Photonic Inc., a leader in distributed quantum computing and communications technologies, today announced a new level of partnership with TELUS, a world-leading communications technology company powering next-generation connectivity and digital innovation. Together, the companies are jointly pursuing projects advancing quantum-secure networking capabilities and delivering quantum solutions that will provide social and economic value and transform industries worldwide. As a first demonstration of this collaboration, Photonic and TELUS have achieved a significant technical milestone - a world-first quantum teleportation of its kind - proving that TELUS' existing fiber optic infrastructure can reliably carry quantum information.
Photonic used TELUS’ PureFibre existing network to successfully transfer quantum information over 30 km of installed commercial fiber. Using their Entanglement First™ architecture, a unique approach that combines silicon-based qubits and native telecom band photonic connectivity, Photonic teleported information into a matter-based quantum processor that can retain, store, and use that information. Unlike previous demonstrations over commercial fiber, which relied solely on photonic qubits that could be measured but not further processed, this achievement completed the transfer of quantum information to a remote processing node, a critical capability for establishing long-distance quantum networks and commercial-scale quantum computers.
“The successful demonstration of Photonic’s quantum teleportation on TELUS’ PureFibre is groundbreaking,” said Paul Terry, Photonic Inc. CEO. “This critical milestone shows the value of industry leaders working together to accelerate Canada’s leadership in quantum computing and networking. This is just the beginning of real-world impacts we will jointly deliver.“
“At TELUS, we are committed to developing cutting-edge technologies that will support a secure and connected future in Canada. I’m thrilled to see this breakthrough from Photonic,” said Nazim Benhadid, Chief Technology Officer at TELUS. “These results demonstrate the quantum-potential of TELUS’ PureFibre network and set the stage for our collaboration to deliver technology that contributes to building a secure, resilient, and connected future for Canada.”
Building on the 2024 partnership, Photonic and TELUS' collaboration agreement covers an expanded set of projects at the intersection of Photonic’s expertise in distributed quantum computing and quantum networking technologies and TELUS’ industry experience and state-of-the-art PureFibre telecommunications network. This new agreement paves the way for the delivery of products and infrastructure supporting a range of commercial quantum solutions, from quantum data centers to nationwide encrypted networks for ultra-secure, tamper-evident transfer of information.
“It is exciting to have the opportunity to support the technologies that will shape tomorrow – and even better when they are built on infrastructure that delivers real value today,” said Terry Doyle, Managing Partner at TELUS Global Ventures. “This world-first outcome of the collaboration between Photonic and TELUS reinforces its potential to fundamentally redefine secure telecommunications infrastructure on a global scale.”
Photonic is accelerating the path to large-scale, fault tolerant quantum systems with their Entanglement First™ Architecture. This demonstration highlights an advantage of Photonic’s highly connected, modular system design – the ability to leverage established telecommunications infrastructure to achieve commercial scale. Ongoing access to TELUS’ world-class PureFibre network gives Photonic a real-world deployment environment as it delivers scalable distributed quantum computing and networking.