The Quantum Computing Podcast with Fexingo: Qubits, Quantum Hardware, and Future Computing

Lucas and Luna explore how quantum computers are transforming materials science, focusing on a concrete example: the search for better superconductors. Lucas explains a recent simulation of a high-temperature superconductor's electron behavior performed on a 50-qubit IBM processor, reducing computation time from an estimated 100,000 hours on a classical supercomputer to just 12 hours. They discuss...

In this episode of The Quantum Computing Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into one of the most practical near-term applications of quantum computing: optimizing renewable energy grids. They explore how quantum algorithms can solve the unit commitment problem—balancing supply and demand across thousands of power sources in real time. The conversation centers on a recent proof-of-concept from a European...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how quantum computers are beginning to tackle one of finance's hardest problems: risk forecasting. They focus on a 2025 proof-of-concept by JPMorgan Chase that used a 127-qubit IBM processor to simulate portfolio value-at-risk calculations faster than classical Monte Carlo methods. The hosts break down why this matters for real trading desks, how quantum amp...

Episode 101 explores how quantum machine learning is being used to screen molecular candidates in early-stage drug discovery. Lucas and Luna break down a concrete example: how researchers at a pharmaceutical company recently used a quantum-classical hybrid model to reduce the time needed to identify promising drug-like molecules from months to weeks. They discuss the specific algorithm — a variati...

In episode 100 of The Quantum Computing Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how quantum algorithms are beginning to challenge classical financial models that have stood for decades. They focus on a specific case: the use of quantum Monte Carlo methods for portfolio optimization at JPMorgan Chase's quantum research lab. Lucas explains why quantum computers could price complex derivatives and simulate r...

In episode 99 of The Quantum Computing Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how quantum computers are starting to reshape financial modeling. They focus on a concrete case: quantum Monte Carlo simulations for portfolio risk analysis. Lucas explains why classical Monte Carlo becomes computationally prohibitive for large portfolios, and how quantum algorithms promise a quadratic speedup. Luna brings in J...

Lucas and Luna explore how quantum computing is beginning to tackle one of science's grandest challenges: mapping the human brain's connectome. They focus on a specific 2025 study from the Allen Institute in Seattle, where researchers used a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm to trace neural pathways in a mouse visual cortex sample—a task that would have taken classical supercomputers over 40,000...

In this episode of The Quantum Computing Podcast, hosts Lucas and Luna dive into how quantum simulations are transforming carbon capture research. They focus on a specific breakthrough: using quantum computers to simulate the chemical behavior of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) at a level of detail classical supercomputers can't reach. Lucas explains how MOFs act like molecular sponges for CO2 and...

Today's episode dives into how quantum computers are beginning to model gene regulatory networks — the complex circuits inside cells that turn genes on and off. Lucas and Luna discuss a specific 2025 preprint from researchers at the University of Chicago and IBM Quantum, where a 127-qubit processor simulated a five-gene toggle switch circuit — a task that would require a classical supercomputer to...

In this episode of The Quantum Computing Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into how quantum computers are beginning to tackle one of biology's hardest problems: protein folding. They focus on a specific 2026 collaboration between a quantum startup and a pharmaceutical company that used a 1000-qubit quantum processor to simulate a small protein domain — something that would take classical supercomputers...

Lucas and Luna explore the recent milestone where logical qubits broke the error-correction threshold, focusing on Google's demonstration of a surface code with error rates below the break-even point. They discuss what this means for near-term quantum computers, how error correction scales with qubit count, and why 2026 is the year hardware finally caught up to theory. No hype, just the numbers: f...

Lucas and Luna explore how quantum computing is being used to optimize agricultural crop breeding and nitrogen fixation. They discuss a specific collaboration between D-Wave Systems and a European agricultural research consortium, where quantum annealing helped identify optimal gene combinations for drought-resistant wheat. The hosts explain the difference between classical genetic algorithms and...

Lucas and Luna explore how quantum computing is transforming aerospace engineering, specifically in computational fluid dynamics for aircraft design. They discuss a recent benchmark where a quantum algorithm simulated airflow over a wing with 15% less drag than classical methods, cutting simulation time from weeks to hours. The hosts unpack why this matters for next-generation aircraft efficiency,...

Episode 91 of The Quantum Computing Podcast explores how quantum computers are being used to design more efficient nuclear fusion reactors. Lucas and Luna examine a specific case from a collaboration between Commonwealth Fusion Systems and a quantum computing startup, discussing how quantum simulations of plasma turbulence could reduce the size and cost of fusion reactors. They explain why classic...

In this episode of The Quantum Computing Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into the looming threat quantum computers pose to today's encryption standards—and the race to build quantum-safe cryptography. They unpack a recent NIST report on post-quantum cryptography standards, explain why RSA and ECC are vulnerable, and discuss concrete timelines: when experts like Michele Mosca and the Global Risk Insti...

Most of the world's fertilizer is made via the Haber-Bosch process, a century-old method that consumes roughly 2 percent of global energy and emits over 400 million tons of CO₂ each year. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how quantum computing is being used to design a better catalyst for ammonia synthesis — one that could run at lower temperatures and pressures, slashing energy use and emis...

In this episode of The Quantum Computing Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how quantum algorithms are beginning to solve real-world logistics optimization problems that classical computers can't crack. They focus on a specific case: DHL's pilot program using quantum annealing to reroute delivery fleets during peak hours, which cut fuel costs by 12 percent in a 2025 trial run. The hosts break down wh...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how quantum computing is beginning to tackle one of the most complex real-world optimization problems: global supply chain logistics. They focus on a concrete example from the automotive industry, where a major manufacturer recently ran a pilot using a quantum annealer to reroute shipments after a port closure. The episode breaks down why classical algorithm...

Episode 86 explores how quantum computers are simulating catalytic reactions that classical computers can't crack — and why that matters for everything from fertilizer production to carbon capture. Lucas and Luna break down a recent experiment where a quantum processor modeled the active site of a nitrogen-fixing enzyme with 94 percent fidelity, a step toward making the Haber-Bosch process more ef...

In this episode of The Quantum Computing Podcast with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how quantum computers are accelerating drug repurposing — finding new uses for existing drugs. They dive into a specific case: researchers at a leading pharmaceutical company used a quantum algorithm to identify a common diabetes drug as a potential treatment for a rare liver disease, cutting a process that typic...

In this episode of The Quantum Computing Podcast with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how quantum simulations are reshaping battery chemistry for next-generation energy storage. They focus on Toyota Research Institute's collaboration with D-Wave Systems to simulate lithium-air reactions, a breakthrough that could lead to batteries with five times the energy density of today's lithium-ion cells. Th...

In this episode of The Quantum Computing Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into how quantum computers are accelerating materials discovery by simulating atomic interactions that classical computers cannot handle. Lucas explains recent breakthroughs in modeling high-temperature superconductors and battery electrolytes using hybrid quantum-classical algorithms on current noisy hardware. Luna highlights a...

Episode 82 of The Quantum Computing Podcast explores how quantum computers are being used to protect the electrical grid from cyberattacks. Lucas and Luna break down a specific case: the Department of Energy's partnership with leading quantum labs to develop post-quantum cryptography and real-time anomaly detection for grid infrastructure. They explain how Shor's algorithm threatens current encryp...

Episode 81 of The Quantum Computing Podcast explores how quantum sensors — devices that exploit entanglement and superposition to measure magnetic fields, gravity, and time — are moving from lab curiosities to real-world tools. Lucas and Luna discuss a specific case: a startup using nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond to detect minute magnetic anomalies in brain tissue, potentially enabling non-in...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore why the standard surface code approach to quantum error correction may not be enough for practical fault-tolerant quantum computing. They examine the rise of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes adapted for qubits, the breakthrough work by researchers at the University of Sydney and IBM, and the concrete trade-off between qubit overhead and code distance. T...