Quantum computing company Quandela has partnered with quantum networking company Welinq to develop custom quantum interconnects. The collaborators aim to establish clusters of interconnected and error-protected photonic quantum computers by combining Welinq’s full-stack quantum interconnects technology with Quandela’s photonic quantum computing processors. The result, the partners said, will be the ability to provide custom quantum supporting fault-tolerant computing and the expansion of comprehensive quantum networks connecting numerous chips. Tom Darras (left), CEO and co-founder, Welinq and Niccolo Somaschi, CEO and co-founder, Quandela. Courtesy of Quandela. For Quandela, the partnership serves to lay the groundwork for error-corrected photonic quantum computing; to achieve the promised benefits of quantum computing, the company said, quantum processing units (QPUs) will need to execute algorithms across vast numbers of qubits, making error correction a foundational necessity. Photonic QPUs offer advantages due to their inherent modularity. This modularity lends itself to scalability as additional qubits can be seamlessly integrated into the system. Scaling to a large number of qubits will involve the interconnection of multiple independent photonic QPUs. Full-stack quantum interconnects based on efficient quantum memories are crucial for linking multiple QPUs regardless of the qubit modality. These interconnects enhance the overall computational power by allowing quantum information to be transferred between different processors with high fidelity and low latency. Welinq's interconnect technology, said company CEO and co-founder Tom Darras, natively offers compatibility with all existing QPU architectures. Darras said that he expects the collaboration will provide both an opportunity for Welinq to push the boundaries of its interconnect technology, as well as to demonstrate its efficacy in providing scalability and error correction for quantum computing.