The Times Tech Podcast Bonus episode: Will quantum computing change everything?
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Mar 9, 2026 James Palles-Dimmock, CEO of Quantum Motion and builder of silicon-based quantum processors, talks scaling quantum hardware and the race to commercialise it. He covers how qubits work, promising early uses in materials and chemistry, timelines for useful results, and the tech and funding challenges of competing with big tech. He also discusses encryption risks and why silicon could win on cost and scalability.
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Quantum Computer Is A Chilled Chip In A Rack
- Quantum Motion's machines center on a single centimeter-scale chip cooled in dilution fridges to trap single electrons as qubits.
- The company presented a visually striking rack described as a gold chandelier housing cryogenics around a phone-sized chip.
Using CMOS Makes Quantum More Scalable
- Quantum Motion demonstrated that standard CMOS processes can produce qubits, leveraging existing phone-chip manufacturing.
- The UK government purchased one via the National Quantum Computing Centre as the first deployment of this approach.
Qubits Built From Single Electron Spin
- Their qubits use the spin of a single electron under a transistor gate, not charge, achieved by lowering gate voltage to isolate one electron.
- This repurposes transistor gates (source, drain, gate) from classical switches to quantum spin control.