UK startup Orca Computing buys US photonics group
UK quantum computer maker Orca Computing has bought the photonics division of a US telecoms company in a deal that brings a new CTO.
The deal sees Orca buy the photonics division of GXC in Austin, Texas, which provides private cellular mesh networks. Thien-An Nguyen, formerly Vice President of R&D Strategy at GXC, takes on the CTO role at Orca.
GXC will transfer its photonics-related assets to ORCA Computing, including intellectual property and existing technology and GXC Photonics staff will become employees of ORCA Computing which builds photonic quantum computer systems. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The GXC photonics technology was used across a wide range of applications including AI accelerators, telecommunications, biomedical sensors, electronic warfare, signals intelligence, and spectroscopy with novel device architectures such as integrated photonics and multi-material fibres.
This follows the deal by Infleqtion (formerly Cold Quanta) in the US to buy two photonics startups to consolidate its development of quantum computer systems.
- Infleqtion buys two photonics firms for chip-scale quantum .
- France backs photonic quantum computing with €50m
- UK to benchmark quantum computer hardware
- Israel to build open architecture quantum computer
“GXC’s work in photonics has been exceptional and opens the door to exciting new innovations in a wide range of industries and sectors,” said Richard Murray, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO of ORCA Computing. “We are delighted to welcome these talented individuals to the ORCA Computing team and look forward to working closely with them to bring exciting new technologies to market.”
“We are extremely grateful to the talented photonics team that created groundbreaking technology and innovative manufacturing processes that are valued by numerous federal agencies and other organizations,” said Allen Proithis, chief executive officer of GXC.
“As customer needs and market opportunities continue to evolve, our board agreed it would be best for our photonics group-and the company as a whole-to identify an organization that is best suited to optimize this technology. We have found an excellent partner in ORCA Computing, and have every expectation that they will provide the resources and guidance to help the team reach their fullest potential.”
The GXC Onyx platform provides a true turnkey private cellular system that powers secure, ubiquitous coverage for industrial campuses. In addition, GXC is the only private cellular network provider that offers a mesh cellular capability, enabling customers to extend reliable coverage into remote areas utilizing its advanced interference cancellation technology.
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