Xanadu Partners With Thorlabs on Photonic Quantum Components

Insider Brief

• Xanadu Quantum Technologies and Thorlabs have partnered to develop customized optical fiber components to support large-scale photonic quantum computing.
• The collaboration focuses on improving phase and polarization stability in fiber optics, which are critical for reducing errors in photonic qubit systems.
• Thorlabs will contribute high-precision, high-volume manufacturing capabilities while Xanadu applies its photonic quantum hardware expertise to support scalable system development.

PRESS RELEASE — Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc., a leading photonic quantum computing company, and Thorlabs, a globally-renowned designer and manufacturer of photonics equipment, have partnered to develop customized optical fiber components essential for realizing large-scale photonic quantum computing. The collaboration will combine Xanadu’s photonic quantum computing hardware expertise and Thorlabs’ advanced optical component manufacturing capabilities to help address critical challenges in scaling photonic quantum computing systems. Together, the companies can accelerate the production of novel component designs from proof-of-concept to high-volume manufacturing for Xanadu’s scalable hardware.

The goal of this collaboration is to develop photonic components that address phase and polarization stability — key challenges in photonic quantum computing. Maintaining this stability is crucial. Any unwanted drift distorts information encoded in photonic qubits, resulting in computational errors.

“We are pleased to work with Thorlabs on addressing this challenge. Their deep expertise and ability to manufacture with high precision, at a high volume, and at a competitive cost makes them an invaluable partner,” said Christian Weedbrook, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Xanadu.

Meeting the stability criteria required in many of the sensitive fiber optics that link together key hardware subsystems, while limiting optical loss, will reduce physical qubit overhead and quantum error correction requirements. This resulting capability improves the scalability of Xanadu’s entire system.

“The Thorlabs team is proud to support Xanadu’s mission to advance the frontiers of quantum computing technology,” said Peter Fendel, Chief Technology Officer at Thorlabs. “This partnership combines Xanadu’s deep expertise in scalable quantum computing with Thorlabs’ decades of experience in designing and manufacturing photonic components, and subsystems at scale.”

This partnership is driven by a shared vision to push the boundaries of photonics technologies. By leveraging Thorlabs’ industrial manufacturing scale, Xanadu can continue to develop its utility-scale photonic quantum computer, helping ensure that the critical optical components are ready for the high-volume demands of a quantum data center.