Dutch company QphoX has raised the money necessary to bring their new quantum modem to the commercial market, with a big promise to crack open the quantum internet.
“Our technology allows quantum computers to interface at a distance through room-temperature optical interconnects,” QphoX said about it’s solution.
The quantum modem was invented at Delft University of Technology and QphoX, its commercial spinoff, just got a €2 million investment to bring it into the real world to allow quantum computers to talk to one another and create a quantum internet.
“Thanks to this investment we will be able to create and provide the missing link between quantum computers and the quantum internet, and further help scaling quantum processors to realize their computing power,” Simon Gröblacher, CEO and co-founder of QphoX said.
The QphoX team will work to create a standalone product which can be deployed in real-world environments to network quantum processing power and share remote data and resources. The quantum modem is built on “quantum transduction” and will be the technology’s first foray beyond the university lab environment, the company said.
“The founding team at QphoX has shown a unique ability to leverage quantum optics, fiber optics communications, nanoscale device manufacturing and superconducting microwave circuits to transfer the coherence that’s at the heart of quantum devices at a distance while preserving it. Christophe Jurczak, partner at QphoX investor Quantonation said. “We’re very happy to make our first investment in the blooming Dutch quantum ecosystem and contribute once again to the emergence of the European Quantum industry.”
Another investor, Olaf Joeressen from High-Tech Gründerfonds was willing to predict the quantum modem would make a real-world impact, “soon” adding, “In our view, the quantum-transducer from Qphox has the potential to become an indispensable component of the quantum computing architecture of the future.”
At the same time, other quantum internet-enabling technologies are being incubated in partnership with Delft, including its major breakthrough with QuTech, in which the team was able to connect two quantum processors and establish quantum entanglement, which is a first baby step on the way to scalability. QuTech and Delft are aiming to test its Quantum Internet Demonstrator in existing telecom fiber in 2022.