PsiQuantum is a cutting-edge startup with a singular mission: to build the world’s first useful quantum computer. Founded in 2016, the company takes a unique approach by using silicon photonics—light particles (photons) traveling through integrated optical chips—to create fault-tolerant quantum systems at scale.

Unlike many quantum startups focused on superconducting or trapped ion qubits, PsiQuantum leverages the existing semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. By working with partners like GlobalFoundries, they can produce high volumes of uniform, high-quality photonic chips, similar to how chips are made for telecom and consumer electronics. Their systems are designed to be cooled using standard cryogenic systems, simplifying deployment in data centers.

PsiQuantum has already made significant progress:

• They’re manufacturing thousands of wafers.

• They’ve developed cryogenic cabinets designed for distributed quantum computing.

• They’re planning quantum data centers in Chicago and Brisbane, backed by government funding.

However, the current bottleneck lies in building high-performance photonic switches—classical devices required to route single photons reliably through a quantum circuit. This is a material science challenge, specifically involving barium titanate, one of the strongest electro-optic materials known. These switches must operate at high frequencies (short wavelengths) to increase photon energy and routing precision, but doing so comes with trade-offs. There may be a physical limit—a parabolic optimization curve—on how much energy can be realistically injected into these systems without introducing losses or decoherence.

Cracking this challenge could unlock a new era of board-level photonic logic, massively scaling the performance and reliability of quantum systems. It also underscores how progress in quantum hardware isn’t just a physics problem—it’s also a matter of engineering, materials science, and system integration.

PsiQuantum’s vision is bold: a million-qubit machine that can deliver real-world value across climate modeling, drug discovery, finance, materials design, and more. If they can solve the energy and switching bottlenecks, they may just win the race to build the first truly scalable quantum computer.

—. “Introducing Omega – Inside the Chipset.” PsiQuantum, 26 Feb. 2025, https://psiquantum.com.

—. “Reducing the Execution Time for Breaking Elliptic-Curve Cryptography Using Active Volume and Photonic Hardware.” PsiQuantum, 6 Mar. 2025.

—. “PsiQuantum Announces Omega, a Manufacturable Chipset for Photonic Quantum Computing.” PsiQuantum, 26 Feb. 2025.

—. “DARPA Selects PsiQuantum to Advance to Final Phase of Quantum Computing Program.” PsiQuantum, 6 Feb. 2025.

Shadbolt, Pete. “Building the World’s First Useful Quantum Computer.” MIT EmTech, 2024.