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30 n e w h a v e n B I Z | S e p t e m b e r / O c t o b e r 2 0 1 9 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP To bring quantum computing to the masses, Yale physicist Robert Schoelkopf had to create and build a new company. Now he has — and the horizons seem limitless Quantum Leap By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo I n terms of performance and potential, comparing the computers we use today to quantum computers is a little like comparing a garden slug to a thoroughbred. But today physicist and entrepreneur Robert J. Schoe- lkopf, the Sterling Professor of Applied Physics and Phys- ics at Yale, is working to bring this emerging technology to the masses. Schoelkopf explains that quan- tum computers hold the promise of changing our lives in ways we can't even yet imagine, much like past generations could only have dreamed of today's computers and smartphones. Quantum-comput- ing technology holds the potential for faster and more powerful in- formation-processing than today's supercomputers. "One of the reasons this is so ex- citing is because it is like being in the first few years of the original computer revolution," Schoelkopf explains. "In the '60s, you couldn't imagine where we are today. We didn't imagine people would have supercomputers in their pockets and we would all be connected." "It's exciting to think about the implications of the quantum com- puter," he adds. "ere could be uses and applications we haven't imagined. ere is a vast potential we haven't appreciated." Schoelkopf early on discerned the incalculable practical and commercial potential of his research. To help realize that po- tential he co-founded the compa- ny Quantum Circuits Inc. in 2015 with two of his Yale colleagues, Michel Devoret and Luigi Frun- zio. Devoret is Yale's F.W. Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics and Physics, while Frunzio is a senior research scientist in applied physics. e trio has "pioneered the field of quantum computing with superconducting circuits," according to Yale. e company's goal is to "devel- op, manufacture and sell the first practical quantum computers." Quantum Circuits raised $18 million in Series A funding in 2017, co-led by the venture firms Canaan and Sequoia, with partic- ipation from Tribeca Venture Part- ners, Osage University Partners and Fitz Gate Ventures. Headquar- tered in Westport, Canaan touts itself as a firm that "invests in en- trepreneurs with visionary ideas." Sequoia has worked with the likes of entrepreneurs Steve Jobs (Apple), Tesla creator Elon Musk and Brian Chesky of AirBnB. e Series A offering is the company's only funding round to date. is January, the company opened a new 6,000-square foot quantum computing development Continued on page 32 'It was a big leap to start a company because I've been a professor all of my adult life,' says Schoelkopf. 'I've had a lot of scientific mentors who helped guide me to where I am today."

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