Chelsio Launches AI Interconnect Platform with 400Gb RDMA for Next-gen Data Center, Storage and AI Infrastructure

Chelsio Launches AI Interconnect Platform with 400Gb RDMA for Next-gen Data Center, Storage and AI Infrastructure

Garth Miller
July 16, 2026

Seventh-generation Ethernet-based AI interconnect platform accelerates AI training, inference, storage, and data center networking workloads with high efficiency and software continuity.

Chelsio Communications, Inc. has announced its seventh-generation AI Interconnect Platform, comprising SmartNICs, Storage Controllers, and Data Processing Units (DPUs). Built on Chelsio seventh-generation Unified Wire architecture, the platform delivers native 400Gb Ethernet, Unified RDMA (iWARP and RoCEv2), storage acceleration, and AI infrastructure optimization for cloud, enterprise, storage, and hyperscale deployments. SmartNICs and Storage Controllers are available immediately, while DPUs are available today as an evaluation platform, with production availability planned for December 2026.

Designed for AI training and inference clusters, disaggregated storage, and high-performance networking, the platform combines SmartNICs for high-volume cloud and AI deployments, Storage Controllers for storage acceleration, and DPUs for advanced networking, storage, and security acceleration. Together, they share a common hardware and software architecture that preserves software continuity while enabling scalable, standards-based AI infrastructure.

Building on the proven success of Chelsio T5 and T6 families, the seventh-generation platform extends the company’s leadership in Ethernet networking, delivering higher throughput, lower latency, improved efficiency, and software continuity across SmartNIC, DPU, and storage controller deployments.

With this launch, Chelsio extends its leadership in Ethernet offload for AI, storage, and high-performance networking, enabling CPU-efficient, high-throughput connectivity across GPU clusters, storage, and network fabrics. By combining advanced congestion management, hardware offloads, and a programmable data path, T7 helps eliminate I/O bottlenecks across modern data center infrastructures. This positions Ethernet as a scalable, standards-based alternative to proprietary AI interconnects at 400Gb speeds.

Three Product Families

  • SmartNICs – S7xx adapters based on S7x silicon, a memory-free single-chip , cost-optimized SmartNIC for cloud and AI deployments
  • Storage Controllers – Dedicated storage acceleration controller adapters based on N7 Storage Controller silicon
  • T7 DPUs – Fully programmable DPU adapters for AI networking, storage and security acceleration based on the T7 silicon.

Key Quote

“Chelsio seventh-generation AI Interconnect Platform represents a milestone in Ethernet evolution, combining programmable flexibility with the proven performance our customers depend on,“ said Kianoosh Naghshineh, CEO of Chelsio Communications. “With T7, we are positioning Ethernet as a scalable, standards-based AI interconnect—delivering the performance required for large-scale AI training while preserving the flexibility and cost advantages of open networking.”

Key AI Interconnect Platform Features

  • Ethernet Performance: Supports 1/10/25/40/50/100/200/400GbE with sustained line-rate throughput
  • AI & HPC Optimization: Lossless Ethernet, advanced congestion management, and GPU-optimized data paths for large-scale AI training and real-time inference
  • 400Gb RDMA Acceleration: Native iWARP and RoCEv2 support enables ultra-low latency, high-bandwidth communication for AI training, HPC, and disaggregated infrastructure
  • Storage Acceleration: Hardware offloads for NVMe/TCP, iSCSI, RDMA, and TOE, delivering peak efficiency for JBOFs and enterprise storage
  • Programmable Data Path: Workload-specific acceleration, including AI data pipeline optimization and inline processing
  • Security: On-chip crypto engines for QUIC, kTLS, and IPsec/TLS/kTLS.
  • Virtualization & Cloud: SR-IOV, vSwitch, and container offloads for multi-tenant performance isolation
  • Energy Efficiency: Industry-leading performance-per-watt
  • Deployment Flexibility: PCIe Gen5, OCP 3.0, and mezzanine form factors

Key Links

More information about the T7 Smart NIC Programmable DPU Solution

More information about the S7 Smart NIC Programmable DPU Solution

T7 and S7 Adapter Selector Guide

T7 DPU Product Brief

S7 SmartNIC Product Brief

Chelsio Solution Brief: AI Networking Solution: Chelsio T7 DPU and S7/T6 SmartNICs 

IDC Analyst Brief: DPUs Enable Secure, Flexible, and Efficient Semiconductor Solutions in the Datacenter and at the Heavy Edge  


Storage and Compute Hardware