PsiQuantum has appointed veteran computing executive Victor Peng as Interim CEO, shifting co-founder Jeremy O’Brien to the role of Executive Chairman as the company prepares for a pivotal phase of scaling and deployment. This leadership transition arrives as PsiQuantum targets the delivery of the world’s first utility-scale quantum computers by February 10, 2026, building on a decade of core technology development including its Omega silicon photonic chipset and planned sites in Australia and Chicago. “PsiQuantum was founded to realize the potential of quantum computing, and the team has spent years doing the hard technical work to make that possible,” said Jeremy O’Brien, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of PsiQuantum. Peng’s experience scaling complex technologies will now focus on translating this foundational work into deployed quantum systems.
\nVictor Peng Appointed Interim CEO, O’Brien to Executive Chairman
\nA $49 billion acquisition veteran is now steering the charge at PsiQuantum, as Victor Peng assumes the role of Interim CEO, with co-founder Jeremy O’Brien transitioning to Executive Chairman on February 10, 2026. This leadership shift arrives following a pivotal year for the quantum computing firm, marked by over $1 billion raised in Series E funding and groundbreaking on a large-scale quantum computing site in Chicago, Illinois. PsiQuantum has also forged a significant partnership with NVIDIA, focusing on silicon photonics and AI supercomputing, alongside collaborations with Airbus and Lockheed Martin. These advancements underscore the company’s progress toward building practical, fault-tolerant quantum computers. Peng’s extensive background in scaling complex technologies—previously as President at Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) and CEO of Xilinx—is expected to accelerate PsiQuantum’s mission. He will focus on the company’s business, financial, and operational strategies, including the development of utility-scale quantum computing systems in both Australia and the United States. “As we shift into large-scale deployment and execution, Victor brings exactly the leadership we need.”
\nPeng emphasized the importance of execution, stating, “PsiQuantum has done the hard work to establish a real foundation for utility-scale quantum computing — from silicon photonics to fault-tolerant architectures and large-scale deployments.” He intends to build upon the foundation established over the past decade, which includes the development of the Omega silicon photonic chipset and new cryogenic form factors. The leadership transition signals a move from core technology development to large-scale deployment, leveraging Peng’s experience in navigating major computing transitions.
\nOmega Chipset & Utility-Scale Quantum Computing Deployments
\nPsiQuantum is actively translating years of foundational research into tangible quantum infrastructure, evidenced by advancements in both hardware and strategic site selection. The company has developed Omega, a mass-manufacturable silicon photonic chipset, crucial for scaling fault-tolerant quantum computers, and is leveraging existing semiconductor manufacturing processes at GlobalFoundries in New York. This focus on manufacturability distinguishes PsiQuantum’s approach, aiming to bypass limitations inherent in other quantum computing architectures. Beyond the chipset, the company is simultaneously establishing utility-scale quantum computing sites in Brisbane, Australia, and Chicago, Illinois, signaling a move toward practical deployment.
\nThese deployments aren’t solely about hardware; PsiQuantum is also building the surrounding ecosystem. In 2025, the company launched Construct, a dedicated software platform for developing fault-tolerant algorithms, and secured collaborations with industry leaders like Airbus and Lockheed Martin to explore application-specific quantum solutions.
\n$1 Billion Series E Funding & DARPA QBI Advancement
\nPsiQuantum’s trajectory accelerated significantly in 2025, culminating in a substantial $1 billion Series E funding round and advancement to the final stage of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI). This financial injection, secured from a consortium of investors, directly fuels the company’s ambitious plans for large-scale quantum computer deployment, specifically at sites already under development in Brisbane, Australia, and Chicago, Illinois. Beyond capital, the QBI progression validates PsiQuantum’s approach to fault-tolerant quantum computing against rigorous, government-led evaluation criteria.
\nThe company’s technological foundation, built over the past decade, includes the Omega silicon photonic chipset—manufactured at GlobalFoundries in New York—and a dedicated software platform, Construct, designed for developing fault-tolerant algorithms. This commitment to manufacturability is a key differentiator, allowing PsiQuantum to leverage existing semiconductor infrastructure for rapid scaling. He emphasized the immediate focus is now on “execution,” building on the work of the founding team.
\n\n\n\nThe adoption of silicon photonics within the Omega chipset is critical because it allows for the integration of optical components—like waveguides and modulators—onto standard, scalable silicon foundry processes. This process dramatically reduces the size, power consumption, and manufacturing complexity associated with previous quantum hardware designs, moving them from bespoke laboratory assemblies toward industrially viable chips that can support the required high qubit density.
\nAchieving utility-scale quantum computing necessitates fault tolerance, meaning the system must correct errors that arise from environmental noise or decoherence. PsiQuantum’s architecture tackles this using advanced Quantum Error Correction (QEC) codes, which require encoding logical qubits using many physical qubits. The effective implementation of QEC dictates that the number of physical qubits must scale quadratically, if not cubically, with the desired logical computation power.
\nFurthermore, operating these highly sensitive components requires extreme thermal management, leading to the necessity of cryogenic form factors. These systems must maintain temperatures near absolute zero to minimize thermal noise and prevent energy dissipation that would destabilize the fragile quantum states. The engineering challenge lies in designing integrated cryocoolers that can cool a large, complex chip without introducing mechanical vibrations or excessive heat load themselves.
\nPsiQuantum has done the hard work to establish a real foundation for utility-scale quantum computing – from silicon photonics to fault-tolerant architectures and large-scale deployments.
Victor Peng, Interim CEO of PsiQuantum
