Cambridge, UK, 11 March, 2025: Nu Quantum, the quantum entanglement startup, has been announced as a leader of one of Innovate UK’s Quantum Missions Pilot: Quantum Computing and Quantum Networks projects. Project HyperIon aims to accelerate the timeline to scaling quantum computers to utility size by demonstrating the performance of Nu Quantum’s Qubit-Photon Interface (QPI) technology, crucial for connecting nodes into a distributed quantum computer. The project will deliver a full system-level demonstrator of a first-of-its-kind QPI prototype for trapped ion qubits with a clear path towards integration with commercial Quantum Processing Units (QPUs) and robust foundry-compatible mass production.
Led by Nu Quantum, the project partners are the University of Sussex ITCM research group providing expertise in ion-photon interfaces, Cisco providing independent end-user input and commercial exploitation support, and Infineon Technologies applying its expertise in high-volume processing technologies and the development of ion trap hardware to leverage scalable quantum processing units.
Quantum computing is moving to modular architectures to accelerate the path towards data centre-scale computing machines capable of tackling the world’s most urgent problems, from climate change to discovering new molecules to cure diseases. Project Hyperion directly tackles one of the most critical components of such a distributed quantum computer: the need for a highly efficient interface between qubits inside each computing core and the wider light-based quantum networking infrastructure. The project aims to deliver significant improvements over current state-of-the-art demonstration of this core technology in several domains:
Dr. Carmen Palacios-Berraquero, founder and CEO at Nu Quantum, said: “This is a big step forward in scaling our Qubit-Photon Interface to help scale the whole quantum industry, and bringing us closer to tangible benefits from quantum computing. We appreciate the support of Innovate UK and our partners in making this a reality."
Prof. Matthas Keller, Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Sussex said: “This project is a fantastic opportunity to deepen our collaboration with Nu Quantum, to develop a high-performance quantum processor, that enables scalable quantum computers. We’re delighted that this partnership will demonstrate the commercial potential of our ion-trap technology, which builds on our research at the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies.”
Stephan Schächer, responsible for business and marketing of ion trap systems at Infineon, said: “We’re thrilled to engage in this collaboration with the dynamic team at Nu Quantum. Our partnership will enable integrated QPIs for Infineon’s QPUs, pave a path towards communication between QPUs and therefore accelerate the path towards utility-scale quantum computing.”
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About Nu Quantum
Nu Quantum is creating the Entanglement Fabric for quantum computing scale-out. Quantum computing can solve some of the world’s biggest problems, but these applications require systems that are thousands of times more powerful than those available today. Our networking architecture will unlock data centre-scale quantum computing by weaving together quantum processors to accelerate the path to fault-tolerance and transformational utility. Founded in 2018, Nu Quantum is a spin-out of the University of Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory. In November 2023, the company raised a £8.5M pre-series A round from main investors Amadeus Capital Partners, Expeditions Fund, and IQ Capital. For more information, visit nu-quantum.com.
About the University of Sussex
For over 60 years the aim of our courses, research, culture and campus has been to stimulate, excite and challenge. So from scientific discovery to global policy, from student welfare to career development, the University of Sussex innovates and takes a lead. Today, in every part of society and across the world, you will find someone from the University of Sussex making an original and valuable contribution. As one of its Centres of Excellence, the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies is a world-leader in harnessing and exploiting quantum physics research in order to create transformational commercial products with the potential to change the way we live and work.
