New QLDPC code family unlocks highly efficient quantum operations with lower physical qubit requirements

Photonic Accelerates the Timeline to Useful Quantum Computing With Breakthrough Results in Error Correction

Laurie Davis
+1 804 337 2569
Laurie_Davis@interprosepr.com

Vivian Kelly
+1 703 509 5412
viviankelly@interprosepr.com

In an industry first, Photonic Inc. has introduced a new, low-overhead family of Quantum Low-Density Parity Check (QLDPC) codes that can efficiently perform both quantum computation and error correction, using materially fewer quantum bits (qubits) than traditional surface code approaches. This milestone work will accelerate the timeline to useful quantum computing.

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Photonic Inc: Connectivity diagrams of surface (left) and SHYPS (right) codes in practice. In a full implementation of SHYPS codes and comparably scaled implementation of surface codes, SHYPS codes rely on non-local connectivity across and between chips while surface codes rely on nearest-neighbour connectivity across chips and edge-coupling between chips (neighbouring or otherwise).

“Unlocking the quantum logic of high-performance QLDPC codes has been the holy grail of quantum error correction R&D for decades, and one of the obstacles to cost-effective quantum computing at scale,” said Stephanie Simmons, Chief Quantum Officer at Photonic. “Today we’re announcing that we have cracked these codes. Today we’re launching fast and lean QLDPC codes, called SHYPS codes, that can run all quantum algorithms using up to 20x fewer physical qubits compared to the traditional approaches to error correction. We’re excited to share these milestone results which have moved the goalposts for useful quantum computing 20x closer.”

Quantum computers require error correction to realize the promised exponential speedups over known classical approaches for key computational challenges. Using surface code for error-correction introduces enormous overhead requirements for systems at scale – millions of physical qubits are needed to collectively act as the thousands of logical qubits required for impactful applications. These assumptions have contributed to 30+ year projections of when quantum will become “real” in the market.?

Introduced 20 years ago, QLDPC codes provide a promising alternative to reduce overheads by 10-100x – with one catch – someone had to first unlock the ability to perform quantum logic using QLDPC codes. Researchers spent over a decade on this challenge, and today Photonic’s new paper, “Computing Efficiently in QLDPC Codes,” is the first to demonstrate how to compute using SHYPS QLDPC codes. This breakthrough simultaneously delivers the efficiency gains promised by QLDPC codes and removes a key barrier to commercially useful quantum applications.

"This is a truly major milestone. The quantum field must now be divided into those whose hardware can run these new codes, and those who can’t. We’re going to see a race between players that invest in the scarce skills required for in-house code innovation, and those that seek to be fast followers,” said David Shaw, Lead Analyst, Global Quantum Intelligence. “Implementing logic always looked like the hard part of standing-up better codes. This new work has knocked it out of the park."

This fast and lean, patent pending QLDPC code family has specific hardware requirements for implementation that not every approach to quantum computing can deliver. Photonic’s Entanglement First^TM architecture provides the high levels of connectivity needed to realize the benefits of QLDPC codes. These codes have been stress tested in the most complete simulations known to date, demonstrating that the logic works in practice, not just in theory. Better yet, this approach is implementable on distributed systems, working both within and between modules.

Learn more about the SHYPS QLDPC code family and Photonic’s advances in efficient quantum error correction:

• For more discussion of these results and their impact, read “Launching SHYPS: QLDPC is the New Error Correction”
  https://photonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Launching-SHYPS.pdf

• For a deep dive, read the scientific paper “Computing Efficiently in QLDPC Codes”
  https://photonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Computing-Efficiently-in-QLDPC-Codes.pdf

About Photonic

Photonic Inc. is a leading quantum company developing commercial-scale quantum computers and quantum networks to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges across materials science, drug discovery, climate change, security, and more. Photonic’s Entanglement First™ architecture is designed to deliver at scale, leveraging optically linked silicon spin qubits with high connectivity. This approach enables entanglement distribution for powerful computation, efficient error correction, and seamless integration into existing data center and telecom environments. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with operations in the United States and the United Kingdom, Photonic has over 150 employees and is backed by leading investors and multinational partners. To learn more, visit www.photonic.com

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We are excited to introduce SHYPS: the first QLDPC code family that can efficiently perform error-corrected quantum computation. #PhotonicQLDPC #IYQ2025 #TeamPhotonic