Microchip Partners with Micron to Advance PCIe Gen 6 Storage Architecture

Microchip (MCHP-US) today announced a collaboration with Micron (MU-US) to showcase a complete end-to-end PCIe Gen 6 storage architecture, integrating Microchip’s 3nm Switchtec PCIe Gen 6 switch and Micron’s 9650 NVMe solid-state drive (SSD). This demonstration highlights how next-generation PCIe technology delivers higher data throughput, lower latency, and scalable connectivity to support AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and cloud data center workloads.

At the 2026 Future of Memory and Storage Conference, Microchip demonstrated a high-bandwidth, low-latency interconnect architecture using the Switchtec Gen 6 PCIe Fanout switch as a bridge between the host processor and multiple Micron 9650 SSDs. This setup enables SSDs to fully leverage the high-speed performance of PCIe Gen 6. The architecture supports composable and resource-disaggregated system designs, allowing data center architects to scale storage resources more efficiently while maintaining predictable system performance.

Brian McCarson, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Microchip’s Data Center Solutions Division, stated, "Enhancing data center performance cannot be achieved by a single component alone. Our collaboration with Micron underscores the importance of ecosystem-wide co-development. By combining our complementary strengths in switching and storage technologies, we demonstrate how a fully integrated ecosystem can deliver scalable, high-bandwidth architectures essential for next-generation AI and cloud platforms."

As AI model size and complexity continue to grow, data centers must transfer increasingly large volumes of data across compute, memory, and storage resources. PCIe 6.0 doubles the per-lane bandwidth to 64 GT/s compared to PCIe 5.0, providing the sustained data throughput required for high-load AI applications.

Larry Hart, Senior Director of Solutions Marketing at Micron’s Core Data Center Business, said, "AI infrastructure is entering a new phase, and storage performance and ecosystem interoperability must evolve in tandem. The Micron 9650 SSD is the industry’s first mass-produced PCIe Gen 6 SSD. Paired with Microchip’s Switchtec PCIe Gen 6 switching technology, it demonstrates how scalable storage architectures can help data centers increase data throughput, reduce latency, and move data more efficiently to support next-generation AI, HPC, and cloud workloads."

The Microchip Switchtec Gen 6 PCIe switch is built on a 3nm process technology and supports high lane counts, advanced error containment, comprehensive diagnostics, and multicast functionality. Multicast enables efficient data distribution to multiple devices within the same PCIe domain. The switch provides high-speed connectivity between CPUs, GPUs, SoCs, AI accelerators, and storage devices, while also helping optimize power consumption in high-load computing environments. These capabilities help ensure data transmission reliability and system resilience in AI and cloud infrastructures.

To further protect system integrity, the Switchtec Gen 6 PCIe switch integrates a hardware root of trust and secure boot architecture, employing post-quantum cryptographic algorithms compliant with CNSA 2.0 security standards.

The Micron 9650 PCIe Gen 6 NVMe SSD is designed for data-intensive workloads such as AI training, real-time analytics, and large databases, delivering exceptional data throughput, IOPS, and low-latency performance. By combining Micron’s storage technology with Microchip’s switching expertise, this solution demonstrates a high-performance, balanced storage interconnect architecture optimized for next-generation platforms.