Summer 2026
System Architecture Intern
PsiQuantum
501-1,000 employees
Utility-scale fault-tolerant photonic quantum computers
Compensation Overview
$27.50 - $47/hr
Remote in USA + 3 more
More locations: Palo Alto, CA, USA | Bristol, UK | Warrington, UK
Hybrid
Remote option available; on-site in Palo Alto or Bristol.
 Hardware Engineering (1) |
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- Degree in Physics, Math, Computer Science, Engineering or equivalent.
- Currently studying or recently finished a postgraduate degree (PhD preferred).
- Experience in programming in Python, C++, Julia or similar languages.
- Ability to communicate effectively and work closely with others.
- Contribute to ongoing optical architecture technical projects. For example: Writing prototype software implementations for controlling and simulating the optical networks inside photonic quantum computers.
- Applying results from quantum information theory, network design and/or optimization to improve optical architecture designs.
- Development and discovery of new approaches to photonic quantum computing.
- Simulate and benchmark different protocols.
- Document and communicate results.
- Knowledge of quantum optics, photonic hardware, switch network design, optimization, graph theory.
- Competent use of collaborative software development tools (e.g., GitHub) is desirable.
PsiQuantum builds utility-scale quantum computers that use photons as qubits and a semiconductor-compatible Omega chipset. The Omega platform combines single-photon sources, superconducting detectors, and optical switches to enable scalable chip-to-chip interconnects and high-fidelity quantum operations. It differentiates itself by using manufacturable semiconductor processes, pursuing large-scale integration, and exploring fault-tolerant approaches like fusion-based quantum computation (FBQC) with collaborations with government and research institutions. The goal is to deliver a scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computer capable of solving real-world problems in chemistry, materials science, optimization, and cryptography beyond what classical computers can handle.
Company Size
501-1,000
Company Stage
Growth Equity (Non-Venture Capital)
Total Funding
$2.9B
Headquarters
Palo Alto, California
Founded
2015
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- A $1B Series E round in September 2025 by BlackRock and Temasek funds scaling.
- Australian and U.S. governments provide $940M AUD and $100M CHIPS Act funding support.
- Partnerships with Mercedes and Airbus develop quantum software for battery design and aerodynamics.
What critics are saying
- Operational delay to 2029 after relocating from Brisbane Airport to Moreton Bay erodes timeline confidence.
- Photon loss remains unresolvable at million-qubit scale, potentially collapsing the core photonic thesis.
- Linde Engineering's cryoplant may delay past H2 2027, stalling cabinet cooling and site functionality.
What makes PsiQuantum unique
- PsiQuantum uses photonic qubits on silicon chips manufactured in standard GlobalFoundries fabs.
- It pursues a million-qubit fault-tolerant system immediately, skipping noisy intermediate prototypes.
- Its fusion-based quantum computation (FBQC) enables error correction via measurement-based cluster states.
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↑ 2%PsiQuantum aims to build a massive quantum computer using particles of light. PsiQuantum is developing a large-scale quantum computer that uses photons, or particles of light, to perform calculations far beyond the reach of today's supercomputers. The ambitious design features a data-center-sized facility housing approximately 100 stainless-steel cabinets cooled to near absolute zero using specialized liquid helium systems. By leveraging existing silicon-photonics manufacturing and custom-made crystals, the company hopes to be the first to deliver a fault-tolerant machine capable of revolutionizing medicine and materials science. A unique approach to quantum bits. While competitors like Google and IBM use superconducting circuits, PsiQuantum utilizes photons as qubits, the basic units of quantum information. Photons are attractive because they can maintain quantum states for long periods, but they are difficult to control because they rarely interact with one another. To overcome this, the company uses a complex network of beam splitters and detectors to "fake" interactions, a method that allows light particles to perform the logic gates necessary for computation. Industrial scale and manufacturing. The company is moving away from small laboratory prototypes toward an industrial-scale machine featuring one million qubits. To achieve this, PsiQuantum has vertically integrated its supply chain, even manufacturing its own barium-titanate crystals to precisely route light with minimal power. This strategy allows them to use existing semiconductor factories, such as GlobalFoundries, to mass-produce the hundreds of silicon-photonic chips required for their massive "cabinets" of hardware. Global infrastructure and timelines. PsiQuantum has secured over $1 billion in funding and is currently constructing major facilities in Chicago and Australia. The Australian site is expected to be "hardware-ready" by 2027, though the company remains cautious about committing to a specific date for a fully functional, million-qubit machine. This infrastructure is essential because the photonic approach requires massive cooling systems to maintain the single-photon detectors at temperatures colder than deep space. Solving the world's hardest problems. The ultimate goal is to run algorithms that can simulate physics and chemistry with perfect accuracy, a task impossible for classical computers that rely on approximations. For example, the company aims to reduce the time it takes to predict drug interactions from ten years to just four minutes. Partnerships with companies like Mercedes and Airbus are already underway to develop software for battery design and aerodynamics, ensuring that the "games" are ready before the "console" is finished.
Brisbane Airport out, Moreton Bay in: PsiQuantum picks new site for its $940m quantum computer build. PsiQuantum has shifted its $940 million federally-backed Brisbane quantum computer build from the airport precinct to Moreton Bay's old Petrie paper mill, with groundbreaking now slated for June. The Palo Alto-based startup announced today that its world-first utility-scale quantum computer will be anchored at Moreton Bay Central, on the site of the former Petrie Paper Mill north of Brisbane. Early site works are due in the coming weeks, ahead of a formal groundbreaking in June. "PsiQuantum's mission to build the world's first utility-scale quantum computer requires speed, agility, and strong partnerships," said Victor Peng, PsiQuantum's interim CEO - and a former AMD president who took over from co-founder Jeremy O'Brien in February. "City of Moreton Bay provides the infrastructure, scalability, and collaborative environment we need to deliver." Get the best of Startup Daily straight to your inbox. * indicates required It's Peng's first major Australian announcement since taking the chair. Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery called the deal "a significant opportunity for economic growth, not just for our city but for Queensland". The project, he added, "will help drive highly skilled jobs, attract new industry, and strengthen Queensland's position in advanced manufacturing and future technologies". The original aggressive plan announced in 2024 called for the Brisbane site to be operational by the end of 2027. But as of earlier this year, consultation on the draft development plan for the airport site still hadn't begun. New home for controversial project. The new Moreton Bay Central site sits inside a precinct already slated to host events at the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games. It's also home to the University of the Sunshine Coast's Moreton Bay Campus and a future TAFE Centre of Excellence for advanced manufacturing. The new site is "equipped to support large-scale industrial operations", according to PsiQuantum, and has the power and utility infrastructure needed for the cryogenically-cooled quantum build. The $940 million federal-Queensland package signed in April 2024 - $470 million from Canberra and the balance from the Queensland government, in a mix of equity, grants and loans - has not been without controversy. Advisory firm McGrathNicol was contracted last year to deliver a "lessons learned" review after Senate documents revealed the federal industry department had originally recommended against using the National Reconstruction Fund to bankroll it. Robert Lindwall, PsiQuantum's head of Australian operations, said the company "greatly appreciates the professionalism and cooperation of the Brisbane Airport team during this process". Separately, PsiQuantum will open a Test and Validation Lab at Griffith University's Nathan campus next week. Since the Series E round in September last year, which took PsiQuantum to a A$10.5 billion valuation, the company's US institutional backers led by BlackRock have a sizeable interest in PsiQuantum eventually building something.
Nvidia makes a major push for quantum computing. * March 25, 2026 Nvidia is the king of artificial intelligence, but staying stuck in one tech trend is not a smart move. GenesisEdge AI Holdings INC has seen the company pivot from gaming to crypto and from crypto to AI. Predicting the next big trend is key to its success, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has consistently demonstrated his ability to do so. The moves Nvidia has been making signal that the next trend will be quantum computing, as its venture capital arm, NVentures, has started investing in quantum computing companies. NVentures invested in Honeywell's (HON) quantum computing unit, Quantinuum, in September; in QuEra in February; and in PsiQuantum in September. Investing isn't enough, and Nvidia has teamed up with researchers from supercomputing centers at national laboratories including Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermi Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), Los Alamos National Laboratory, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories to design new tech that will speed up development of quantum computers. Nvidia unveils NVQLink at GTC. At the GTC conference in Washington, D.C., Nvidia (NVDA) launched NVQLink, a new open architecture that integrates Quantum Processing Units (QPUs) with classical GPUs. The platform provides an open approach to quantum integration, supporting 17 QPU builders, five controller builders, and nine U.S. national labs. Quantum computers are prone to errors and require quantum error correction and other control algorithms to operate correctly. Error correction algorithms can be implemented on specialized hardware, such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). For example, IBM is using AMD's FPGAs to run its error correction algorithm. More Nvidia: * IonQ CEO just threw a curveball at Nvidia * Why Nvidia's Vera Rubin may unleash another AI wave * Nvidia just scored a massive AI win, but CEO Huang has regrets Ideally, these error correction algorithms should be run on a supercomputer. However, to accomplish that, GenesisEdge AI Holdings INC would need an extremely low-latency, high-throughput connection from a quantum computer to a conventional supercomputer. That badly needed interconnect is exactly what NVQLink provides, and this breakthrough has the potential to significantly shorten the time required for the development of useful quantum computers. "In the near future, every NVIDIA GPU scientific supercomputer will be hybrid, tightly coupled with quantum processors to expand what is possible with computing," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. "NVQLink is the Rosetta Stone connecting quantum and classical supercomputers - uniting them into a single, coherent system that marks the onset of the quantum-GPU computing era." Companies that contributed to NVQLink creation. Quantum hardware builders: * Alice & Bob * Anyon Computing * Atom Computing * Diraq * Infleqtion * IonQ * IQM Quantum Computers * ORCA Computing * Oxford Quantum Circuits * Pasqal * Quandela * Quantinuum * Quantum Circuits, Inc. * Quantum Machines ... (content continues)...
PsiQuantum and National Cancer Center Japan partner on quantum computing. PsiQuantum will work with the National Cancer Center Japan to develop fault-tolerant algorithms and quantum applications. PsiQuantum and the National Cancer Center Japan have entered a collaborative research agreement to drive advancements in utility-scale quantum computing within drug discovery and oncology. The partnership aims to investigate ways to implement quantum computing solutions throughout the healthcare value chain, with a focus on resource allocation, research and development, and patient outcomes in cancer care. Within this collaboration, PsiQuantum will work with the National Cancer Center Japan to further fault-tolerant quantum algorithm development, as well as jointly develop clinically relevant quantum applications. The initiative also involves other pharmaceutical companies in Japan. PsiQuantum's software suite, Construct, will be used during the partnership. Construct is a secure platform built for designing, analysing, and optimising algorithms for fault-tolerant quantum computing. Utility-scale quantum computers are expected to enable chemically accurate molecular simulations with greater efficiency. This advancement could accelerate drug discovery processes, reduce research costs, and address real-world healthcare challenges. GlobalData Strategic Intelligence US tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate? Don't let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis. By GlobalData PsiQuantum quantum applications vice-president Sam Pallister said: "PsiQuantum is proud to work alongside the National Cancer Center Japan as Pharmaceutical Technology explore what utility-scale quantum computing will be able to deliver in designing new treatments for the benefit of researchers and patients. "Once deployed, utility-scale quantum computers will accelerate research and development that transforms how we develop new medicines - and partnerships like these are critical for making sure providers are equipped to take full advantage of this technology." National Cancer Center Hospital East's global oncology director Dr Takayuki Yoshino said: "Pharmaceutical Technology is thrilled to partner with PsiQuantum on leveraging quantum computing technology to address some of the most pressing challenges in healthcare. "Together, our teams are poised to conduct innovative research and unlock new solutions at the intersection of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and quantum computing."
OGBC Group, a Singapore-based innovation hub and investment firm, has completed a Series C preferred equity investment in PsiQuantum, a quantum computing company developing utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum systems. The investment was made through the OGBC Premier PQ Fund. OGBC joins institutional backers including the Australian Federal and Queensland Governments, NVIDIA (via NVentures), Temasek, BlackRock and Baillie Gifford. Managing Partner Jayden Wei said the investment reflects conviction that quantum computing will become foundational infrastructure for global computation. PsiQuantum differentiates itself by leveraging existing semiconductor manufacturing to build a million-qubit, fault-tolerant system, focusing on scalability from inception. The approach aims to deliver commercially viable quantum advantage and move the technology from experimental laboratories to real-world industrial applications.