AI Drives PCIe Aspirations

By Gary Hilson, EETimes (September 29, 2025)

As PCIe 8.0 aims to double the data rate yet again with its 2028 release, the PCI-SIG may also need to reconsider whether backwards compatibility as far back as 1.0 is feasible.

The aim for the next iteration of PCIe is to achieve a raw bit rate of 256.0 GT/s and up to 1 TB/s, delivered bi-directionally via an x16 configuration.

PCIe 7.0, released earlier this year, targets data-driven applications such as artificial intelligence (AI) /machine learning, 800G Ethernet, cloud computing, and quantum computing. Key features included a 128.0 GT/s raw bit rate and up to 512 GB/s bi-directionally via x16 configuration, utilizing Pulse Amplitude Modulation with four levels (PAM4) and Flit-Based encoding, as well as improved power efficiency.

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