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

Episode 54 of The Quantum Computing Podcast explores how quantum algorithms are beginning to tackle one of the most frustrating urban problems: traffic congestion. Lucas and Luna examine a pilot project in a mid-sized European city where a quantum solver re-routes emergency vehicles and buses in real time. They unpack the specific combinatorial optimization challenge — the 'vehicle routing problem...

In episode 53 of The Quantum Computing Podcast with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore a breakthrough that's quietly shifting quantum computing from theoretical promise toward practical reality: error correction that actually works at scale. We dive into Google's recent demonstration of a logical qubit with error rates below the surface-code threshold—a milestone that many researchers thought was yea...

Episode 52 of The Quantum Computing Podcast with Fexingo dives into how quantum computers are already being used to simulate molecular interactions that classical supercomputers can't handle. Lucas and Luna break down a specific case: in early 2026, a team at a major pharmaceutical company used a 127-qubit IBM system to model a protein-ligand binding pathway for an oncology target, reducing a simu...

Episode 51 of The Quantum Computing Podcast dives into the race to build the first error-corrected logical qubit that outperforms physical qubits. Lucas and Luna trace the recent milestone from Google's Willow chip to new surface-code experiments, explaining why logical qubits matter for fault-tolerant quantum computing and how the current 10:1 physical-to-logical ratio is shrinking. They also dis...

Episode 50 of The Quantum Computing Podcast explores why quantum random number generators (QRNGs) are becoming essential hardware for quantum computers themselves. Lucas explains how classical random number generators based on pseudorandom algorithms or thermal noise can be predicted or biased, creating a bottleneck for quantum algorithms that rely on true randomness for sampling, optimization, an...

Episode 49 of The Quantum Computing Podcast explores how quantum key distribution (QKD) is being tested to protect the aging U.S. power grid from cyberattacks. Lucas and Luna discuss a pilot program by the Department of Energy and a major utility company, using entangled photons to secure communications between substations. They break down how QKD differs from classical encryption, why grid operat...

In this episode of The Quantum Computing Podcast with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dive into the critical challenge of qubit reset — the process of returning qubits to a known initial state after each computation. They explore why reset is becoming a bottleneck as quantum processors scale beyond 1,000 qubits, using specific examples from IBM and Google. The hosts discuss two main approaches: passive re...

Quantum computers today are limited by how qubits talk to each other — interconnects. Lucas and Luna explore the interconnect bottleneck: why superconducting qubits can't just 'wire up' like classical chips, the challenge of crosstalk and signal degradation at millikelvin temperatures, and how companies like IBM, Google, and startups like Rigetti are tackling it with cryogenic cabling, photonic li...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how quantum computing is beginning to model biological systems at the molecular level, specifically protein folding and enzyme dynamics. They discuss a recent preprint from researchers at a consortium involving IBM Quantum and the University of Tokyo that used a 127-qubit processor to simulate a small protein's energy landscape with better accuracy than clas...

Episode 45 of The Quantum Computing Podcast tackles the growing challenge of benchmarking quantum algorithms. Lucas and Luna discuss why current metrics like circuit depth and gate fidelity don't tell the full story, and how a consortium of labs is proposing a new standard called Q-score 2.0. They explore a real case from a 2026 cross-platform test involving 100-qubit processors from two different...

Episode 44 of the Quantum Computing Podcast with Fexingo dives into the emerging software layer that makes quantum hardware usable. Lucas and Luna explore why quantum operating systems and compilers are the unsung heroes of the field, using concrete examples like IBM's Qiskit and the open-source PennyLane framework. They discuss how these tools abstract away the messy physics of qubits, allowing d...

Most quantum-computing discussions pit classical versus quantum as an either/or. This episode argues the real breakthrough is hybridisation at the silicon level. Lucas breaks down how NVIDIA's Grace Hopper superchip and similar designs are pairing classical GPUs with quantum processing units inside the same cryostat, cutting latency from microseconds to nanoseconds. Luna presses on a concrete case...

In this episode of The Quantum Computing Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into the unsung hero of quantum hardware: the cryogenic controller. While most attention goes to the qubits themselves, the specialized electronics that operate at near-absolute-zero temperatures are becoming the bottleneck for scalability. They discuss how companies like Quantum Machines and Zurich Instruments are developing cu...

Lucas and Luna dive into a critical frontier for quantum computing: developing new error correction codes that work with today's noisy qubits. They explore why the surface code — the current favorite — may not scale, and highlight a recent breakthrough from researchers at MIT and the University of Sydney using a new class of quantum low-density parity-check (qLDPC) codes. The episode explains how...

In this episode of The Quantum Computing Podcast with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how quantum computers are being used to simulate climate models more accurately than classical supercomputers. They focus on a specific 2026 breakthrough at the University of Chicago, where a 128-qubit processor modeled atmospheric carbon capture with 40% less error than classical methods. The hosts discuss why q...

Episode 39 of The Quantum Computing Podcast dives into one of the most overlooked bottlenecks in scaling quantum computers: networking. Lucas and Luna explore why connecting multiple quantum processors — even in the same building — requires fundamentally new infrastructure. They discuss the challenge of distributing entanglement across chips, the role of photonic interconnects, and how companies l...

Quantum computers are notoriously sensitive to noise from heat, vibration, and electromagnetic interference. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the practical strategies researchers are using to isolate qubits from real-world disturbances. They break down the concept of 'error suppression' versus 'error correction,' look at how companies like IBM and Quantinuum are engineering better shielding...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a surprising shift in quantum computing hardware: atomic arrays based on neutral atoms. Unlike superconducting or trapped-ion qubits, neutral atoms offer unique advantages like long coherence times and the ability to be assembled into arbitrary geometries using optical tweezers. The hosts dive into a recent milestone from QuEra Computing, which demonstrated...

Lucas and Luna explore the unsung software layer powering quantum computing's progress: simulation tools that let researchers test quantum algorithms on classical hardware before running them on expensive, error-prone quantum processors. This episode drills into the specific case of IBM's Qiskit and its open-source simulator backend, which now handles circuits with over 100 qubits on a single GPU....

Episode 35 of The Quantum Computing Podcast explores how quantum computers are being applied to supply chain optimization — and why it's harder than it sounds. Lucas and Luna break down a real 2026 case study from a major automotive manufacturer that tried to use a 100-qubit quantum annealer to reroute its global parts logistics after a port disruption. They discuss why quantum advantage in logist...

Episode 34 of The Quantum Computing Podcast explores the emerging architecture that pairs quantum processors with classical co-processors to handle error correction, control, and optimization. Lucas and Luna break down how IBM, Google, and startups like PsiQuantum are integrating classical compute—specifically FPGAs and ASICs—alongside qubits to make quantum systems practical. They discuss the pro...

Episode 33 of The Quantum Computing Podcast with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna explore why leading quantum hardware labs are now building processors that combine two different types of qubits in the same chip: superconducting transmon qubits and 'cat qubits'. We break down how Amazon's AWS Center for Quantum Computing is prototyping a hybrid architecture that uses cat qubits for error suppression and tr...

In this episode of The Quantum Computing Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore the emerging role of photonic chips in quantum computing. Instead of relying solely on superconducting qubits that require extreme cryogenics, a wave of startups and labs are building quantum processors that use photons — particles of light — to encode and manipulate information. We break down the physics: how photonic qubits...

Episode 31 of The Quantum Computing Podcast dives into the unsung bottleneck of quantum hardware: cryogenic cooling. Lucas and Luna explore why today's dilution refrigerators—massive, costly, and power-hungry—won't scale to the thousands of qubits needed for fault-tolerant quantum computers. They examine a concrete case: Bluefors, the Finnish company that dominates the cryostat market, and the eme...

Episode 30 of The Quantum Computing Podcast with Fexingo dives into the latest milestone in quantum factoring: the 2026 demonstration of factoring a 1,099-digit integer using Shor's algorithm on a 256-qubit superconducting processor. Lucas and Luna break down why this is a bigger deal than previous records, how error mitigation made it possible, and what it means for RSA encryption timelines. They...