Qubits from the chemistry lab: NVision unveils molecule for quantum chips in Nature
German startup NVision has designed an organic molecule that acts as a qubit and talks directly to light. With U.S. partner HyperLight, first prototype chips are due in 2026.
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German quantum startup NVision has presented a molecule in the journal Nature that is designed to serve as a qubit, the basic computing unit of a quantum computer. The company says it is the first individually addressable organic interface between a molecule's spin and particles of light, or photons. The team used AI to simulate more than 150 candidates and synthesized about 40 of them in the lab. It settled on a molecule from the carbene family. “We found this 'Goldilocks' molecule,” Chief Technology Officer Ilai Schwartz told Reuters.
Similar to OLED displays, the molecule is applied as a thin layer onto a chip made with conventional technology. The carbenes operate at relatively accessible temperatures of about 2 to 4 kelvin, and the platform tolerates up to 70% photon loss, according to NVision. “Because our qubits interact directly with light from the start, we achieve connectivity without proximity,” Schwartz said. The reports do not give coherence times, meaning how long the qubits hold their state.
NVision plans to integrate the molecules as a thin film onto thin-film lithium niobate photonic chips made by U.S. chipmaker HyperLight, with first prototypes expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. NVision has raised $120 million from public and private sources, including U.S. health care group Abbott, according to Reuters. The company originally developed the approach while working on medical devices. “Eventually, what we will sell is a rack-ready computer,” Chief Executive Sella Brosh said.