Quantum Networking Innovations

Quantum Teleportation Achieved Over Internet for the First Time Researchers in the U.S. have successfully teleported a quantum state of light through over 30 kilometers (18 miles) of fiber optic cable while coexisting with regular internet traffic. This achievement marks a monumental step toward integrating quantum communication systems into existing telecommunications infrastructure, paving the way for future quantum internet networks. Key Highlights: • Teleportation Explained: Quantum teleportation involves transferring the quantum state of one particle to another distant particle, effectively replicating its state without physically moving the particle itself. • Overcoming Challenges: The experiment succeeded despite the interference from traditional internet data flowing through the same cables, showcasing an unprecedented level of stability and accuracy in a real-world environment. • Infrastructure Integration: The ability to teleport quantum states using existing fiber optic networks suggests that quantum and classical communication systems can share infrastructure, greatly reducing costs and accelerating deployment timelines. Why This Matters: • Quantum Internet Potential: Quantum networks promise ultra-secure encryption, seamless quantum computer connections, and advanced distributed sensing systems. • Real-World Feasibility: Demonstrating quantum teleportation in active fiber optic networks proves the technology can be scaled and deployed in real-world conditions. • Data Security: Quantum encryption methods, leveraging principles such as quantum key distribution (QKD), could make communications virtually unhackable. Researcher Insights: “This is incredibly exciting because nobody thought it was possible,” said Prem Kumar, a computing engineer at Northwestern University who led the study. “Our work shows a path towards next-generation quantum and classical networks sharing a unified fiber optic infrastructure. Basically, it opens the door to pushing quantum communications to the next level.” Implications for the Future: • Secure Communications: Enhanced encryption and ultra-secure networks could revolutionize cybersecurity. • Quantum Cloud Computing: Seamless connectivity between quantum computers across long distances could unlock unprecedented computational capabilities. • Scalable Deployment: Utilizing existing infrastructure minimizes costs and accelerates integration into global communication networks. While we’re still far from the Star Trek-style teleportation of physical objects, this achievement represents a profound advancement in quantum network engineering, bringing the vision of a global quantum internet significantly closer to reality.

Check out the latest from MIT EQuS and Lincoln Laboratory published in @NaturePhysics! In this work, we demonstrate a quantum interconnect using a waveguide to connect two superconducting, multi-qubit modules located in separate microwave packages. We emit and absorb microwave photons on demand and in a chosen direction between these modules using quantum entanglement and quantum interference. To optimize the emission and absorption protocol, we use a reinforcement learning algorithm to shape the photon for maximal absorption efficiency, exceeding 60% in both directions. By halting the emission process halfway through its duration, we generate remote entanglement between modules in the form of a four-qubit W state with concurrence exceeding 60%. This quantum network architecture enables all-to-all connectivity between non-local processors for modular, distributed, and extensible quantum computation. Read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/eN4MagvU (paywall), view-only link https://rdcu.be/eeuBF, or arXiv https://lnkd.in/ez3Xz7KT. See also the related MIT News article: https://lnkd.in/e_4pv8cs. Congratulations Aziza Almanakly, Beatriz Yankelevich, and all co-authors with the MIT EQuS Group and MIT Lincoln Laboratory! Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Center for Quantum Engineering, MIT EECS, MIT Department of Physics, MIT School of Engineering, MIT School of Science, Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, MIT xPRO, Will Oliver

Is this the "Attention Is All You Need" moment for Quantum Computing? Oxford University scientists in Nature have demonstrated the first working example of a distributed quantum computing (DQC) architecture. It consists of two modules, two meters apart, which "act as a single, fully connected universal quantum processor." This architecture "provides a scalable approach to fault-tolerant quantum computing". Like how the famous "Attention Is All You Need" paper from Google scientists introduced the Transformer architecture as an alternative to classical neural networks, this paper introduces Quantum gate teleportation (QGT) as an alternative to the direct transfer of quantum information across quantum channels. The benefit? Lossless communication. But not only communication: computation also. This is the first execution of a distributed quantum algorithm (Grover’s search algorithm) comprising several non-local two-qubit gates. The paper contains many pointers to the future, which I am sure will be pored over by other labs, startups and VCs. I am excited to follow developments in: - Quantum repeaters to increase the distance between modules - Removal of channel noise through entanglement purification - Scaling up the number of qubits in the architecture Amid all the AI developments, this may be the most important innovation happening in computing now. https://lnkd.in/e8qwh9zp

Anyone noticing the quantum computing companies making pivots: from talking about quantum computing to now "quantum for AI" or quantum networking? Most quantum computing companies began with some version of "we're building a universal quantum computer." But in the last few years, many of them have quietly, or in some cases very publicly, started shifting, directly or indirectly, part of their roadmap toward quantum networking. This isn't just about changing tactics to sidestep hard problems in computation. Quantum networking has standalone value. It's not just a foundation for scalable computing, but an enabler of entirely new capabilities. The same infrastructure being developed for entanglement distribution can support secure communication, long-baseline quantum sensing, and distributed quantum protocols that don't require a full-scale quantum computer at every node. It's not a detour: it's a broader vision of what quantum tech will unlock. The pivot reflects a pragmatic read on the physics. Networking leans into what quantum systems do naturally: entangle, distribute, and correlate. It avoids the elephant in the room, which is scalable, error-corrected, fault-tolerant computation, and instead focuses on architectures that can deliver real-world utility sooner, with cleaner and more modular deployments. This shift isn't a retreat but a reorientation. Quantum networking is not an intermediate market; it's an active one. The basic primitives are already out of the lab and into testbeds. And the telco world, hungry for post-quantum security and new infrastructure layers, is increasingly receptive. What's changing is the roadmap: from "first we build a quantum computer, then we do everything else" to "first we build a network, then we scale the quantum (computing) power through it."