Nu Quantum hails world-first Quantum Networking Unit

It has launched what it calls the first industrialised, 19’’ rack-mounted solution that combines a dynamic entangler system and a real-time quantum network orchestrator, adding that the modular and flexible platform can be adapted to different qubit modalities and quantum use-cases.

Nu Quantum, which also has facilities in Los Angeles, says the breakthrough will enable real-time entanglement distribution across quantum data centres.

The quantum industry is projected to be worth trillions in the future. Networking quantum systems will be a significant portion of this market, much like networking is for classical computing today.

The Nu Quantum solution is said to be designed for scalability, modularity, and real-world deployment. The company says the QNU marks a critical step in moving quantum networking from lab demonstrations to commercial infrastructure.

It is said to broker entanglement links between multiple quantum processors, enabling them to operate coherently as one, more powerful computer. This modular, networked approach enables quantum systems to scale beyond the physical limits of individual devices, Nu Quantum says.

Developed under the UK Government’s Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), the QNU is set to be deployed in Nu Quantum’s multi-node quantum networking testbed, aligned with the next phase of its technical roadmap.

Nu Quantum’s QNU product-prototype is designed to entangle a cluster of four trapped-ion quantum processors. The system’s optical performance supports the generation of high-fidelity and high-rate entanglement between interconnected processors, meeting the requirements of near-term distributed quantum computing systems.

The QNU is being hailed as a market-first industrialised instantiation of two essential parts of the distributed quantum computing Stack: creating high-fidelity entanglement and time-synchronised control-plane orchestration, respectively.

The photonic dynamic entangler system is said to enable the creation of real-time heralded entanglement between photons from any two nodes, in a dynamically reconfigurable manner thanks to sub-microsecond circuit switching.

With less than 3x10-3 Bell-state measurement error introduced by the optical path, the QNU hardware can deliver a maximum of 99.7 per cent entanglement fidelity between remote qubits: hence supporting both high fidelity and high success probabilities.

Nu Quantum says the QNU features the first industrialised realtime quantum network orchestrator, delivering 300 ns control latency, synchronisation over data centre length scales and supporting MHz entanglement attempt rate.

In parallel, Nu Quantum has built a scalable control architecture for distributed timing and feed-forward, and is collaborating with CERN to integrate CERN-born White Rabbit technology into the QNU to enable improved timing synchronisation. This level of sub-nanosecond timing precision is critical to ensure reliable entanglement distribution across multiple nodes, a key requirement for modular architectures and scaling quantum computing networks to data centre-scale.

The launch of the QNU marks a key milestone in Nu Quantum’s technical roadmap, complementing last year’s announcement of the Qubit-Photon Interface for coupling qubits with photonic networks. Together, they are a leading architectural solution for distributed quantum computing, and a step towards a ‘quantum network layer’, where remote entanglement between discrete quantum processors is subsumed into an abstracted layer of the quantum computing stack.

Throughout the development, Nu Quantum worked closely with potential customers from across the quantum computing stack, from qubit providers to system integrators and end-users, to gather technical feedback on commercial and deployment requirements such as data centre-compatibility.

Dr. Carmen Palacios-Berraquero, Founder and CEO of Nu Quantum, said: “This launch marks a significant step forward in the maturity of quantum networking technology. I am proud of the team for having executed the proposal flawlessly to deliver a market-first product which moves the needle in both maturity and performance.

“With our Quantum Networking Unit positioned at the heart of modular quantum architectures, we’re moving quantum networking from academic research to practical, datacentre-ready deployment. Our focus now is on working closely with partners and customers to build scalable, modular quantum systems that deliver real commercial value.”

Dr Bob Sutor, Board Member of Nu Quantum, CEO and Founder, Sutor Group Intelligence and Advisory added: “This launch represents a major milestone for the quantum industry, introducing the first practical solution for scalable quantum networking in distributed quantum computing.

“We will only achieve the large and powerful quantum computing systems we need by networking together the smaller devices now in development using the technology Nu Quantum has prototyped. This achievement ushers in a new era of interconnected and powerful quantum technologies.”