PsiQuantum Pursues Million-Qubit Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computer on Silicon Photonics, Collaborating with GlobalFoundries

July 12, 2026

Physics Today Jobs USA

Overview

PsiQuantum is advancing its ambitious goal of building a 1 million-qubit fault-tolerant quantum computer based on silicon photonics. To achieve this, the company leverages existing semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure by partnering closely with established foundries like GlobalFoundries. This critical strategy aims to mass-produce large-scale quantum computing systems and overcome scalability challenges, potentially opening a more practical pathway than other cryogenic-dependent quantum technologies.

In Depth

Key Findings

Quantum computing firm PsiQuantum is driving an ambitious vision to realize an ultimate 1 million-qubit fault-tolerant quantum computer, founded on silicon photonics technology. To achieve this objective, the company is closely collaborating with major semiconductor manufacturing partners, including GlobalFoundries, employing a strategy that maximizes the utilization of existing semiconductor fabrication ecosystems.

Technical Details

PsiQuantum’s approach is deeply rooted in photonic quantum computing, where photons serve as qubits. Silicon photonics is compatible with standard CMOS manufacturing processes and allows for the high-density integration of optical components—such as waveguides, beam splitters, photon sources, and detectors—on a single chip. This capability holds the potential to dramatically enhance the scalability and manufacturability of quantum computers. PsiQuantum is developing integrated circuits that generate, manipulate, and detect millions of photons, aiming to combine these to construct a 1 million-qubit system capable of error correction. Fault-tolerant quantum computing is an essential element for reliably executing large and complex quantum algorithms, as it incorporates mechanisms to detect and correct physical errors in qubits. The partnership with GlobalFoundries provides a crucial pathway for PsiQuantum to manufacture these technically intricate photonic chips at high quality and scale.

Background & Context

Quantum computing holds the promise of delivering transformative advancements across diverse fields, including drug discovery, materials science, optimization problems, and artificial intelligence. However, building practical quantum computers faces significant hurdles in qubit stability, scalability, and error correction. Technologies like superconducting qubits often require cryogenic environments, making their operation highly complex and costly. Photonic quantum computing emerges as a promising solution to these challenges, benefiting from photons’ ability to operate at room temperature and their inherent robustness against environmental noise. PsiQuantum’s strategy leverages these advantages of photonics, combined with existing semiconductor manufacturing techniques, to deploy practical quantum computers more rapidly and at scale.

Strategic Significance & Outlook

The realization of PsiQuantum’s 1 million-qubit fault-tolerant quantum computer will represent a decisive step towards the commercialization of quantum computing. Securing manufacturing scale through collaboration with GlobalFoundries enhances the practicality of achieving this monumental goal. If successful, this technology is expected to provide novel capabilities to solve problems currently intractable for classical supercomputers, driving groundbreaking progress across sectors ranging from AI and healthcare to scientific research. While further refinement of error correction techniques and overcoming challenges in overall system integration remain key, PsiQuantum’s approach holds significant potential to substantially advance the future of large-scale, practical quantum computing.

Source: https://jobs.physicstoday.org/job/41973929/senior-manager-material-metrology/

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