September 3, 2026 -- IQE plc (AIM: IQE, "IQE" or the "Group"), the leading global supplier of compound semiconductor wafer products and advanced material solutions, is pleased to announce a purchase agreement with Quintessent Inc., an innovator in resilient and low-cost connectivity solutions for AI data centres, for the supply of Quantum Dot Laser (QDL) epitaxy.

Following an initial strategic announcement and purchase order in January 2025, the extension of the companies’ longstanding relationship will see IQE supply 6-inch Gallium Arsenide epiwafers through its foundry-ready service. This will support Quintessent’s customer sampling activity as its technology progresses towards commercial deployment and new production introductions.

Quintessent’s QDL product architecture enables the next generation of AI data centre infrastructure by meeting the need for optical interconnects with lower power consumption, simpler manufacturing and improved reliability as compared to traditional laser technologies.

IQE and Quintessent have been working together for over a decade to transition QDL technology from research to large-scale production and previously announced a partnership to establish the world’s first large-scale QDL epitaxial wafer supply chain.

Jutta Meier, Chief Executive Officer of IQE, commented:

“After a period of successful development, we are pleased to be enabling customer sampling with our partner Quintessent as its Quantum Dot Laser technology moves towards broader market adoption and commercialisation. IQE’s proven expertise in advanced epitaxy and high-volume manufacturing means we are ideally positioned to support the scaling of multiple complementary optical interconnect technologies that are enabling the AI revolution.”

Alan Liu, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Quintessent, commented:

“We are proud of our long-standing partnership with IQE. Quintessent is an innovator in resilient AI datacenter optical interconnect products that drive TCO benefits for customers. The next phase of the AI infrastructure buildout will require deep technology and supply-chain partnerships to address the scale required in the AI ecosystem. IQE has been a wonderful production partner, helping Quintessent enable our Laser and SOA technology. We look forward to continued collaboration with IQE.”