Photonic’s Stephanie Simmons Talks Distributed Systems & Scalability

Insider Brief

• Stephanie Simmons, founder and Chief Quantum Officer of Photonic Inc., is leading efforts to develop scalable “phase three” quantum systems that go beyond single quantum processors by networking silicon-based qubits connected by photons, which she underlined during a recent interview
• Photonic Inc. can manufacture up to a million qubits on one chip, with their system designed to operate at telecom wavelengths, enabling immediate networking capabilities.
• The company is collaborating with Microsoft to accelerate progress, aiming to revolutionize fields like materials simulation and drug discovery, while expecting new, unforeseen applications as quantum computing evolves.

Stephanie Simmons, founder and Chief Quantum Officer of Photonic Inc., is on a mission to bring large-scale quantum computers from science fiction into reality. With a team of 140 people, Photonic is developing “phase three quantum technologies” — networked quantum systems that can scale beyond the limitations of single quantum processors.

“Ultimately information is physical,” Simmons explained during a recent interview. While classical computers use binary switches, quantum systems have fundamentally different capabilities. “Instead of Moore’s law where you can double the number of transistors and that doubles the computing capability,” she continued, “for quantum systems the information within a quantum system doubles every single quantum bit you add.”

This exponential scaling is why quantum holds such transformative potential. However, Simmons cautioned that we’re still in early stages. Current “phase one” systems are small-scale and error prone. The industry is now entering “phase two” with more reliable but still limited quantum processors.

The holy grail is “phase three” — large, networked quantum systems. As Simmons put it: “Scale really happens through networks, you really want to do is have modular [systems].” This mirrors how modern supercomputers link many processors.

Photonic’s approach leverages silicon-based qubits connected by photons. 

“We have the ability to manufacture up to a million qubits on one chip,” Simmons stated. Their system operates at telecom wavelengths, enabling networking from day one.

A key challenge is distributing quantum entanglement between separate quantum processors. 

“You can’t just attach a wire to them and have them work together,” she said. Solving this is critical for scalability.

On the applications front, Simmons sees huge potential in materials simulation and drug discovery. But she expects surprises: “There’s a lot of things that come about once you unleash a branch of physics into a commercial setting. We’ll get a lot more interesting things that we haven’t thought of yet.”

Photonic recently announced a collaboration with Microsoft to accelerate progress. As Simmons described it: “We can go together faster. It’s just been one of these one plus one equals three environments.”

With its innovative approach to scalable, networked quantum systems, Photonic Inc. is positioning itself at the forefront of the next phase of quantum computing. As Simmons advises: “It’s a fast-moving space…watch closely.”