British Columbia (BC) quantum computing startup Photonic has announced plans to establish a new research and development (R&D) facility in the United Kingdom (UK).
Photonic, which has existing investors and partners in the UK, intends to open this across-the-pond quantum R&D centre over the next three years and invest more than £25 million (approximately $46 million CAD) in the initiative. The company claims this move will create more than 30 high-paying, technical jobs in the UK and advance Canada’s quantum leadership both “at home and abroad.”
“Our expansion into the UK is a win-win.”
Stephanie Simmons,
Photonic
The startup, which noted that its headquarters, core research, and foundational tech remain rooted in Canada, said its new UK centre will introduce “complementary capabilities—including targeted R&D—that enhance and extend [its] innovation pipeline.” Photonic characterized the move as “a strategic step in the company’s global growth.”
“Our expansion into the UK is a win-win—strengthening our ability to scale globally while reinforcing Canada’s position as a leader in secure, scalable quantum technologies,” Photonic founder and chief quantum officer Stephanie Simmons said in a statement.
Since 2016, Photonic has been working to make a fault-tolerant quantum computer a reality. The quantum computing startup is developing silicon spin qubits—the fundamental unit of quantum computing, like the bit in conventional computers—that it networks together. Photonic is headquartered in Coquitlam, part of Metro Vancouver, and also has a presence in the United States (US).
Simmons, who is also a co-chair of Canada’s National Quantum Strategy Advisory Board and an Associate Professor at the Department of Physics at Simon Fraser University, previously earned her doctorate in quantum computing from the University of Oxford, and mentioned that she admires the UK’s “trailblazing approach” to quantum, and the ambitions in the next phase of the Government of the UK’s National Quantum Strategy.
To date, Photonic has been supported by investors and partners on both sides of the Atlantic. The 150-person startup has raised $137 million CAD from a group that includes the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, a public-sector pension investor, Montréal’s Inovia Capital, UK-based Amadeus Capital Partners, the UK government’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund for dual-use tech, and US tech giant and strategic partner Microsoft.
RELATED: Photonic claims breakthrough in quantum computing error correction
Photonic has also benefitted from a joint funding initiative between the National Research Council Canada and Innovate UK.
In a statement, Evan Solomon, Canada’s new minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation, said that Photonic’s UK expansion “reflects our shared ambition to build a trusted transatlantic quantum future.” UK Science Minister Lord Vallance echoed that assertion in a statement of his own, noting that this will deepen collaboration between the UK and Canada.
Others, including UK-based Osney Capital, have viewed shifting international alliances amid the US trade war as an opportunity to expand the work companies in Canada and the UK are doing together in areas of strategic national importance, like quantum and cybersecurity.
This news adds to what has been a busy 2025 for Photonic: in February, the startup claimed a breakthrough in quantum error correction after publishing a new method it says requires fewer quantum bits than previous approaches, and in April, it was revealed to be one of three Canadian startups selected for a US military-backed quantum race program.
Feature image courtesy Photonic.