PsiQuantum has a plan to make a massive quantum computer out of light
PsiQuantum is developing a large-scale quantum computer that utilizes photons and liquid helium cooling to perform complex calculations. The company aims to surpass current quantum prototypes by scaling up to thousands of qubits.
Why it matters
Successful development of a functional quantum computer could revolutionize fields like drug discovery and artificial intelligence.
The company has drawn governments, a major chipmaker, and the Pentagon into an effort to control fragile photons and build a useful quantum machine. It aims to be the first.
The machine that could change the world will be housed in a room that looks like a data center crossed with an ice cream factory. Inside will be some 100 stainless-steel cabinets, each about six feet tall and connected to a supply of liquid helium that keeps them only a few degrees above absolute zero. Inside those cabinets will be hundreds of chips, and on those, thousands of particles of light flying through a maze of optical switches and beam splitters. Each photon must be accounted for, because precisely measuring where it ends up will help answer questions that current computers might take millions of years to solve.
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