UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer & Chancellor Rachel Reeves Visit PsiQuantum’s UK Research & Development Facilities at Sci-Tech Daresbury
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves with the PsiQuantum team at Sci-Tech Daresbury.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer at PsiQuantum's Daresbury facility.
Daresbury, United Kingdom – PsiQuantum welcomed UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves for a visit to its research and development facilities at Sci-Tech Daresbury. Co-founder & CEO Prof. Jeremy O’Brien, along with Co-founder & Chief Technologist Mark Thompson, led the tour, providing insight into the company’s work in quantum computing and how the testing and development of prototype systems in Daresbury plays a critical role in the effort to build the first utility-scale quantum computers. The Prime Minister and Chancellor also had the opportunity to meet PsiQuantum’s engineers and apprentices.
At PsiQuantum’s Daresbury facility, the Prime Minister observed the company’s R&D operations, including PsiCube (pictured below) which is a prototype low-temperature quantum computing module, built just outside Oxfordshire, and was pivotal in the results recently published on PsiQuantum’s silicon photonic chip platform. The Daresbury facility, opened in March 2023 and led by Prof. Mark Thompson, oversees a team of engineers integral to testing prototype systems and advancing the development of large-scale quantum computers.
“It was a pleasure to host both Prime Minister Starmer and Chancellor Reeves at our facility here in Daresbury. Quantum computing is set to transform many of the economy’s critical industries, but we need large-scale systems to unlock that promise. The UK has been a leader in quantum computing for decades, and its focus on investment, research, and workforce development has enabled companies like PsiQuantum to anchor key R&D efforts here”
““Our operations at Sci-Tech Daresbury are critical to the development of our first large-scale systems, and it was a privilege to have the Prime Minister and the Chancellor visit our facilities and meet the team, who have made such incredible progress. Our Daresbury site has been an exciting development for our company, and it’s the resources and skills available here in the UK that drew PsiQuantum back.””
PsiQuantum has deep roots in the UK. Prof. Jeremy O’Brien and Prof. Mark Thompson were both professors at the University of Bristol and directors of photonic quantum computing centers. Co-Founder & Chief Architect Prof. Terry Rudolph was a professor at Imperial College London, where he taught quantum physics, and Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer Pete Shadbolt received his PhD under Prof. O’Brien at Bristol before completing postdoctoral research at Imperial College on photonic quantum computing theory under Prof. Rudolph.
