Xanadu and Corning have entered a strategic collaboration aimed at developing advanced fiber interconnect solutions tailored for photonic quantum computing. The partnership combines Xanadu’s expertise in designing ultra-low-loss photonic chips with Corning’s renowned capabilities in manufacturing low-loss optical fiber and precision fiber arrays. The joint effort focuses on addressing critical optical-loss challenges in fiber-chip coupling, essential for scaling Xanadu’s photonic quantum computer architecture, Aurora. Recently demonstrated with 35 photonic chips networked over 13 km of optical fiber, Aurora represents the first fibre-networked quantum computer, and it holds potential scalability toward the million-qubit benchmark needed for fault-tolerant quantum computing. Through this collaboration, Xanadu aims to leverage Corning’s specialized fiber solutions to significantly minimize optical losses, a key step toward building universal, scalable photonic quantum computers.
• Xanadu partners with Corning to develop specialized low-loss fiber interconnects for quantum computing.
• Collaboration addresses critical challenges of optical losses in fiber-chip coupling, essential for scalable quantum computers.
• Builds on Xanadu’s Aurora quantum computer demonstration, which interconnected 35 photonic chips across 13 km of fiber.
• Fiber solutions to help scale Aurora’s architecture towards one million qubits needed for fault tolerance.
• Corning’s precision manufacturing and fiber technology expected to significantly advance Xanadu’s photonic infrastructure.
“Aurora demonstrated scalability and networkability on photonic quantum computers and our next goal is to dial down optical loss,” said Inna Krasnokutska, lead photonics engineer at Xanadu. “We are excited to collaborate with Corning to leverage their expertise in developing optimized fiber solutions.”
- Xanadu Quantum Technologies, founded in 2016 by CEO Christian Weedbrook, is a Canadian company specializing in photonic quantum computing. The company has secured significant funding to advance its mission, including a $100 million USD Series B round in 2021 led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Capricorn Investment Group, Tiger Global Management, and others. In 2022, Xanadu raised an additional $100 million USD in a Series C financing round led by Georgian, bringing its total funding to $250 million USD and achieving a valuation of $1 billion USD.
- In January 2025, Xanadu introduced Aurora, a universal photonic quantum computer prototype. Aurora features a modular architecture comprising four interconnected server racks, utilizing 35 photonic chips and 13 kilometers of optical fiber to operate 12 qubits at room temperature. This design facilitates scalability, with the potential to expand to thousands of racks and millions of qubits. The photonic integrated circuits (PICs) used in Aurora are developed by Xanadu, leveraging their expertise in photonic chip components and customized fabrication techniques
