Navigating the Intersection of AI and Quantum Computing

Pete Shadbolt, Chief Scientific Officer & Co-Founder of PsiQuantum, unpacks the company’s landmark $1 billion Series E, bringing total funding to nearly $2 billion & valuing the company at $7 billion. Backed by BlackRock, Temasek, Baillie Gifford, and Nvidia’s venture arm, PsiQuantum is doubling down on its radical bet: you need 1 million qubits to unlock useful quantum computing.

Shadbolt explains why PsiQuantum rejected incrementalism, how the partnership with Nvidia and Jensen Huang strengthens the roadmap, and why quantum is positioned as the next wave of compute alongside AI and semiconductors. From photonic chip breakthroughs to government partnerships in Australia and Illinois, this is a rare inside look at the company leading the race to build the world’s first fault-tolerant quantum computers.

Previous lead investors include: Playground Global and Redpoint led the Series A in 2016, Founders Fund led the Series B in 2017, Atomico and M12 led the Series C in 2019, and BlackRock led the Series D in 2021.

5 Key Takeaways

• PsiQuantum closed a $1B Series E, bringing total funding to nearly $2B

• Investors include BlackRock, Temasek, Baillie Gifford, Macquarie, Nvidia (NVentures), Ribbit Capital, QIA,1789 Capital & more

• PsiQuantum is committed to an “N of 1 Million Qubits” strategy—skipping demos to build at scale

• Nvidia and Jensen Huang are strategic partners, collaborating on GPU-QPU integration, algorithms, and photonics

• PsiQuantum’s valuation hit $7B, making it the most well-funded quantum company in the world

1. Pete Shadbolt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-shadbolt-4b7541126/

2. Molly O’Shea: ⁠https://x.com/MollySOShea⁠

3. Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryvc⁠

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(00:00:00) Intro and Recent Funding

(00:02:29) Building PsiQuantum: From UK to Silicon Valley

(00:03:55) Investment Strategy and Deep Tech Focus

(00:05:35) PsiQuantum's Differentiation: Going Big from Day One

(00:07:03) Rejecting Incrementalism for Large-Scale Vision

(00:09:13) The Rocket Engine Analogy

(00:10:59) Timeline Debates and NVIDIA Partnership

(00:15:36) Global Manufacturing and Facilities

(00:20:21) Path to Becoming a Trillion Dollar Company

(00:23:32) Revenue Model and Commercialization Strategy

(00:27:53) Working with Global Foundries

(00:31:27) Quantum Computing's Role in Semiconductor Industry

(00:38:28) Public Trust and Government Validation

(00:45:49) The Reality of Quantum Computing Valuations

(00:53:12) Zero to One Technology Approach

(01:00:19) Global Facilities and Infrastructure

(01:09:03) Reindustrialization and Strategic Importance

(01:34:02) Personal Journey and Vision

(01:44:23) Timeline for Useful Quantum Computing

(01:53:54) Looking Ahead: Next Steps and Future Vision