physics

PsiQuantum

PsiQuantum is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand PsiQuantum rather than just read about it. In short: PsiQuantum, Corp. is an American quantum computing company based in Palo Alto, California. It is developing utility-scale, fault tolerant quantum computers using silicon photonics.

Key takeaways

PsiQuantum belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect PsiQuantum to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of PsiQuantum from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

PsiQuantum, Corp. is an American quantum computing company based in Palo Alto, California. It is developing utility-scale, fault tolerant quantum computers using silicon photonics. The company has secured government partnerships to build their first systems in Australia and the United States.

History PsiQuantum was co-founded in 2016 by Jeremy O'Brien, Terry Rudolph, Peter Shadbolt, and Mark Thompson, quantum physicists who were professors or researchers at the University of Bristol and Imperial College London, England. The company’s approach to fault-tolerant quantum computing is based on leveraging photonic qubits and semiconductor manufacturing. In 2019, PsiQuantum announced a manufacturing partnership with GlobalFoundries to produce silicon photonic quantum devices in a commercial semiconductor foundry in upstate New York. In early 2021, researchers from PsiQuantum introduced Fusion-Based Quantum Computing (FBQC), a fault-tolerant quantum computing architecture based on entangling measurements and photonic qubits. The company has described FBQC as a key element of its approach to large-scale quantum computing. In 2022, PsiQuantum began transitioning production into GlobalFoundries' Fab 8 facility in New York. The same year, the company announced a partnership and $22.5 million contract with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) focused on photonic quantum technologies. In 2023, DARPA selected PsiQuantum to participate in its Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing (US2QC) program, a predecessor to the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. Later that year, the company opened an R&D facility at the Science and Technology Facilities Council's Daresbury Laboratory in the United Kingdom and partnered with the Hartree Centre on fault-tolerant quantum computing research. In January 2024, DARPA advanced PsiQuantum to the second phase of the QBI’s US2QC program, following an evaluation of the company's photonic quantum chips. In April 2024, the Australian Commonwealth and Queensland governments announced an investment package valued at A$940 million to support the company’s construction of a utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer in Queensland. Later that year, PsiQuantum announced plans to build and deploy a quantum computer at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park in Chicago. In 2025, DARPA advanced PsiQuantum to the final phase of the US2QC program within QBI, focused on evaluating system architecture, performance, use cases, and economic utility. The company also announced Omega, a silicon photonics chipset designed to integrate the photonic components required for large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computing. During the year, PsiQuantum raised a $1 billion Series E financing round, launched its Construct software platform for fault-tolerant quantum algorithm development, and broke ground on its site at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. In 2026, PsiQuantum announced that Moreton Bay Central in Queensland would become the site of its Australian quantum computing project. The company also signed a Letter of Intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $100 million in proposed incentives under the CHIPS and Science Act, and expanded access to its Construct software platform through a free and open-access release.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with PsiQuantum

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what PsiQuantum claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to PsiQuantum before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about PsiQuantum ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of PsiQuantum

In research: PsiQuantum appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses PsiQuantum in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: PsiQuantum is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2016 establishments in California, Companies involved in quantum computing, Computer companies established in 2016, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for PsiQuantum outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study PsiQuantum in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what PsiQuantum means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain PsiQuantum out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is PsiQuantum in simple terms?

PsiQuantum, Corp. is an American quantum computing company based in Palo Alto, California. It is developing utility-scale, fault tolerant quantum computers using silicon photonics.

Why does PsiQuantum matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study PsiQuantum?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on PsiQuantum.