Inventec Enterprise Business Group, said, “The exponential growth of AI and data-centric workloads is driving demand for server platforms with ultra-high bandwidth and low-latency interconnects. PCIe 6 is instrumental in delivering the performance our customers require, and strong ecosystem collaboration is essential to keep up with market demands. Astera Labs is a trusted partner whose PCIe expertise and innovative connectivity solutions accelerate development of Inventec’s next-generation platforms optimized for AI infrastructure.”

Dr. Joachim Peerlings, Vice President of Network and Data Center Solutions at Keysight Technologies, said, “Astera Labs is ramping PCIe 6 to production, and Keysight is proud to support its momentum with advanced testing solutions that ensure the highest standards for performance and compliance. Our collaboration with Astera Labs supports the rapid deployment of its PCIe 6 solutions that are critical to advancing AI and cloud infrastructure.”

Jeremy Werner, senior vice president and general manager, for the Core Data Center Business Unit, at Micron Technology, stated, "Inference has arrived and the next wave of AI infrastructure must pivot to address the deployment of AI agents and assistants. Inference generates more IOPS than any enterprise workload ever encountered. Micron and Astera Labs are leading the industry in delivering these IOPS through the early enablement of PCIe Gen6 high-performance SSDs. Micron’s commitment to technology innovation and broad ecosystem support has now resulted in verified interoperability with Astera Labs."

Mike Yang, EVP of Quanta Computer Inc./ President of QCT, said, “At Quanta, we focus on building high-performance servers to power AI and ML workloads at scale. PCIe 6 is a key enabler of the bandwidth and latency improvements needed across data center deployments. Astera Labs’ proven PCIe connectivity portfolio and engineering expertise help ensure that our platforms deliver the highest performance and interoperability demanded by cloud customers.”

Leno Park, Vice President of Nand Product Planning, Samsung Electronics, said, “Samsung is pushing the boundaries of storage performance to meet the needs of large-scale AI and ML deployments. PCIe 6 is critical in unlocking the full potential of our next-generation SSDs, and seamless, high-speed connectivity is essential to delivering predictable performance our customers demand. Astera Labs plays a key role in the ecosystem with their deep PCIe expertise and robust connectivity solutions that help ensure end-to-end interoperability and performance at scale.”

Joe Mendolia, Vice President of Marketing, Protocol Solutions Group, Teledyne LeCroy, said, “As a leader in PCI Express 6.x protocol and physical layer testing, Teledyne LeCroy is proud to support ecosystem partners like Astera Labs which is driving PCIe 6 into production. Our innovative analysis tools are designed to help accelerate time to market and ensure robust performance for next-generation interconnect technologies. Collaborations like this are key to enabling the future of AI infrastructure and other advanced applications.”

Robert Lin, President, Enterprise & Networking Business Group, Wistron, said, “High-speed, reliable PCIe connectivity is a cornerstone of Wistron’s server platforms designed for AI and data-intensive computing. Astera Labs brings crucial domain expertise and a comprehensive portfolio that enhances interoperability and simplifies integration of advanced connectivity capabilities. Together, we’re helping customers deploy powerful, scalable next generation infrastructure to meet the growing demands of AI workloads.”

Steven SC Hsieh, Vice President, Wiwynn, said, “As AI workloads push data center infrastructure to its limits, PCIe Gen6 becomes essential to maintain throughput and utilization at scale. Wiwynn’s advanced server and storage platforms benefit from high-performance, interoperable connectivity, and Astera Labs is a close partner in helping us meet these demands. Their deep knowledge of PCIe and end-to-end connectivity portfolio enables us to accelerate deployment of next-gen AI solutions.”

Resources

• Webpage: Aries 6 Smart Gearbox
• Video: Aries 6 Smart Gearbox Demo
• Video: PCIe over Optics Technology Demo
  

About Astera Labs

Astera Labs is a global leader in purpose-built connectivity solutions that unlock the full potential of AI and cloud infrastructure. Our Intelligent Connectivity Platform integrates PCIe^®, CXL^®, and Ethernet semiconductor-based solutions and the COSMOS software suite of system management and optimization tools to deliver a software-defined architecture that is both scalable and customizable. Inspired by trusted relationships with hyperscalers and the data center ecosystem, we are an innovation leader delivering products that are flexible and interoperable. Discover how we are transforming modern data-driven applications at www.asteralabs.com.

CONTACT: Lori Zielinski
lori.zielinski@asteralabs.com

FAQ

What is Astera Labs' (ALAB) new PCIe 6 connectivity portfolio?

Astera Labs' PCIe 6 portfolio includes gearbox solutions, fabric switches, retimers, and active cable modules, featuring the industry's first purpose-built PCIe gearbox solution that bridges PCIe 6 and PCIe 5 ecosystems.

How does Astera Labs' Aries 6 PCIe Smart Gearbox benefit AI platforms?

The Aries 6 PCIe Smart Gearbox bridges the performance gap between PCIe 6 and PCIe 5 devices, ensuring full utilization of high-speed lanes and optimizing rack-scale TCO for AI platforms.

What is the maximum reach extension capability of Astera Labs' PCIe 6 solutions?

Astera Labs' Aries 6 PCIe/CXL Smart Cable Modules can extend PCIe 6.x/CXL 3.x signal reach up to 7 meters for GPU clustering across dense AI racks.

Which major companies are supporting Astera Labs' PCIe 6 technology?

Major companies including AMD, Inventec, Micron, Samsung, Wistron, and Wiwynn have expressed support for Astera Labs' PCIe 6 solutions for AI and data center applications.

What is COSMOS in Astera Labs' PCIe 6 portfolio?

COSMOS is Astera Labs' COnnectivity System Management and Optimization Software suite that provides data center observability, enhanced security, and fleet management capabilities for their PCIe 6 solutions.