Conductor Quantum founder Brandon Severin joins Thinking on Paper to explain Google’s latest quantum breakthrough, the race to scale beyond today’s experimental systems, and why the future of computing may depend on controlling individual electrons.

From spin qubits and trapped ions to semiconductor manufacturing, AI driven quantum control, drug discovery, and cryptography, the conversation maps the emerging architecture of the quantum industry.

Have fun with this one. We did.

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Brandon Severin: https://www.conductorquantum.com/

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Timestamps

(00:00) Introduction: spin qubits and the quantum scaling problem

(03:47) Trapped ions vs spin qubits: fidelity, coherence, and tradeoffs

(06:14) What qubit fidelity means and why it determines scaling limits

(08:25) What is a spin qubit? Building from the transistor up

(11:06) Semiconductor fabrication as quantum computing's manufacturing advantage

(15:00) The quantum circus: superposition, measurement, Schrödinger's cat

(17:17) Shuttling qubits — moving electrons across a chip

(20:33) How AI automates quantum calibration (the control problem)

(25:00) Quantum scaling vs AI scaling: the GPU parallel

(29:08) Quantum startup culture and the AI generation gap

(32:59) Building for a million qubits — rocket ships vs ladders

(36:52) Why quantum is taking so long: talent, concentration, and meaning

(39:43) What seems impossible now that will be routine in 20 years