Quantum Picks and Shovels
Nico@sweet_nicouze
The idea
I think quantum computing becomes a real industry over the next several years, but instead of betting on which machine design wins, I own the suppliers that every approach needs: lasers and photonics, control electronics, chip fabrication, and cryogenic cooling. The basket leans on established companies with other businesses to fall back on, spread across those four layers so no single technology decides the outcome, with a small cash buffer kept aside. I plan to hold this for years and would reconsider if one design wins outright and the supply chain narrows around it.
What it owns
- Trapped-ion, neutral-atom and photonic quantum computers depend on precision lasers, optical components and photonic circuits, making suppliers of these tools critical to multiple quantum approaches. · Coherent Corp.It supplies precision lasers and optical components used in trapped-ion and neutral-atom quantum systems, with quantum demand layered onto a large existing business in other laser markets., MKS Instruments, Inc.It supplies lasers, optics and ultra-high vacuum equipment that quantum systems depend on for stable light sources and clean operating environments., Lumentum Holdings Inc.It manufactures optical and photonic components that form the core building blocks of photonic quantum computers and quantum networks., Teledyne Technologies IncorporatedIt makes sensitive optical detectors, lasers and measurement instruments used to read out and control qubits, alongside a large defense and industrial instruments business., Corning IncorporatedIt produces specialty glass and optical fiber that serve as raw materials for photonic quantum chips and as interconnects between quantum systems., IPG Photonics CorporationIt manufactures fiber lasers used in laser-driven quantum systems, diversifying the supply base for the stable, high-quality light sources quantum machines need.32%
- Quantum computers need classical electronics and signal processing to operate qubits and correct errors in real time, making control and measurement gear essential infrastructure regardless of the quantum design chosen. · Keysight Technologies, Inc.It makes the electronics and software that send signals to qubits and measure their response, tools that quantum labs need regardless of their hardware approach., NVIDIA CorporationIts processors handle the classical computing workload that quantum systems require for error correction and qubit simulation, making them essential infrastructure alongside quantum hardware., Analog Devices, Inc.It makes the high-speed analog and signal processing chips that convert control commands into the precise pulses needed to operate qubits., Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.Its reconfigurable processor chips are widely used in quantum control systems because they can execute real-time feedback and signal processing.26%
- Quantum hardware requires specialized manufacturing to scale from laboratory prototypes to production, and contract foundries with expertise in advanced processes are signing deals to build quantum chips at scale. · GlobalFoundries Inc.It operates advanced chip factories capable of manufacturing silicon photonics and specialty semiconductor processes that quantum chip designers require to move from prototypes to production., Tower Semiconductor Ltd.It is a contract chip factory with established silicon photonics capability, the specialized manufacturing process that photonic quantum chip designers need., Intel CorporationIt is pursuing the development of spin qubits on conventional silicon chip processes, a pathway that could allow quantum hardware to leverage existing semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure.17%
- Superconducting quantum chips operate only at temperatures colder than outer space, so suppliers of cryogenic testing systems and the helium that enables those temperatures gain a durable business line tied to quantum hardware production. · FormFactor, Inc.It makes the test systems that verify superconducting quantum chips at the extreme cryogenic temperatures required for them to function, creating a recurring business tied to hardware production., Linde plcIt is a major industrial gas supplier providing helium needed to maintain the extreme cold temperatures superconducting quantum machines operate at, with quantum demand supplementing a large established gas business., Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.It is a major helium and industrial gas supplier offering a second source for the cryogenic cooling systems that superconducting quantum machines require.17%
- Cash8%