Different types of quantum computers cannot talk to each other. We will change that. We build quantum networks to connect quantum computers, accelerating the progress of quantum computing.
Think of the internet, connecting many computers and transmitting information. A quantum network (sometimes called quantum internet) connects quantum computers and transmits quantum information. This quantum information is harder to send, store and receive, which is why special hardware is needed. We build this special hardware.
Great question! Quantum networks not only connect quantum computers, but enable many new communication protocols. You can implement secure encryption, protected not by complexity (what we have today) but by the laws of quantum physics. While you can do such quantum communication links directly, long distances or many users require a full quantum network.
Given the progress of quantum computing, many classical encryption schemes (e.g. RSA) will be endangered, rendering hardware-based quantum-secure systems even more important. Despite the development of post-quantum secure classical algorithms, full security can only be guaranteed by combining them with completely secure hardware-based protocols. This ensures protection against novel quantum algorithms, advances in classical hacking strategies and harvest-now-decrypt later strategies.
Our hardware works at room temperature which is different from many competitors. Our entangled photon sources are also narrow-band, making them perfectly compatible with our quantum memories. The monolithic cavity approach makes the devices robust and easy to deploy, while the ability to choose between time-bin and polarisation entanglement gives flexibility. We can create many wavelength combinations both in the pair sources and in the frequency converters and have already shipped several devices yielding valuable customer feedback.