Episodes
Catherine Vollgraff Heidweiller, product manager at Google Quantum AI, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Catherine describes the development of full-stack quantum computing, the importance of their 2019 quantum supremacy milestone, Google’s product focus, and the early customers they work with. We discuss the evaluation of quantum usefulness, their error correction roadmap, the intersection of quantum computing and AI, the societal responsibilities of quantum development, and much more.
Published 05/20/24
Thomas Ehmer from Merck KGaA is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Thomas discusses the rapid advancements in quantum computing architectures, recent breakthroughs in logical qubits, and quantum communication protocols. He describes potential quantum applications in logistics optimization and material sciences, highlighting collaborative efforts within initiatives like QUTAC. Thomas contemplates the necessity of in-house quantum computing resources, reflects on Germany's national investment in...
Published 05/06/24
Yonatan Cohen, co-founder and CTO of Quantum Machines, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. They explore Quantum Machines' role in the quantum computing ecosystem, focusing on developing control electronics for quantum systems, the transition from academic to commercial customers, and the partnership with NVIDIA for enhanced computational capabilities. They also discuss Quantum Machines' contribution to establishing a quantum computing center in Israel, the integration of quantum and classical...
Published 04/29/24
Albert  Lehmeyer, a career consultant and headhunter is interviewed by Yuval Boger. They discuss the increasing competition for quantum talent, the geopolitical challenges affecting workforce development, and the need for more quantum awareness and education. They also discuss the salary gap between quantum and AI, advice on university education for quantum careers, the growing demand for quantum computer operators, and much more.
Published 04/22/24
Nikolaj Zinner, co-founder of Kvantify, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Kvantify focuses on leveraging quantum computing for real-world applications, notably in optimization and computational drug discovery, through a unique algorithm, fast VQE, that efficiently calculates small molecules. Despite challenges in scaling and skepticism around variational algorithms, Nikolaj is optimistic about the field's potential. He describes a pragmatic approach to technology selection, anticipates a gradual...
Published 04/15/24
A team of undergraduates who excelled at MIT's iQuHack Quantum Hackathon are interviewed by Yuval Boger. They discuss their journey, the challenge they tackled—optimizing the "maximum independent set problem" on a quantum computer for machine learning applications—and their personal backgrounds and aspirations in quantum computing. They all exhibit a shared interest in leveraging quantum computing to solve complex problems and reflect on mentorship, teamwork, future career paths, and much more.
Published 04/08/24
Daniel Volz and Enrique (Kike) Solano from Kipu Quantum are interviewed by Yuval Boger. They discuss their focus on achieving quantum advantage, the significant progress they are seeing, their hardware-dependent approach and application-specific strategies. Daniel and Kike predict that optimization and machine learning will be among the first areas to demonstrate practical quantum advantage, describe their geopolitical approach, and much more.
Published 04/01/24
Florian Neukart, Chief Product Officer of Terra Quantum, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Terra Quantum, a company with a broad approach in quantum technologies, focuses on creating diverse products ranging from software to hardware, cryptography, and quantum algorithms. Florian discusses the launch of TQ42, a software platform designed to make quantum computing accessible to experts and non-experts and the company's breakthrough in achieving room-temperature superconductivity in graphite. He...
Published 03/25/24
Suvi Lampila and Miikka Sainio from SSH Communications Security, a European cyber defense company, are interviewed by Yuval Boger. SSH, known for inventing the SSH protocol, focuses on secure communication and access management. They discusses SSH's efforts in integrating post-quantum cryptography into their products, highlighting the launch of their quantum-safe solutions, elaborate on the challenges of updating operational technology for quantum safety and the importance of pragmatic...
Published 03/18/24
Niccolo Somaschi, CEO of Quandela, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Niccolo describes the company's approach to quantum computing, emphasizing the use of photonics and semiconductor technologies to manipulate photonic qubits. He highlights Quandela's focus on building commercially useful quantum computers, the development of a unique programming framework for transforming gate-based circuits into photonic operations, the deployment of their 6-qubit processor, the challenges for scaling photonic...
Published 03/11/24
Judith Olson, a specialist in optical atomic clocks from Infleqtion, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. They discuss the advancements in timekeeping technology, highlighting the role of optical atomic clocks in scientific research, GPS, and telecommunications, particularly for 5G and 6G networks. They cover challenges in clock synchronization and the push towards miniaturization for wider application, the size, weight and cost of clocks, and much more.
Published 03/04/24
Andrei Dragomir, CEO of Aquark Technologies, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. His company, emerging from the University of Southampton, focuses on miniaturizing quantum devices, particularly for sensing applications, aiming to transform room-sized quantum systems into mobile phone-sized units. Aquark is also part of NATO Diana accelerator and is pioneering in enhancing the practicality and robustness of quantum sensors. Andrei highlights their recent airborne experiment, describes what keeps...
Published 02/26/24
Chris Ballance, co-founder and CEO of Oxford Ionics, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Chris describes their unique trapped ion quantum computers using integrated electronics for scalability and low error rates. They cover development plans for scaling up to 50-100 qubit systems and the development roadmap towards a 256-qubit device. Chris and Yuval also discuss error correction, market strategy, misconceptions about trapped ions, and much more.
Published 02/19/24
Cathal Mahon, Chief Business Officer of DeepTech Lab Quantum, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Cathal describes the lab's initial program, part of the NATO-initiated DIANA initiative, which concentrates on startups in secure information sharing, sensing, and surveillance. He discusses the emphasis on the intersection of quantum technology and life sciences, reflecting Denmark's strengths in these fields, future goals, and much more.
Published 02/12/24
Ryan Lafler, President and CTO of Quantum Corridor, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Ryan highlights Quantum Corridor's development of a 12-mile fiber network in the Midwest, designed for quantum and classical computing. The network, connecting major data centers, focuses on quantum communications and research, with a capacity of 40 terabits per second. Ryan discusses collaborations, such as with Toshiba Systems for quantum key distribution, emphasizes the strategic importance of the Midwest...
Published 02/05/24
Nathan Shammah, CTO of the Unitary Fund, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Nathan discusses the non-profit's evolution from focusing on software to hardware in quantum technologies, their Mitiq project for error mitigation in quantum computing, and the fund's success in establishing a new research institute and promoting open-source quantum technology. Nathan also muses on a potential breakthrough moment for quantum technology, discusses open-source hardware projects, and much more.
Published 01/29/24
Matt Martin, Managing Director of Oxford Instruments Nanoscience is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Matt discusses his company's focus on dilution refrigerators for quantum computing, the differentiation between different refrigerators, modular designs, and scalability considerations. We also cover service, maintenance aspects, recent developments, and much more.
Published 01/22/24
Alexandra Backstein, CEO of QAI Ventures, and Damir Bogdan, CEO of Quantum Basel, are interviewed by Yuval Boger. Alexandra and Damir describe the Basel ecosystem, their privately-funded accelerator program, and efforts to promote deindustrialization in Switzerland through technology and sustainability. They also describe quantum computer installations in Basel, the efforts to democratize quantum technology, the challenges in rapid development and global collaboration, and much more.
Published 01/15/24
Jack Krupansky, a long-time observer of the quantum computing industry, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Jack rates the quantum progress in 2023, revisits his Christmas wish for 48 fully-connected qubits, discusses whether quantum computing is an industry or a sector, provides advice for those entering quantum, discusses his definition of a quantum ChatGPT moment, and much more.
Published 01/08/24
Joe Fitzsimons, CEO of Horizon Quantum Computing, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Joe describes the company's approach to building software development tools to accelerate classical code and make it run more efficiently on quantum hardware. They discuss the advantages and disadvantages of abstraction layers, the potential for quantum computing in chemistry, and much more.
Published 01/01/24
Denise Ruffner, president of Diversity in Quantum, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. They discuss Denise's path in quantum starting at IBM, the "Diversity in Quantum" initiative that she is leading, the current state of the quantum industry, including device sales, software infrastructure, and customer education, where the money is, and much more.
Published 12/25/23
Earl Campbell, VP of Quantum Science at Riverlane, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Earl and Yuval discuss the challenges and solutions in making quantum computing practical, including creating reliable qubits in large numbers and managing noise as systems scale. Earl emphasizes that the number of physical qubits needed for a logical qubit varies based on error rates and the type of error correction code used. He notes his belief about upcoming breakthroughs in the industry and much more.
Published 12/20/23
Prof. Misha Lukin (Harvard), Dolev Bluvstein (Harvard), and Harry Zhou (Harvard and QuEra), co-authors of a recent Harvard-led work in quantum error correction, published in Nature, are interviewed by Yuval Boger. The authors highlight the evolution from physical to logical qubits and the realization of up to 48 logical qubits and emphasize the significance of error correction in maintaining quantum states in large systems. They discuss using neutral atoms and optical tweezers in their...
Published 12/11/23
Charles Roques-Carmes, a Science Fellow at Stanford University, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. They discuss his work on using optical parametric oscillators as a form of random number generator with controllable bias. He elaborates on the potential applications of this technology in trainable randomness for Bayesian neural networks and logistics planning, previews the next steps for this research, and much more.
Published 12/04/23
Anna Knörr and Rodrigo Bravo, co-founders of the Quantum Ethics Project, are interviewed by Yuval Boger. They discuss the project's origins in addressing the ethical implications of quantum technologies and explore the unique ethical challenges that quantum technologies pose, including issues related to dual-use applications and responsible research. They touch on the potential for international cooperation in quantum ethics,  Anna’s and Rodrigo’s hopes for a future where ethical...
Published 12/01/23