What if you could take the most mysterious force in physicsâand make it useful?
In our final episode of this season of Wild Hearts, we sit down with Pete Shadbolt, co-founder of PsiQuantum, a company racing to build the worldâs first utility-scale quantum computer. But this isnât a conversation about quantum theory. Itâs about execution. Engineering. Scaling. Building something that moves humanity forward - not in decades, but now.
Pete shares why 300 or 3,000 qubits wonât cut it, and why a million is the magic number. We explore the technical marvels (and madness) involved in the teamâs journey: superconducting detectors millimetres from red-hot heaters, lasers brighter than a trillion photons, and a cryostat that throws out the chandelier model altogether.
But most of all, this is a story of ambition. Of leaving behind prestigious academic careers, raising a billion dollars, and assembling a team of physicists, welders, aerospace engineers, and cryo-specialists to take one shot at building something historic.
In this conversation, we cover:
đ Why PsiQuantum is chasing 1 million qubitsânot 300, not 3,000đď¸ What it takes to move quantum computing from theory to hardwareâwith welders, chip designers, and aerospace engineersÂ
đ Why academia can be a trapâand how PsiQuantum built an anti-academic company cultureÂ
đ The real-world applications of quantum computing: from designing drugs to revolutionising materials scienceÂ
đŠâđŹ How team DNA, not just tech, shapes PsiQuantumâs ability to scale and executeÂ
âď¸ Why quantum computing isnât a mass adoption tool - and why thatâs perfectly okay
đĽ How engineering targets that once caused mutiny are now being hit daily
This episode concludes our fifth season of Wild Hearts. Over the past 40 weeks, itâs been our honour to chat to the founders and operators shaping the world we live in. If youâve enjoyed the conversations, we would be grateful if you could like, subscribe, and share our program with other wild hearts.Â
