BBC Inside Science Is quantum computing having its moment?
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Mar 19, 2026 Dr Rebecca Ingle, Associate Professor in Physical Chemistry at UCL, explains helium’s unique cryogenic role and fragile global supply. Richard Murray, CEO and co-founder of Orca Computing, outlines photonic quantum hardware and real-world applications. They discuss photonic qubits, system design that avoids extreme cooling, industry use-cases, and why quantum may be moving from labs into practical tech.
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National Funding Signals Commercialisation Momentum
- The UK has announced a £2 billion Quantum Leap fund aiming to keep quantum startups domestic and boost the economy.
- Presence of startups like Orca in central London signals commercialisation moving out of labs into industry.
Orca's Growing Global Install Base
- Orca has deployed eleven photonic quantum systems globally, with one being shipped to Japan and another to Thailand.
- Richard Murray highlighted active installations across the US, Europe, UK and new customers in Asia.
How Photonic Quantum Computers Actually Work
- Photonic quantum computers use single photons as qubits and perform computations with beam-splitter operations and measurements.
- Orca's modular PT2 system makes identical single photons, turns them into qubits, processes them optically, then measures and hands results to classical computers.