Sourcery EXCLUSIVE: Quantum’s SpaceX Moment? Ashlee Vance on PsiQuantum’s Moonshot
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Sep 11, 2025 
Join Ashlee Vance, Silicon Valley's Science Expert and creator of Core Memory, as he reconnects with his skepticism about quantum computing after visiting PsiQuantum's labs. He chats with Pete Shadbolt, Co-Founder and CSO, who shares his motto, 'always be impressive'. They discuss PsiQuantum's ambitious goal of achieving one million qubits, drawing intriguing parallels to SpaceX’s challenges. The conversation highlights the necessity of a unified mission in tech innovation and reveals why this moment might shift the narrative for quantum technology.
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Quantum Has Moved From Labs To Startups
- Quantum moved from rare lab achievements to many groups being able to make qubits, signaling maturation.
- Different hardware approaches proliferate, creating confusion despite real progress.
PsiQuantum’s Scale-First Bet
- PsiQuantum bets on massive scale: a million qubits to enable practical, error-corrected machines.
- If PsiQuantum executes, its machine could be far larger and more useful than competitors'.
Lab Tour Felt Like Old-School Hard Tech
- Touring PsiQuantum impressed Ashlee with the scale and industrial feel of their prototype machines.
- He compared the work to classic Silicon Valley hard-tech efforts at the edge of research and productization.