PsiQuantum, founded in 2016 by four UK physicists, aims to build the first large-scale, useful quantum computer using photons. The machine would require roughly 100 stainless-steel cabinets cooled near absolute zero, housing chips where thousands of light particles traverse optical circuits. Unlike competitors using superconducting qubits or electrons, PsiQuantum bets on photonic qubits.

The company has raised $1 billion and broken ground in Chicago with a second site in Australia targeting 2027 operation. It's one of only two firms (with Microsoft) to reach the third stage of a government evaluation program. CEO Victor Peng, a semiconductor veteran, replaced founder Jeremy O'Brien in February.

If successful, such a computer could slash drug discovery timelines from over 10 years to four minutes for tasks like modeling cytochrome P450 enzyme interactions. However, quantum advances remain incremental and hard to verify externally. The next year may reveal whether PsiQuantum's closed-door work yields a breakthrough or falls short.