A Harwell-based start-up whose simulation software helps engineers design the tiny light-based parts used in quantum computers, sensors and networks.
Quantopticon makes software that lets engineers test designs on a computer before building them. Its focus is quantum photonics, which is the use of single particles of light, called photons, to carry quantum information. Its platform is called Quantillion. It simulates how light and matter interact at a very small scale, so that designers of the components in quantum computers, sensors and networks can try out ideas without making many physical prototypes. The company says it is based on a patented algorithm developed over about 20 years and, in its incubator profile, that it can cut development costs and shorten timelines. These are the company's own claims.
Quantopticon was founded in 2017 by Mirella Koleva, who is chief executive, and Gaby Slavcheva, who is chief scientist, a mother-and-daughter team. A Physics World article describes the company's mission as accelerating the development of 'quantum 2.0' devices and helping them achieve widespread adoption. Its software then focused on single-photon sources made from semiconductor quantum dots inside optical cavities, with longer-term plans for entangled states of several photons. The European Space Agency commissioned it to design components for the first European quantum encryption satellite, and it has worked on an Innovate UK project with the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Quantopticon is listed at the Atlas Building on Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire, where it is one of the start-ups in the Quantum Business Incubation Centre (QuBIC), run by the Science and Technology Facilities Council with the National Quantum Computing Centre. An older list from a quantum news site placed it in London, so it has been associated with both places. The same incubator page says the company planned to hire key talent and become self-sustaining. The founders describe the UK as their home country.
The pages we read describe the team only as multidisciplinary experts with world-leading knowledge, and name no other staff. In 2022 Ms Koleva was planning to be in Chicago for an accelerator programme, which shows an outward-looking company. We did not find a statement of values or a culture page, so we cannot say more about the working atmosphere.
In a software company like this, the work includes physicists who develop and check the models, software developers who build the graphical interface and the numerical code, and people who talk to customers in quantum hardware companies and universities. If you enjoy physics, mathematics and programming, this is a place where they go together. The company's website is the best place to see current roles.
Website: www.quantopticon.com
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