Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem does Planqc solve?
Planqc: Planqc developed highly scalable quantum computers based on atoms in optical lattices that can also operate at room temperature. Our vision is to build quantum computers that can be used for commercially relevant applications.
Quantum computers are specialized computing machines that use the principles of quantum mechanics for their calculations. Simply put, quantum bits—called qubits—can be in the zero and one states simultaneously, thus parallelizing computational processes. Quantum algorithms exploit these properties in clever and highly specialized ways, for example, to efficiently perform prime factor analysis.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Planqc: Planqc's unique combination of quantum technologies is the most promising way to scale quantum computers to thousands of qubits and beyond. This is a key prerequisite for "useful" quantum computers. Our quantum computers We store information in individual atoms—naturally the best qubits—and arrange them in highly scalable artificial light crystals. Quantum gates based on precisely controlled laser pulses are used to process quantum information. Our quantum computers combine the world's best atomic clocks, the world's best quantum gas microscopes, and extremely fast Rydberg gates.
Once powerful, error-correcting hardware becomes available, it will be possible to crack common RSA encryption methods. However, this will take some time, and fortunately, methods already exist that are immune to quantum computer attacks. However, for many long-term applications with product cycles of ten to twenty years, it is important to prepare for the error-corrected quantum computer of the future today.
Planqc aims to “take know-how out of the research environment and make it accessible to a broader user base”
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Planqc: Planqc was founded in April 2022 with the vision of exploiting the many years of successful basic research in the field of neutral atoms at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) and the resulting know-how, thus separating it from the research environment and making it accessible to a broader user base.
Planqc's founding team consists of Alexander Glätzle, Sebastian Blatt, Johannes Zeiher, and Lukas Reichsöllner, all of whom have relevant international experience in the field of quantum computing and quantum metrology using neutral atoms. During his doctorate, Alexander Glätzle researched methods for implementing novel computing architectures for quantum computers using neutral atoms. After a postdoctoral stay in Oxford and Singapore, he worked for several years at an international management consultancy in the field of applied blockchain. During his MBA studies, he also acquired the necessary business background to lead Planqc as CEO.
Sebastian Blatt received his doctorate from the University of Colorado at Boulder before joining the MPQ as a group leader in 2015 after a postdoctoral stay at Harvard University. As a doctoral student, he played a key role in the development of the first strontium atomic clocks, currently the most accurate clocks in the world. Since then, at the MPQ, he has developed technologies for scaling quantum simulators and quantum computers based on neutral atoms.
During his doctoral studies at the MPQ, Johannes Zeiher already conducted research on Rydberg atoms in optical lattices, thus laying the conceptual foundations of the technology used in MQV and Planqc. After a postdoctoral stay in Berkeley, he has been a group leader at the MPQ since 2020, developing new experimental platforms in the field of quantum computing with neutral atoms. Lukas Reichsöllner researched ultracold quantum gases in Innsbruck and Amsterdam and has worked for a leading laser and photonics company in Germany for the past few years.
Strong support for the founding team
The founding team is complemented by multi-supervisory board member and financial expert Ann-Kristin Achleitner and serial entrepreneur Markus Wagner, founder of i5invest. Planqc is supported by scientific advisors Immanuel Bloch and J. Ignacio Cirac. Both are directors at the MPQ and known for their groundbreaking work on quantum simulation and quantum information. Quantum algorithm expert Dieter Jaksch, professor of physics at the University of Oxford and the University of Hamburg, has also been recruited as an advisor.
Munich Startup: What have been your greatest successes so far?
Planqc: One of Planqc's greatest achievements was undoubtedly the recruitment of tech visionary Hermann Hauser. Dr. Hauser is one of the world's most well-known entrepreneurs and venture capitalists and has a long history of founding companies in various technology sectors. These include Acorn Computers, ARM - a world leader in microprocessing technology, which can now be found in 95 percent of all mobile phones - and Solexa (now Illumina), where he laid the foundations for the ongoing synthetic biology revolution with technologies for reading human DNA. He is also a key member of the Cambridge science and technology community and a trusted innovation advisor to the UK government and the European Union.
Another important milestone for Planqc is the €29 million contract awarded by DLR for the construction and installation of a scalable neutral-atom quantum computer. Planqc was selected by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to develop a digital, neutral-atom quantum computer hardware and software platform that is scalable and capable of demonstrating quantum algorithms for real-world problems. This marks the first sale of a digital, neutral-atom quantum computer in Europe.
“We stand for realistic statements about possible applications”
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Planqc: We stand for realistic statements about potential applications, hardware performance, and the timeline by which quantum computing will become widely relevant in practice. At the same time, we are pushing ahead with the development of our scalable hardware platform in order to fully exploit the potential of quantum computers as quickly as possible. We are currently working with several partners, primarily on researching customer-specific application areas for neutral-atom quantum computers. However, we are very interested in engaging with other companies around the world that are interested in quantum computing and quantum sensors and could benefit from long-term collaboration.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Planqc: Planqc was developed by a team of scientists from Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and is the first spin-off of the Munich Quantum Valleys (MQV), one of the leading centers for quantum technology in Europe. The close ties to the research of these Munich institutions were an important location advantage over international competitors in the field of quantum computing, especially at the beginning.
Through our close ties to the globally unique interdisciplinary research at the MQV, and especially our collaboration with the MPQ, we as a company aim to ensure that the results of basic research are utilized. This aims to close the gap that often arises in Germany between basic research and commercial exploitation in the field of quantum computing, so as not to lose ground internationally in this future-oriented field.
Munich Startup: Quick exit or long breath?
Planqc: Our vision at Planqc is to develop powerful quantum computers that deliver value to customers. This requires a long-term perspective and continuous improvement of the underlying hardware.
