At FMS 2026, Microchip had a number of its data center connectivity solutions on display. That included a new family of Microchip Switchtec PCIe Gen6 switches with up to 160 lanes. We also saw the company’s XpressConnect PCIe Gen6 retimer chip working. There was even a cameo by an Everpure DirectFlash module that we caught at the Microchip booth. Let us get to it.
Microchip Switchtec PFX 160xG6 Switch Shown at FMS 2026
First, we saw a Microchip Switchtec PFX 160xG6 switch mounted on a test PCB.
This is a new generation of PCIe switch chip designed to compete with offerings from Broadcom, Astera Labs, and Marvell. Realistically, Broadcom has been the big player in the PCIe switch space since the Avago-PLX acquisition over a decade ago. Microchip has kept its Switchtec line going, and we have covered the line in the past. The space has been heating up as PCIe switches went from tools mostly in storage servers and the fringe deep learning servers of yesteryear to critical components in modern AI infrastructure build-outs.
Microchip was showing the PFX 160xG6, which is a 160-lane PCIe Gen6 switch chip. The company also has a PSX line, which, from what I understand, is more of a programmable line used for a storage platform.
These switches can have up to 20 ports but usually use far fewer because they are often connected to x16 GPUs and NICs these days. Notably, while other vendors are focusing on PCIe and CXL switches in the Gen6 generation, Microchip seems to be focusing more on PCIe.
Microchip XpressConnect PCIe Gen6 Retimer Shown
On the PCIe Gen6 and CXL side, we also saw the Microchip XpressConnect PCIe Gen6 retimer in action.
Retimers are important in today’s architectures even as NVIDIA has been trying to design around their use. The reason is that PCIe Gen6 signaling generally has shorter reach, and yet systems are growing in size due to the sheer number of components and the cooling they require. As a result, this is a hot area in the industry. A PCIe retimer, if you recall, is a device that helps retime a signal, thereby extending the effective reach of the link.
Here you can see the board running live on the show floor retiming a link. Part of me things the engineers just have fun stacking CEM cards and various cables to make these demos.
Microchip’s XpressConnect can also retime CXL 3.1. That is important since this market has taken off and competition like the Astera Labs Aries 6 can do CXL as well.
It is an interesting and competitive space with companies Broadcom, Marvell, and Phison all working on solutions.
Bonus: Everpure DirectFlash Module on Display
As Sam and I were walking through the booth, we also saw an Everpure DirectFlash module. Usually we see models like this, so we do not get to see who is running inside the module, but being in the Microchip booth, we have some idea.
This may not seem like a big one, but this week, Everpure announced that a second top 5 hyper-scaler will be using its DirectFlash technology in a big win for the company. The first hyper-scaler using it is Meta, from what we understand.
It is always fun to see what you can learn when you walk the FMS show floor, finding things like this.
Final Words
I am at Microchip MASTERs today in Phoenix, AZ, in a nice break from the 26 flights in 46 days schedule. Hopefully, I will learn something neat and get a Substack post up on the event. In the meantime, we wanted to show some of the fun things that we saw at FMS last week and cover some of Microchip’s PCIe Gen6 solutions.
