Doug Finke

Summary of the NIST Work By Dr. Joe Spencer The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently demonstrated a significant advance in integrated photonics, effectively compressing what has traditionally been a laboratory-scale laser system into a chip-scale platform. By leveraging monolithic 3D integration, the team stacked tantalum pentoxide (tantala, Ta₂O₅) onto patterned onto thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) substrates, enabling compact, tunable nonlinear optical devices capable of generating a broad range of wavelengths on-chip.  The full press release from NIST is available: Any Color You Like: NIST Scientists Create ‘Any Wavelength’ Lasers in Tiny Circuits for Light | NIST  And the [...]

Yuval Boger interviews Dorit Dor, co-founder of QBeat Ventures and former senior executive at Check Point. They discuss lessons quantum startups can draw from the evolution of cybersecurity, including the importance of go-to-market strategy, focus, and adherence to standards. Dorit outlines her fund’s cross-stack investment strategy, compares different quantum modalities, comments on public market dynamics, and highlights the growing Israeli quantum ecosystem and its potential for future impact. Transcript Yuval: Hello Dorit, and thank you for joining me today. Dorit: Hi, and thank you for inviting me. Yuval: So who are you and what do you do? Dorit: My name is Dorit Dor. I spent [...]

Although Google Quantum AI first disclosed their Willow chip in December 2024, access to it outside of Google has been very limited. But now, Google has announced it will provide a select group of applicants access to use this quantum processor for high impact research projects. Selection will be based upon those proposals that show a potential to yield high quality results that could potentially provide a significant scientific result or demonstrate a novel breakthrough result. The proposal should show how the project is specifically designed for leveraging a Willow processor and the proposal should also include details on the circuits [...]

Yuval Boger interviews Matt Kinsella, CEO of Infleqtion. They discuss Infleqtion’s neutral-atom strategy, including its combination of quantum computing, sensing, and timing products, and why Matt believes that diversified approach strengthens both the business and the technology stack. Matt also shares his timeline for commercially useful quantum computing, his reaction to Google entering neutral atoms, and his perspective on capital, talent, and scaling the company as a newly public business. Transcript Yuval: Hello, Matt. And thank you for joining me today. Matt: Hey, Yuval, thanks so much for having me. It’s going to be fun. Yuval: So who are you and what do you [...]

Yuval Boger interviews mathematician Gil Kalai about his long-standing skepticism regarding scalable quantum computing. Kalai explains two main arguments behind his theory: correlated noise that may defeat quantum error correction and complexity-based limits on NISQ devices achieving quantum supremacy. They discuss experimental claims such as Google’s 2019 result, potential tests of Kalai’s conjectures, and the implications for the future of quantum research. The conversation also explores how Kalai hopes the community will evaluate bold claims and what scientific insights could emerge if quantum computing ultimately fails. Transcript Yuval Boger: Hello, Gil. Thank you for joining me today. Gil Kalai: Hi, hi, Yuval. Nice [...]

Diagram of a distance‑7 rotated surface code with 97 physical qubits (49 data qubits + 48 measurement qubits) modelled by the team. Grey nodes are data qubits; labeled circles are ancillas measuring X- or Z-type checks on neighboring data qubits. Edge colors encode the residual ZZ crosstalk strength (darker edges indicate stronger crosstalk).Credit: Quantum Elements and AWS A collaboration between Quantum Elements Inc., USC, Harvard, and AWS addresses a critical bottleneck: traditional classical simulations of Quantum Error Correction (QEC) are either too slow to be realistic or too simplified to capture the complex "noise" (errors) found in actual quantum hardware. By [...]

Comparison of logical quantum resources (number of logical qubits and Toffoli gates) required to break 256-bit ECDLP for the secp256k1 curve, as reported by various prior works. Credit: Google Quantum AI whitepaper. By Mohamed Abdel-Kareem Recent technical disclosures from Google Quantum AI and the newly emerged Oratomic have provided updated resource estimates for executing Shor’s algorithm against the secp256k1 elliptic curve. secp256k1 is a specialized cryptographic algorithm best known for powering Bitcoin’s public-key cryptography and digital signatures. These findings indicate a reduction in the physical and logical requirements for a Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computer (CRQC) to compromise the digital signature schemes [...]

Yuval Boger interviews Tom Darras, CEO and co-founder of Welinq. They discuss how quantum networking uses shared entanglement to interconnect quantum processors, enabling modular scale-out clusters and quantum-safe connectivity between data centers. Tom explains the technical building blocks—qubit-photon interfaces, optical networks, entangled photon sources, and especially quantum memories—as well as the performance metrics that matter most, like entanglement generation rate, fidelity, and memory lifetime. They also cover Welinq’s Arachne compiler for distributing circuits across multiple QPUs, why networking is becoming a consensus scaling strategy across modalities, and how “quantum-augmented data centers” are starting to become real initiatives. Transcript Yuval Boger: Hello Tom, [...]

Overview In this podcast, 2025 Nobel Prize winner John Martinis was recently interviewed at the 2026 APS March Meeting by GQI's own George Schwartz and Steve Lee from the PR firm San Francisco Agency. John discusses his foundational work in superconducting qubits and his current role as CTO of the startup Qolab. He explains Qolab’s vision to reach a million physical qubits by utilizing wafer-scale semiconductor manufacturing and "deposition and etch" techniques rather than traditional liftoff processes. Martinis highlights the importance of systems engineering and improved wiring solutions, such as moving from coaxial cables to integrated flex circuits, to make quantum [...]

By Dr. George Schwartz Silent Waves has launched its Zephyr product, a Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifier (TWPA) that physically integrates a microwave pump coupler directly into the amplifier architecture. This structural integration addresses a spatial limitation within the dilution refrigerator by eliminating the need for separate, bulky external directional couplers typically required in standard readout chains. While the company's previous Argo line focused on stable performance within the 4 to 8 GHz transmon band, the Zephyr specifically targets the footprint reductions necessary for scaling quantum architectures. Consistent with their standard manufacturing protocol, all Zephyr units undergo comprehensive cryogenic testing at 20 [...]