![\"\"](\"https:\/\/quantumcomputingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Rob-Jesudason-1013x1024.png\")
<\/figure>\nOn this episode, Yuval Boger speaks with Rob Jesudason, CEO and founding father of Serendipity Capital, a $1.3 billion everlasting capital automobile investing in quantum computing, communications, and sensing corporations together with Quantinuum, Monarch Quantum, Delta g, and QuantX. They talk about how buyers \u2014 each institutional and retail \u2014 can consider quantum corporations throughout modalities, with Rob arguing that triangulation throughout consultants is crucial since, as he places it, modalities are like faith the place everybody believes they\u2019re proper. Rob shares his view that the quantum trade is transitioning from lab science to managerial execution and engineering scale, that governments ought to associate with the non-public sector slightly than being the primary examine, and that some nations ought to intention to be the quickest integrators of profitable applied sciences slightly than the innovators themselves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h3>\n
Evaluating quantum corporations requires triangulating throughout many consultants as a result of modalities operate like faith, with every believer satisfied theirs is the proper path.<\/p>\n
The quantum trade is shifting from lab-driven science to managerial execution and engineering scale, that means groups now want as a lot operational expertise as physics expertise.<\/p>\n
Governments ought to keep away from being the primary investor in quantum corporations and as a substitute associate with non-public capital later, stepping in as validators slightly than preliminary funders.<\/p>\n
International locations with out the size to construct a number one quantum {hardware} stack, like Australia, Canada, or Singapore, are higher off changing into the quickest integrators of profitable applied sciences slightly than attempting to be the innovators.<\/p>\n
Transcript<\/h3>\n
Yuval Boger:\u00a0Whats up, Rob. Thanks for becoming a member of me immediately.<\/p>\n
Rob Jesudason:\u00a0Hello, good to satisfy you, Yuval, and thanks for the chance. So who’re you and what do you do? My identify\u2019s Rob Jesudason. I\u2019m the CEO and founding father of Serendipity Capital, and we spend money on early-stage corporations that improve and safe crucial applied sciences and infrastructure. And quantum is totally one of many applied sciences that we actually concentrate on.<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0However not the one one, it appears like, proper?<\/p>\n
Rob:\u00a0Not the one one. I imply, it\u2019s applied sciences like AI, cybersecurity, semiconductors, house satellite tv for pc, and quantum. And I feel when we’ve these conversations, we frequently speak about applied sciences in silos as in the event that they\u2019re standalone issues, however the magic truly occurs once you mix the applied sciences, proper? So it\u2019s safety on semiconductor chips. It\u2019s house communication, quantum-secure communication. So we concentrate on the place these applied sciences intersect to guard Western nations \u2014 the US and its allies \u2014 each governments and corporates.<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0How massive is the fund? And I do know you’ve got just a few quantum investments, so what\u2019s in your portfolio?<\/p>\n
Rob:\u00a0So the very first thing I\u2019d say is we\u2019re not a fund, we\u2019re a everlasting capital automobile. And what does that imply? Meaning we\u2019re an organization, and so when folks spend money on us or give us cash, they change into shareholders in an organization versus unit holders in a fund. And meaning we\u2019re not pushed to deploy capital in a sure window or exit investments throughout a sure window.<\/p>\n
The scale of the enterprise is $1.3 billion US {dollars}. And we’ve been investing in quantum since inception, which was 2019. However my background in quantum \u2014 I\u2019m a enterprise particular person, not a physicist, and I\u2019ve listened to your podcast each week diligently, and you’ve got very eminent physicists, so I wouldn\u2019t declare to be a type of.<\/p>\n
However I used to be on the administration board of a really massive financial institution, and we made an funding with the federal authorities in 2013 in quantum, and that triggered my curiosity in quantum. And once we arrange the agency in 2019, quantum was a key focus, and we\u2019ve been investing constantly since then.<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0Are you able to inform us about a few of your investments in quantum?<\/p>\n
Rob:\u00a0Yeah. So we make investments throughout modalities in quantum computing, quantum communications, and quantum sensing. I\u2019ll speak about just a few of these. In all probability the funding that individuals know essentially the most is Quantinuum. We went on the cap desk in 2020. I used to be on the board, and we principally invested in each spherical from 2020 by means of to the IPO, and immediately we stay the sixth largest shareholder in them. And as you realize, they’re a vertically built-in, full-stack quantum computing firm on their fourth system.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re invested in Monarch Quantum, which is photonic laser mild engines out of California. Photonic lasers is a multimodality functionality or a part of a quantum computing system. It\u2019s usually 35 to 50 p.c of the invoice of supplies of a quantum laptop. Within the UK, we spend money on Delta g, which is a quantum sensing firm. Their sensors can sense and determine objects 35 kilometers beneath the floor. We spend money on QuantX, which is an Australian quantum atomic clock firm that has despatched its atomic clocks into house with SpaceX.<\/p>\n
So we\u2019ve invested in corporations which might be wanting beneath the floor. We\u2019ve invested in quantum methods which might be vertically built-in, promoting into governments and corporates, and we\u2019ve invested in quantum atomic clocks which might be being despatched into house. So we\u2019re a broad church.<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0I feel it\u2019s very tempting to speak concerning the public markets. At QuEra, the query I get each day is, \u201cAre you doing a SPAC anytime quickly?\u201d and so forth. I\u2019m not going to reply that \u2014 I simply ask the questions, proper? However how do you consider corporations which might be available in the market proper now, within the public market? First, as a everlasting capital automobile, does your constitution can help you purchase shares in a public firm in quantum? And do you suppose there are too many, too few, too early, too late?<\/p>\n
Rob:\u00a0I feel it\u2019s an excellent matter to speak about. Our mandate permits us to spend money on non-public corporations that go public and maintain that fairness, and it additionally permits us to spend money on public corporations. So there\u2019s the philosophical problem of ought to corporations stay non-public for longer? Ought to they change into public? And I feel you may make the case for both.<\/p>\n
However let\u2019s discuss particularly concerning the quantum sector. I feel the truth is, in the event you\u2019re deeply embedded within the quantum ecosystem and also you\u2019ve been round for some time, rightly or wrongly, there\u2019s been a little bit little bit of damaging choice within the individuals who\u2019ve gone to SPAC, proper? Anybody who\u2019s an investor or an operator, as you might be, Yuval, is aware of when persons are doing non-public rounds, is aware of who can efficiently increase capital, and is aware of who has gone and accomplished SPACs.<\/p>\n
I feel the place Quantinuum was completely different \u2014 and I\u2019m not saying this as a result of it\u2019s a portfolio firm \u2014 but it surely was an IPO. And it was an IPO the place they needed to discuss to long-only buyers and strategics and get the help to do a proper IPO course of and listing. And I feel going ahead, there can be a lot of nice quantum corporations that can do IPOs. I\u2019m not significantly crucial of SPACs. I feel it\u2019s a route, however I\u2019m undecided\u2026<\/p>\n
You realize, I feel there are some superb non-public corporations who aren’t public as a result of they will increase cash within the non-public markets. I feel Quantinuum was barely completely different as a result of their largest shareholder was a strategic who occurred to be additionally breaking apart as a public firm \u2014 Honeywell, proper? So it was a barely completely different state of affairs the place they may have remained non-public. That they had a really massive strategic shareholder, and so they have been refined sufficient, had the observe report, had the strategic help and the long-only help to do a proper IPO course of.<\/p>\n
I feel the remainder of the sector that has come by means of SPACs \u2014 there\u2019s some credible corporations, but it surely\u2019s way more of a blended bag. I feel the way forward for the quantum trade just isn’t much more SPACs, however extra nice corporations going by means of the IPO course of, getting a correct institutional capital base and strategic capital base versus a retail capital base, proper?<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t suppose it\u2019s significantly good for quantum to commerce like crypto. The long run for quantum is for it to commerce with much less volatility, with long-term public help for these shares. And so I feel we\u2019re in a transition interval.<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0I imply, you talked about that you just\u2019re not a physicist. I solely have a graduate diploma in physics, so from a number of my colleagues\u2019 perspective, I don\u2019t perceive something about physics both. However we are able to have that debate another time. So how does a retail investor who simply reads, \u201cOh, quantum will clear up all of the world\u2019s issues in the future\u201d \u2014 how do they select which public quantum firm to spend money on? Or possibly that explains the volatility that you just\u2019re describing.<\/p>\n
Rob:\u00a0Yeah. I\u2019ll make two factors. One is, how does the retail investor come to that call level? And I feel it\u2019s very arduous, proper? As a result of there\u2019s a lot narrative, and there are some companies the place narrative is honest, however physics is physics. And narrative solely goes thus far.<\/p>\n
I feel sure corporations within the quantum trade have barely accomplished themselves a disservice by creating a niche between the PowerPoint shows that individuals will learn and the white papers that a number of non-technical folks don\u2019t learn. And so there\u2019s a number of momentum buying and selling, and that results in the volatility.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d develop the purpose to a broader one:\u00a0in a world the place increasingly non-public sector cash is coming in, the place lots of the folks, together with us, aren’t physics PhDs, how do even they consider corporations? And the way we method it’s we constructed an ecosystem. We solely ever bought shares to senior executives who had run massive infrastructure corporations, nationwide safety operatives, and scientists. Considered one of our most up-to-date investments was we took a stake in Emergence Quantum, which is an R&D lab with 25 physics PhDs. And we even have our ecosystem of portfolio founders who’re physics PhDs, and we triangulate.<\/p>\n
I feel what it’s important to do, whether or not you\u2019re public or non-public, is it\u2019s a world trade. You\u2019re going to have to have a look at corporations the world over, throughout the stack, and triangulate. And the reason being I all the time examine modalities to faith. Everybody believes there\u2019s a God, however they consider they\u2019re proper. So simply since you\u2019ve received one senior advisor who\u2019s a impartial atom knowledgeable or a founder you\u2019ve backed who\u2019s a trapped ion knowledgeable, very not often are they going to say, \u201cLook, to be trustworthy with you, I reckon these two different modalities may be higher.\u201d<\/p>\n
So truly, you\u2019re going to must triangulate. And our view is the longer term is multimodality, and we predict there are two or three modalities which might be actually fascinating, together with impartial atom. We expect that\u2019s completely one of many winners within the endgame. And I feel QuEra is likely one of the winners within the sport. We consider in trapped ion, and we predict superconducting and spin qubits \u2014 throughout the seven modalities, we\u2019ve taken a home view that some are extra promising than others.<\/p>\n
However inside that, I feel triangulation is actually essential. And sadly, it\u2019s arduous sufficient as a non-public investor in an institutional enterprise. I feel it\u2019s virtually not possible for a retail investor immediately. However I\u2019m inquisitive about your view. You\u2019ve clearly considered this problem your self.<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0Properly, a few issues. First, I\u2019ve interviewed many CEOs from many various modalities, and never everybody, however a lot of them are convincing, saying, \u201cOh yeah, my spin qubits are going to rule the world due to this,\u201d or no matter it’s that they declare. And I keep in mind asking considered one of them, \u201cProperly, if that is so nice, why isn\u2019t everybody doing it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rob:\u00a0Yeah.<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0Precisely. And he principally stated \u2014 he had an excellent reply, I feel. He stated, \u201cLook, I\u2019ve been doing this for 20 years. I’ve forgotten issues that others haven\u2019t even discovered but. It will simply take 20 years to catch as much as the place we’re.\u201d I generally give the analogy: you would be a improbable oboe participant, however that doesn\u2019t imply you’ll be able to play the violin tomorrow. Sure, you perceive music, however the method is totally completely different.<\/p>\n
The one query that I prefer to ask is to say, \u201cOkay, I perceive you consider in your modality. Let\u2019s assume you might be satisfied that it\u2019s not going to work. You\u2019re hitting a wall. You found one thing that simply doesn\u2019t be just right for you. What\u2019s the following greatest modality that you’d select?\u201d And I feel that\u2019s an fascinating query. That\u2019s a telling one for the place not less than the insiders really feel about one thing that\u2019s not simply theirs.<\/p>\n
Rob:\u00a0Yeah. And I feel that\u2019s why I take a view that \u2014 and also you\u2019ve had different company who\u2019ve talked concerning the attributes of various modalities and the rationale why completely different modalities are helpful for various use instances, and I\u2019m not going to rehash that \u2014 however I agree with that, and I feel the longer term for the winners is to be multimodality, not less than for a sure interval.<\/p>\n
This comes additionally again to the colleges, proper? As you realize higher than me, I\u2019m sitting in Boston immediately. The Lukin Lab has produced a couple of impartial atom firm. Oxford Physics Division has created a couple of trapped ion firm. So it begins there, as you rightly say. They\u2019re individuals who have spent 20 years of their life on a single modality, and so they come by means of these colleges, and due to this fact they find yourself there. And there\u2019s nothing incorrect with that, and so they all have their attributes.<\/p>\n
In a world of seven modalities, our view is there are two or three which might be going to be the pivotal ones within the subsequent three to 5 years. And I feel the winners are going to be corporations that reap the benefits of that.<\/p>\n
The opposite factor I might say to your listeners is I feel the trade is in a essentially completely different place immediately than six or seven years in the past once we began investing in quantum at Serendipity. It’s concerning the science, it’s about modalities, however we\u2019re getting into the part of managerial execution and engineering scale, proper? The problem for the businesses is: you’ve got proved as an organization you\u2019re one of many leaders in your modality. Now it’s important to construct a scale establishment that may ship one system, then a number of methods. And that\u2019s a really completely different problem. That\u2019s not being within the lab, that\u2019s not getting some financing. That’s tens of 1000’s of engineering hours. That’s constructing engineering processes, and that\u2019s a unique problem. That\u2019s the problem the winners are at immediately \u2014 constructing scale enterprise \u2014 and it\u2019s going to play out within the subsequent three to 4 years. And for us, it\u2019s by no means been extra thrilling.<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0After we spoke about your portfolio, you talked about a number of corporations and so they\u2019re all {hardware} corporations, or not less than primarily {hardware} corporations. The place are your software program investments?<\/p>\n
Rob:\u00a0Properly, look, I might say we make investments throughout the stack. We now have talked about some {hardware} corporations. Monarch, I might put within the management methods, the center layer. However we\u2019ve invested in BlueQubit \u2014 I\u2019m positive you realize the blokes \u2014 they\u2019re out of Harvard, Shankar\u2019s enterprise. We\u2019ve been extra centered on the {hardware} and the management methods for the time being as a result of actually for software program to progress, you want the methods to be increased high quality. You want the error correcting to be increased high quality.<\/p>\n
I feel we\u2019re shifting into the period the place software program \u2014 actually, it\u2019s algorithms \u2014 turns into extra fascinating. We actually just like the BlueQubit guys. I\u2019ll identify an organization we\u2019re not a shareholder in: I feel Phasecraft is a extremely fascinating firm. They’re on the market. However I feel the magic, the motion \u2014 no matter phrase you need to say \u2014 is on the {hardware} facet, the methods facet, the management system facet. Typically folks over-focus on the {hardware} facet. I feel there are going to be management methods gamers which might be going to be multimodality, and so they\u2019re going to be oligopolists or monopolists in that space. And from an investor perspective, that\u2019s actually fascinating.<\/p>\n
However the algorithm corporations will come. And what\u2019s your private view? Do you’re feeling that the time is now for algorithm corporations? We\u2019re being comparatively sluggish. We\u2019re being very selective. Perhaps we\u2019re being too sluggish. What\u2019s your view?<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0My view is that the {hardware} is getting there. At QuEra, the corporate I work for, we introduced a cope with AWS to place a fault-tolerant quantum laptop on the cloud in 2028. And I say, \u201cOkay, nicely, who\u2019s going to make use of it? What are they going to do? What algorithms?\u201d So assuming the {hardware} works \u2014 and it really works, but it surely may work higher and bigger, so there\u2019s nonetheless completely work to do \u2014 there\u2019s going to be a degree the place the software program issues.<\/p>\n
A few of the software program, particularly the software program that\u2019s near the {hardware}, could also be one thing that the {hardware} corporations simply need to maintain themselves \u2014 like Intel and the microcode, or NVIDIA and CUDA, proper? For that goal or one thing like that.<\/p>\n
Rob:\u00a0Yeah.<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0However I utterly agree. So let\u2019s\u2014<\/p>\n
Rob:\u00a0Sorry, I need to say, if I kick myself on one funding we must always have accomplished that we didn\u2019t do, it was Classiq, and I do know you used to work for Classiq, proper? We checked out it in 2020 or \u201921, and we checked out it once more in \u201922, and we must always have accomplished it. And we didn\u2019t as a result of we have been like, \u201cIs it too early?\u201d However they\u2019ve accomplished rather well.<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0Properly, for a everlasting capital firm, appears like your horizon must be a little bit bit longer. However sure, they’re a wonderful firm. I loved working there. I loved serving to them with a portion of their journey, and I hope they’ll succeed \u2014 as a shareholder as nicely.<\/p>\n
Let me ask you a unique query, although. Let\u2019s assume that tomorrow you determined it\u2019s time to enter public service, and the federal government calls you and says, \u201cWe\u2019re making these big investments in quantum, and we\u2019ve received this funds, and we wish you to assist us allocate it throughout varied corporations.\u201d Do you divide it equally into 17 slices and provides the identical quantity to every firm? What\u2019s your technique? Do you decide winners? Can the federal government try this? What would you advocate?<\/p>\n
Rob:\u00a0Yeah, that\u2019s a wonderful query and a massively topical query given sovereignty points round know-how. We\u2019ve thought loads about this and we discuss to a number of governments all over the world, and I\u2019d make three or 4 factors.<\/p>\n
One is, all governments aren\u2019t the identical. So let\u2019s speak about a bunch of nations that would legitimately try to construct the definitive world-leading system in a modality or create a pacesetter in a part of the stack \u2014 e.g., ASML in semiconductors. I feel for that group of nations, you do form of have to select winners. I\u2019m not about spraying it throughout the ecosystem. There\u2019s a certain quantity of ecosystem issues it’s important to do, however the actuality is the winners have to scale, they want capital, and in the event you don\u2019t have capital, it’s possible you’ll lose them.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m from the UK, and Cambridge Quantum and Oxford Ionics are good examples of fine corporations that ended up being a part of massive US corporations immediately. And so the problem is, are governments certified to select the winners, as you rightly say? And due to this fact, I feel it’s important to associate with the non-public sector. You shouldn\u2019t intention to be the primary examine. You ought to be the final examine. As a result of too typically these governments are the primary examine, and so they\u2019re selecting the incorrect corporations, and so they\u2019re propping up corporations that the non-public sector actually doesn\u2019t need to fund. I feel there are specific examples in continental Europe the place that might be the case. I\u2019m not going to call them, however there are examples of that.<\/p>\n
I feel what the US has accomplished very nicely is \u2014 you\u2019ve seen within the final three months the federal government investing in some corporations \u2014 however truly most of those corporations, the leaders within the US throughout modalities, have primarily been non-public sector funded. There have been DARPA grants and different issues on the sting, however what has pushed their scale has been non-public sector financing, and really the governments are available in in direction of the latter levels. And you may see that even with a few of the debates on AI.<\/p>\n
I feel there\u2019s one other set of nations the place they\u2019re smaller nations, they’ve capital, they’ve intent, the place it\u2019s not significantly real looking to construct a number one system in a modality. And this may be a controversial matter, however my private view can be, you realize, Australia, possibly Singapore, possibly Canada would possibly fall into that group of nations. However what you’ll be able to then do is: are you able to be one of many first nations to get the newest system into your nation from the leaders? Are you able to then construct an ecosystem round it? Can your corporates in that nation associate with that firm to construct use instances sooner than anybody else?<\/p>\n
So I might say there\u2019s a set of nations who probably are the innovators, and there\u2019s a set of nations that ought to realistically intention to not be the innovators, however the quickest integrators of the profitable applied sciences into their economies. And I feel that\u2019s the place governments ought to lean in.<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0That\u2019s an fascinating perspective. And by the way in which, that\u2019s possibly the place software program is available in. If you happen to don\u2019t suppose that your nation will be the main superconducting vendor, then possibly you would be the main software program vendor for quantum computer systems or for a selected kind of software.<\/p>\n
Rob:\u00a0Yeah, so in the event you take a rustic like Australia, which has two of the largest mining corporations, or Canada \u2014 between them, they’ve disproportionate world share of mining \u2014 then it’s best to create the software program for that trade and dominate that trade. However you may be leveraging US {hardware} to do it. That\u2019s precisely what I imply.<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0You\u2019ve been in quantum a number of years now. What\u2019s new? What have you ever discovered up to now 12 months that made you say, \u201cI want I knew that earlier than\u201d?<\/p>\n
Rob:\u00a0I\u2019d say there are some things. Whether or not it\u2019s over 12 months or over three years, there\u2019s a recency to it. I feel it\u2019s this level that we\u2019re shifting \u2014 we\u2019re out of the lab now. We’re into an engineering world, and that has completely different necessities for administration groups. It\u2019s by no means been extra essential in quantum to have the steadiness between the engineering expertise and the enterprise expertise, and \u2026<\/p>\n
Yuval:\u00a0Sadly, we skilled a recording downside and the previous few minutes of my dialog with Rob weren’t captured. He did select Oppenheimer as his dinner visitor, one cause being that he thought the physics and the federal government coverage are coming collectively after a few years, similar to in Oppenheimer\u2019s time. I thanked Rob for a really fascinating dialog and hope to have him once more in a future episode.<\/p>\n
Yuval Boger is the Chief Business Officer of\u00a0QuEra Computing.<\/p>\n
August 17, 2026<\/p>\n
![\"Print](\"https:\/\/cdn.printfriendly.com\/buttons\/printfriendly-pdf-button.png\")
<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n