Photonic Inc.: Building a quantum internet with silicon vacancy qubits

Photonic Inc. recently achieved a world-first quantum teleportation demonstration with TELUS, spanning 30km over commercial fibre, marking a significant step for quantum secure networks.

What Photonic Inc. does

Photonic Inc. develops quantum networking hardware, specifically targeting a scalable quantum internet. Their core technology centres on T centres, which are silicon colour centres in a silicon substrate. This allows them to implement an ‘Entanglement First™ Architecture’, which is built on optically linked silicon spin qubits based on T-center defects in silicon, prioritising the generation and distribution of entanglement between quantum nodes. This approach is designed to enable advanced secure communication and facilitate distributed quantum computing capabilities across a network. The challenge lies in creating stable, high-fidelity quantum emitters and efficiently coupling them to optical fibres, a complex task that Photonic Inc. is addressing head-on.

Why it matters

The work at Photonic Inc. matters because it directly addresses the foundational challenge of scaling quantum systems beyond single-device operations. The recent demonstration with TELUS, achieving quantum teleportation over 30km of existing PureFibre network, proves that their technology can operate on commercial infrastructure. This is not merely a proof-of-concept; it moves quantum networking closer to practical application, particularly for quantum-safe protocols, secure communication, and potentially for linking future quantum processors. It signals a tangible path from theoretical quantum advantage to deployable network components, showing that quantum communication can integrate with existing telecoms infrastructure.

What it takes to build

Building Photonic Inc.’s quantum networking hardware demands a rare blend of deep technical expertise. It requires specialists in quantum physics, particularly those with experience in solid-state spin systems and silicon material science, given their use of T centres. Photonics engineers are crucial for integrating these quantum emitters with optical fibre networks, alongside experts in cryogenics to maintain the necessary operating environments. Control systems engineers and network architects are also vital for managing the quantum state and classical network interfaces. This combination of skills is scarce; moving from fundamental quantum research to engineering deployable network components is a significant leap.

Quantum People‘s career-mobility dataset records 60 tracked moves involving Photonic Inc., with 57 inbound. Many of these joiners arrive from deep-tech and research organisations such as Ultrafast Quantum Dynamics Group – Philipps-University Marburg, Interuniversity Microelectronics Center (IMEC), Universiteit Leiden, and Technische Universiteit Delft. This talent flow underscores the company’s need for highly specialised academic and research expertise to translate complex theoretical physics into practical hardware. It highlights a common pattern: foundational quantum hardware firms must often recruit directly from academic pipelines, as the specific blend of skills required is not yet widespread in industry.

The QP read

Photonic Inc.’s progress, particularly the 30km teleportation demonstration, signals a shift in quantum security and networking from pure theoretical exploration to engineering implementation. However, the contrarian view remains relevant: while technically impressive, a truly commercial-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer remains in active development. This indicates that widespread deployment of a full quantum internet remains a future milestone, not an immediate reality.

The significant inbound talent flow, tracked by Quantum People, from leading research institutions highlights intense competition for foundational quantum engineering skills. It shows that companies like Photonic Inc. are successfully attracting high-calibre academic talent, but also that they are actively building their teams from the ground up, rather than drawing from a mature industry pool. This pattern suggests that firms building genuinely novel hardware must cultivate talent directly from academic pipelines, as the requisite expertise often originates in advanced research. The race for quantum networking will be won by those who can bridge the gap between quantum science and reliable network engineering.

Frequently asked questions

What is Photonic Inc.’s core technology?

Photonic Inc. uses T centres, which are silicon colour centres in a silicon substrate, as its foundational quantum technology. This approach forms the basis of their ‘Entanglement First™ Architecture’ for quantum networking.

What is the ‘Entanglement First™ Architecture’?

The ‘Entanglement First™ Architecture’ is Photonic Inc.’s strategy for building a scalable quantum internet. It is built on optically linked silicon spin qubits based on T-center defects in silicon, and it prioritises the generation and distribution of quantum entanglement between network nodes to enable secure communication and distributed computing.

What was the significance of the TELUS demonstration?

The demonstration with TELUS achieved a world-first quantum teleportation over 30km of existing commercial fibre. This validated the practical application of Photonic Inc.’s quantum networking technology on real-world infrastructure.