Beyond the Qubit

The nr1 Quantum Technology podcast for investors.

Beyond the Qubit is a business podcast hosted by Frank Dekker, with 85 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Frank Dekker hosts Beyond the Qubit, a business show with 85 episodes published.

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  Beyond the Qubit

  Can spin qubits turn semiconductor manufacturing into a quantum advantage?

  Oct 2, 202658 min

  The real spin-qubit question is not: Can you make one? It is: Can you control millions? In this episode, I explore my biggest takeaways from my Beyond the Qubit interview with James, CEO of Quantum Motion. Spin qubits have one of the most interesting scaling stories in quantum because they build on something the semiconductor industry already understands: CMOS manufacturing. But CMOS does not make quantum easy. It changes where the hard problem sits. Instead of removing complexity, spin qubits move the challenge toward control, tuning, automation, and manufacturing. A single electron spin can hold quantum information, but scaling that into a useful quantum computer means controlling millions of slightly different qubits with high precision. This episode is for investors, founders, and anyone trying to understand why semiconductor-style manufacturing could matter in quantum. Quantum Motion’s approach is built around making qubits fit the factory from day one. The question is not only whether spin qubits work. It is whether they can become manufactured systems. Density creates the opportunity. Control determines whether it becomes a computer. In this episode, we cover: Why spin qubits are attractive from a semiconductor perspective How CMOS manufacturing changes the quantum scaling challenge Why millions of qubits create a control problem Why manufacturing discipline matters for quantum computers How automation and scalable readout become critical Why Quantum Motion started with a 300mm CMOS approach Why density alone does not create a useful quantum computer What investors should watch in spin-qubit platforms Chapters 00:00 Why Quantum Motion and spin qubits matter 01:12 Why CMOS is the foundation of the strategy 03:18 Why semiconductor manufacturing creates an advantage 05:10 The challenge of manufacturing quantum devices 11:12 Why controlling millions of qubits is the real problem 12:17 Why scalable readout matters 17:34 Why yield and automation determine success 27:34 Why 300mm CMOS matters for quantum scaling 31:28 From individual qubits to scalable systems Share this episode with someone investing in or building in quantum, and subscribe or follow Beyond the Qubit for more conversations on quantum technology, markets, and investing. Disclaimer: This is not investment advice.This post is shared on a personal basis and I do not represent any company.

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  Beyond the Qubit

  When quantum technology works, the real problems begin

  Sep 25, 202646 min

  The quantum technology worked. Then the real problems started. In this episode, I continue my conversation with Ingrid Romijn from Falqon® Systems to explore what happens when deep tech moves from demonstration into real-world deployment. One of my biggest takeaways was that the hardest problems often appear after the technology works. For Falqon®, the challenge was no longer simply whether quantum key distribution works. The challenge became integration: how do you connect quantum security technology with existing infrastructure, telecom networks, fibre providers, and customer security systems? This episode is for investors, founders, and anyone trying to understand how deep-tech companies move from technology development to commercial adoption. Real customers create real constraints. Government deployments push reliability requirements. Telecom customers push deployability. Enterprise users demand visibility into performance and operations. That customer feedback loop is where companies mature. The strategic question is not only whether a technology works. It is: How quickly can each customer make the next deployment easier? In this episode, we cover: Why real-world deployment creates new bottlenecks after the technology works What Falqon® Systems learned from customer deployments How the Port of Rotterdam exposed integration challenges Why quantum security needs to work with existing infrastructure How customer requirements shaped the Quantum Domain Controller Why telecom customers care about deployability and operations Why early customers become part of the innovation engine How field experience can become a long-term competitive advantage Chapters 00:00 Why deployment creates new challenges 01:27 The Port of Rotterdam customer lesson 02:50 Integrating quantum keys into existing infrastructure 12:16 Learning from early customer deployments 15:13 Building the Quantum Domain Controller 31:13 What customers need to trust the system 34:00 Why customer feedback creates a competitive moat Share this episode with someone investing in or building in quantum, and subscribe or follow Beyond the Qubit for more conversations on quantum technology, markets, and investing. Disclaimer:This is not investment advice.This post is shared on a personal basis and I do not represent any company.

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  Beyond the Qubit

  Who Controls Europe’s Quantum Security Layer?

  Sep 24, 202639 min

  Europe is focused on which cryptography to use. But the bigger question may be: Who controls it? In this episode, I explore my biggest takeaways from my conversation with Ingrid Romijn of Falqon® Systems and why post-quantum security is not only a cryptography question. Moving from vulnerable cryptography to quantum-safe solutions does not automatically create technological sovereignty. The question is also who controls the implementation, key management, orchestration, and security infrastructure around it. This episode is for investors, founders, and anyone trying to understand the emerging quantum security market. Ingrid explains why the future may not be about choosing only one technology. A layered approach combining post-quantum cryptography, QKD where appropriate, and existing security infrastructure may become the more realistic path. That creates a new strategic layer: the control plane. As quantum security becomes more complex, the companies that can manage and orchestrate different technologies may become just as important as the companies building individual components. The investor question is not only: Who creates the cryptography? It is also: Who controls how the entire security stack works together? In this episode, we cover: Why quantum security is also a sovereignty question Why adopting post-quantum cryptography does not automatically remove dependencies How PQC, QKD, and existing cryptography can work together Why key management and orchestration could become strategic layers How Falqon® Systems is moving beyond QKD hardware Why control planes may become valuable in quantum security The role of European technology independence Where investors should look for value in the quantum security stack Chapters 00:00 Why quantum security is a sovereignty question 02:08 Why Europe matters in the quantum security landscape 04:28 Building infrastructure for quantum-safe communications 08:20 Why Falqon moved beyond QKD hardware 09:08 Combining QKD, PQC, and PKI 11:41 Why the control plane matters 18:13 The future of quantum key management 29:10 Why orchestration may become the strategic layer Share this episode with someone investing in or building in quantum, and subscribe or follow Beyond the Qubit for more conversations on quantum technology, markets, and investing. Disclaimer: This is not investment advice.This post is shared on a personal basis and I do not represent any company.

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  Beyond the Qubit

  Why transduction could become the control point of quantum networking

  Sep 11, 202638 min

  Transduction is “everybody’s problem and nobody’s problem.” That line from Vijoy Pandey, SVP/GM of Outshift by Cisco, stayed with me after Part 2 of my Beyond the Qubit interview because it points to one of the most important value layers in quantum. In this episode, I explore why connecting quantum computers may become just as important as building them. In classical networking, information can be inspected, routed, and forwarded. Quantum information is different. If you inspect the quantum state, you risk destroying the information you are trying to preserve. This episode is for investors, founders, and anyone trying to understand the infrastructure that quantum computing will need to scale. The challenge is not only building better qubits. It is creating the interfaces, switches, and protocols that allow different quantum systems to communicate. That is where transduction becomes strategically important. It is the translation layer between quantum computers and quantum networks. Without it, the industry risks creating isolated compute islands where every system speaks its own language. Cisco’s approach is interesting because it is not built around betting on one winning quantum modality. Instead, the focus is on building a network layer that can connect different architectures. If quantum becomes a distributed computing platform, the companies controlling the interfaces and connectivity layers could become important control points. In this episode, we cover: Why quantum networks cannot copy classical internet architecture Why transduction is the interface problem between quantum computers and networks How quantum switches differ from classical switches Why different quantum modalities create a connectivity challenge How Cisco’s universal quantum switch approaches translation between encodings Why ecosystem collaboration matters for quantum networking Why the network layer could become a valuable control point What investors should watch as quantum infrastructure develops Chapters 00:00 Why transduction matters in quantum networking 01:35 Why quantum needs a network layer 02:39 The NIC card analogy for quantum 03:24 Why transduction is harder than classical networking 04:51 Why quantum networks cannot inspect information 07:05 Building a universal quantum switch 08:45 Translating different quantum encodings 10:48 Why ecosystem collaboration matters 12:47 Keeping the network simple and complexity at the edge 14:48 Why transduction could become a strategic control point Share this episode with someone investing in or building in quantum, and subscribe or follow Beyond the Qubit for more conversations on quantum technology, markets, and investing. Disclaimer: This is not investment advice.This post is shared on a personal basis and I do not represent any company.

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  Beyond the Qubit

  Why quantum networks need a new architecture

  Sep 4, 202628 min

  The internet was built by reading packet headers. Quantum networks cannot do that. In this episode, I explore my biggest takeaways from Part 1 of my Beyond the Qubit interview with Vijoy Pandey, head of Outshift at Cisco. The key difference is simple but profound: classical networks scale by inspecting and forwarding information, while quantum networks have to preserve information they cannot directly inspect. This episode is for investors, founders, and anyone trying to understand what infrastructure quantum computing will need beyond the QPU itself. If quantum systems are going to scale beyond isolated machines, they will need a network layer that can connect processors, sensors, and resources while preserving fragile quantum states. Cisco’s approach is interesting because the company is not trying to build the quantum computer itself. It is exploring the networking layer around quantum systems, using photonics, telecom frequencies, room-temperature components, and existing fiber infrastructure. The goal is not to recreate the classical internet, but to build the architecture needed for quantum scale. The strategic question is not only who builds the best qubits. It is also: Who builds the network that connects them? In this episode, we cover: Why quantum networks cannot simply copy classical internet architecture Why quantum information cannot be inspected like classical packets How quantum switches and entanglement sources could enable scaling Why networking between QPUs may become a major bottleneck Why Cisco is focusing on the infrastructure layer around quantum computers How photonics and existing fiber infrastructure could improve deployability Why quantum networks may also connect sensors and shared resources What investors should watch in the quantum networking stack Chapters 00:00 Why Cisco is exploring quantum networking 00:50 Why quantum needs a network layer 03:22 Quantum clusters and the need for connectivity 04:47 What quantum networking actually means 05:23 The quantum switch challenge 08:01 Why classical networking cannot be copied 10:03 Why quantum networks cannot inspect information 12:29 Building networks without destroying quantum states 14:42 Why Cisco focuses on photonics and fiber 17:39 Connecting quantum computers and sensors 27:14 The current state of quantum networking Share this episode with someone investing in or building in quantum, and subscribe or follow Beyond the Qubit for more conversations on quantum technology, markets, and investing. Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. This post is shared on a personal basis and I do not represent any company.

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