A quantum algorithms company, spun out of UCL and the University of Bristol, that designs software to get useful results from today's quantum computers.
Phasecraft is a quantum algorithms company. An algorithm is a set of step-by-step instructions for solving a problem, and Phasecraft writes instructions made for the quantum computers that exist now, which are small and make a lot of mistakes. Its work covers areas such as materials discovery, chemistry, energy network and logistics problems, and biological research related to drug development. It calls its approach hardware-agnostic, meaning it works across different makers' machines, and it names Google Quantum AI, IBM, Quantinuum, Rigetti and QuEra among its hardware partners. Named users of its work include Johnson Matthey, Oxford PV, the UK's National Energy System Operator and BT.
The company was founded in 2019 by three professors: Ashley Montanaro, now chief executive and a professor of quantum computation at the University of Bristol, Toby Cubitt, who is chief technology officer and chief science officer, and John Morton. They had earlier led research teams at UCL and Bristol, and the company grew out of both universities. Its stated aim is to accelerate the practical application of quantum computing, and a UK business magazine quoted it saying it wants to bridge the gap between quantum computing's promise on paper and its real-world impact. Mr Montanaro is quoted as saying the team is creating quantum advantage, the point where a quantum computer does something useful that ordinary computers cannot.
Phasecraft describes itself as London-born, and earlier reports place the company in Bristol and London through its founders' universities. It also led the quantum software part of a UK consortium that planned a large commercial quantum computer in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, using Rigetti technology. In 2024 it opened a research office in Washington DC, led by Professor Steve Flammia. We did not find a published address for UK offices, so we cannot say exactly where its UK staff sit. The company is also listed in an 'Entrepreneur UK London 100' profile.
On people and culture, the pages we read say little about daily life. An investor who is the company's chairman, Ian Hogarth, praised the team as best-in-class, and the leadership is described as including people who have worked at Amazon Web Services, Johnson Matthey and Goldman Sachs. Job adverts we saw mention roles such as quantum algorithms scientist, and these are research-led jobs close to university physics and maths.
A company like this employs quantum algorithm scientists, researchers who prove how well a method works, software engineers who turn the maths into working programs, and partnership, operations and finance staff. Strong maths, physics, theoretical computer science and coding are common starting points. The best way to see what is open is the company's website.
Website: www.phasecraft.io
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