Quantum computing has long lingered in the realm of theory and lab experiments, but the tide is turning fast.
PsiQuantum Corp., a Bay Area startup with major ambitions and a deep war chest, is betting on silicon photonics. Its goal is to use semiconductor-scale manufacturing to build the world’s first fault-tolerant quantum computer.
“The field is now going through a phase transition where it’s coming out of the research lab,” said Pete Shadbolt (pictured), co-founder and chief scientific officer of PsiQuantum. “People are starting to knock down some of the major technical milestones. People are starting to get serious about building large-scale, commercially useful machines. We are poised to break ground on big systems within a matter of months. I think it’s an exciting time for the field. Today, nobody has a useful quantum computer. In that sense, we’re a few years behind AI.”
Shadbolt spoke with theCUBE’s John Furrier at theCUBE + NYSE Wired: AI Factories – Data Centers of the Future event, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how PsiQuantum is positioning itself at the frontier of the next era of computing — one that promises to reshape industries from chemistry to cryptography.
Quantum computing leverages the semiconductor playbook
A key differentiator for PsiQuantum is its reliance on silicon photonics — chips that process light rather than electricity. These chips, originally developed for the telecom industry, have been pushed far beyond state-of-the-art capabilities through PsiQuantum’s collaboration with GlobalFoundries Inc.’s Fab 8 facility in upstate New York, according to Shadbolt
“Our company is building a very large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computer,” he said. “We’re doing it by leveraging high-volume chip manufacturing, so we build our wafers in a commercial semiconductor fab. And we are going to use it primarily for commercial applications in chemistry, material science, drug discovery, fuels, catalysts, fertilizers and new semiconductor manufacturing processes.”
This approach enables PsiQuantum to integrate directly into the existing semiconductor ecosystem, leveraging decades of established manufacturing standards, supply chain infrastructure and investment. Rather than demanding exotic new materials, PsiQuantum has built its strategy around fitting into what the trillion-dollar semiconductor industry already does best, Shadbolt noted.
Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of theCUBE + NYSE Wired: AI Factories – Data Centers of the Future event:
Photo: SiliconANGLE