# PsiQuantum **Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/psiquantum **Vertical:** Technology **Subcategory:** General **Tier:** Emerging **Website:** psiquantum.com **Last Updated:** 2026-04-14 ## Summary Palo Alto photonic quantum computing at $7B valuation; $1B Series E (BlackRock/Temasek) Feb 2025 with Omega chipset and A$940M Australia QCC build targeting fault-tolerant quantum by 2027 competing with IBM Quantum. ## Company Overview PsiQuantum is a Palo Alto, California-based photonic quantum computing company — backed with $700+ million in total funding including a $1 billion Series E in February 2025 led by BlackRock, Temasek, and Baillie Gifford (with NVIDIA NVentures participation) at a $7 billion valuation — building utility-scale fault-tolerant quantum computers using silicon photonic chip technology manufactured through an exclusive partnership with GlobalFoundries at commercial semiconductor foundries rather than bespoke quantum hardware. In February 2025, PsiQuantum announced the Omega chipset — the first manufacturable chipset for photonic quantum computing, integrating high-performance single-photon sources, superconducting single-photon detectors, and next-generation optical switches with 99.98% single-qubit fidelity and 99.22% two-qubit fusion gate fidelity. PsiQuantum is building Quantum Compute Centers in Brisbane, Australia (backed by A$940 million from Australian and Queensland governments) and Chicago, Illinois, targeting operational systems by end of 2027. Founded in 2017 by Jeremy O'Brien, Terry Rudolph, Mark Thompson, and Pete Shadbolt. PsiQuantum's photonic quantum computing architecture addresses the fundamental scalability challenge that limits superconducting and trapped-ion quantum systems: both IBM/Google (superconducting) and Quantinuum/IonQ (trapped-ion) require cryogenic environments at 10-15 millikelvin (requiring expensive dilution refrigerators) and face qubit count limitations from the engineering complexity of maintaining coherence across hundreds of physical qubits. PsiQuantum's photonic approach (using single photons as qubits, manipulated through silicon photonic waveguides fabricated using standard CMOS chip manufacturing processes) enables production scaling through existing semiconductor fabs — GlobalFoundries manufactures PsiQuantum's chips at volumes that dilution refrigerator-based systems cannot match. The tradeoff is that photonic fusion gates require resource-intensive error correction, making the path to fault-tolerant systems hardware-demanding — but the manufacturing scalability advantage (silicon photonic chips can be produced in the millions by commercial fabs) is the thesis for why PsiQuantum can build the million-physical-qubit systems that fault-tolerant quantum computing requires. In 2025, PsiQuantum competes in the fault-tolerant quantum computing, photonic quantum, and quantum infrastructure market with IBM Quantum (NYSE: IBM, 1,000+ qubit Eagle/Condor systems), Quantinuum (Honeywell majority-owned, trapped-ion, $5B valuation), and Google Quantum AI (NASDAQ: GOOGL, Willow 105-qubit chip) for government quantum infrastructure investment, enterprise quantum readiness programs, and quantum advantage application development partnerships. The $1 billion Series E reflects institutional investor conviction (BlackRock, Temasek) that fault-tolerant quantum computing warrants infrastructure-scale investment. Australian government backing (A$940M) and Chicago QCC development provide national-level quantum infrastructure commitments that validate PsiQuantum's timeline. The 2025 strategy focuses on completing the Omega chipset integration testing, securing additional government partnerships for Quantum Compute Center development, and advancing the quantum error correction research that bridges current chip performance to fault-tolerant logical qubit operations at the scale required for utility-scale computation. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is PsiQuantum and what makes it different from other quantum computing companies? PsiQuantum is a quantum computing company building the world's first utility-scale quantum computer using photonic technology. Unlike competitors using superconducting or trapped-ion approaches, PsiQuantum uses single photons as qubits, enabling manufacturing at scale using established semiconductor processes. This manufacturing-first approach allows production in commercial chip foundries like GlobalFoundries. ### What is photonic quantum computing? Photonic quantum computing uses single photons (particles of light) as qubits instead of superconducting circuits or trapped ions. Photons are manipulated using silicon photonic chip technology originally developed for telecom and datacenter applications, combined with new materials including superconducting materials for single-photon detection and Barium Titanate for optical switching. ### Who founded PsiQuantum and when? PsiQuantum was founded in 2016 by Jeremy O'Brien (CEO), Terry Rudolph, Peter Shadbolt (Chief Scientific Officer), and Mark Thompson (CTO). The founders are distinguished physicists from the University of Bristol and Imperial College London who have spent decades developing photonic quantum computing technology. ### What is the Omega chipset? The Omega chipset, announced in February 2025, is the world's first mass-producible chipset for photonic quantum computing. It integrates all advanced components required to build million-qubit-scale quantum computers, including single-photon sources, superconducting detectors, and optical switches. It achieves 99.98% single-qubit fidelity and 99.22% two-qubit fusion gate fidelity. ### What is PsiQuantum's partnership with GlobalFoundries? Since 2017, PsiQuantum has partnered with GlobalFoundries to manufacture quantum computing chips at GF's New York fabrication facility. Engineering teams from both companies work side-by-side, and GlobalFoundries has processed over a thousand PsiQuantum 300mm wafers. This partnership was recognized by Fast Company as one of the most innovative joint ventures of 2022. ### What is the Brisbane quantum computing facility? PsiQuantum is building the world's first utility-scale quantum computer near Brisbane Airport in Australia, backed by a A$940 million investment from the Australian Commonwealth and Queensland governments. Construction began ramping up in 2025 with a goal to be operational by the end of 2027. A Test & Characterisation Lab opened at Griffith University in early 2025. ### How much funding has PsiQuantum raised? PsiQuantum has raised over $2 billion in total funding, including a $1 billion Series E round in September 2025 led by BlackRock, Temasek, and Baillie Gifford. The company also received A$940 million from the Australian government. The Series E valued PsiQuantum at approximately $7 billion. ### What applications will PsiQuantum's quantum computers address? PsiQuantum is targeting applications that require massive computational power including drug discovery and pharmaceutical development, materials science, climate modeling, financial optimization, and cryptography. The focus is on problems that are intractable for classical computers but could provide transformative benefits to society. ### When will PsiQuantum have a working quantum computer? PsiQuantum has an aggressive plan to have the Brisbane facility operational by the end of 2027, with the goal of delivering a commercially viable quantum computer with one million qubits and beyond. The Chicago facility is also under development on a similar timeline. ### How does PsiQuantum's manufacturing approach differ from competitors? Unlike competitors who build quantum systems in specialized laboratories, PsiQuantum's chips are manufactured in high-volume semiconductor fabs using proven industrial processes. This approach enables scalability that laboratory-based systems cannot achieve and leverages decades of investment in semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure. ## Tags b2b, global, hardware, infrastructure, quantum, enterprise, saas --- *Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*