Business of Quantum Summit

Registration and networking breakfast

• Jonathan Ruane – Lecturer, MIT Sloan and Research Scientist, MIT IDE
• Neil Thompson – Director, MIT FutureTech and Research Group Lead, MIT IDE

Quantum Computing capabilities are advancing fast but how close are we to real-world, commercial impact? A spate of recent announcements suggest rapid progress is happening, what do non-experts need to know and where should they focus their attention. This session brings together experts to cut through the hype and provide a clear-eyed assessment of where the industry stands today. From hardware to error correction to commercial deployments, we’ll explore the progress, challenges, and what’s next in the race towards Quantum Economic Advantage.

Panelists:

• Carl Dukatz – Managing Director, Accenture
• Olivier Ezratty – EPITA Research Lab, Quantum Energy Initiative cofounder
• Elica (Elitsa) Kyoseva – Director Quantum Algorithm Engineering, NVIDIA
• Will Oliver – Professor, MIT and Director, MIT Center for Quantum Engineering

Enjoy a 15-minute coffee break

• Jayson Lynch – Research Scientist, MIT FutureTech
• Neil Thompson – Director, MIT FutureTech and Research Group Lead, MIT IDE

Enjoy lunch and interact with IDE Researchers on their cutting-edge work that providers interactive tools and reports that allow attendees to delve deeper and explore further.

At some stage in the future, Quantum Computer could break the encryption standards we use today, creating a ‘Store Now-Decrypt Later’ risk. As work progresses in the area of Post Quantum Cryptography, what should leaders and managers do now to prepare. Quantum Networks are still at an early stage of development, but they could redefine communication with ultra-secure encryption and entanglement-powered data transfer. Our expert panelists will unpack what businesses need to know as we move toward a new era of connectivity.

Panelists:

• Laura Andre – CEO, Qunett
• Yael Kalai – Professor, MIT and Senior Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research New England
• Mihir Bhaskar – CEO & Co-Founder, Lightsynq
• Lily Chen – NIST Fellow, NIST

Enjoy a 20-minute coffee break

Many organizations are already deploying and experimenting with Quantum Computers across a range of industries including finance, pharmaceuticals, energy and logistics. However, Quantum Computers are not replacements for classical machines. So how should we think about where and when to adopt Quantum Computing and what can we learn from pioneers in the space? Our panelists will provide a platform for accessible and in-depth debates around the promise and reality of working with Quantum in industry today.

Moderator:

• Michael A. Cusumano – SMR Distinguished Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management

Panelists:

• Juliette Peyronnet – U.S. General Manager, Alice & Bob
• Yudong Cao – Head of Quantum and AI, BCG X
• Elizabeth Rossi – Quantum AI External Affairs, Google
• Elton Zhu – Vice President, Quant Research | Fidelity Center for Applied Technology (FCAT)

• Jonathan Ruane – Lecturer, MIT Sloan and Research Scientist, MIT IDE
• Neil Thompson – Director, MIT FutureTech and Research Group Lead, MIT IDE

Conference concludes

Dr. Laura Andre is the CEO of Qunett, an early-stage deep-tech company based in Boston, focused on developing scalable hardware solutions for quantum networking. Qunett’s technology seamlessly integrates with existing infrastructure to enable deployable quantum networks, supporting diverse quantum platforms and accelerating the adoption of quantum technologies.

Laura earned her PhD in Electrical Engineering and a Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship from the University of Michigan, where she received the College of Engineering’s Distinguished Leadership Award. She also participated in the Ross School of Business Leaders Academy, gaining experience at the intersection of technology and business. Combining her expertise in quantum optics with a strategic approach to commercialization, she leads Qunett’s efforts to translate cutting-edge quantum innovations into scalable, real-world solutions.

Dr. Mihir Bhaskar is co-founder and CEO of Lightsynq, a Boston-based technology company commercializing quantum interconnects to help quantum computers scale to useful sizes. Mihir and his co-founders launched Lightsynq in November 2024, after successfully raising a Series A and spinning out of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Center for Quantum Networking, where Mihir served as the Research Lead directing a team of 20 scientists, engineers and operators from 2021-2024.

Mihir earned his Ph.D in Physics from Harvard University and B.A. in Physics from Columbia University in the City of New York. He has authored several patents in quantum information processing technology, and has over 4,500 citations and multiple publications in high impact journals such as Nature and Science. Mihir is from San Jose, CA and currently lives in Cambridge, MA.

Dr. Yudong Cao is an accomplished technology leader and the Head of Quantum and AI at BCG X, where he drives innovative solutions at the intersection of quantum computing and artificial intelligence. With over a decade of experience, Dr. Cao has a proven track record in developing advanced quantum algorithms and applications across various industries, including national security and pharmaceuticals. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Purdue University and has held prominent positions, including Chief Technology Officer at Zapata AI. Recognized for his contributions to the field, he was named to the Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list in 2024. As a speaker at the MIT Business of Quantum Summit, Dr. Cao will share insights on the transformative potential of quantum technologies in addressing complex industrial challenges.

Dr. Lily (Lidong) Chen is a mathematician and NIST fellow. She served as the manager of Cryptographic Technology Group for more than a decade before she was selected as a NIST fellow in 2023. She has led the effort in developing cryptographic standards published in Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and NIST Special Publications (SP). She is a pioneer in developing post-quantum cryptography standards and has been actively explored many advanced cryptography areas for standardization. Her research interests include cryptography, network security, and security in communications. Dr. Chen has actively contributed to cryptographic and security standards development by IEEE-SA, ISO, and other standards organizations.

Michael A. Cusumano is the SMR Distinguished Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. During 2020-2024, he was Deputy Dean for Faculty and Research.  He has also held a joint appointment in the MIT School of Engineering. Cusumano specializes in strategy, product development, and entrepreneurship in computer software as well as automobiles and consumer electronics. At MIT, he has recently taught “Platform Strategy and Entrepreneurship” as well as “Strategy and the CEO.” During 2016-17, he was on leave as Special Vice President and Dean of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Tokyo University of Science, where he founded an entrepreneurship center, redesigned the mid-career Management of Technology curriculum, and oversaw the merger between the Graduate School of Innovation and a relaunched School of Management.

Cusumano received a BA degree from Princeton and a PhD from Harvard, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Production and Operations Management at the Harvard Business School prior to joining MIT. He is fluent in Japanese and has lived and worked in Japan for more than eight years, with two Fulbright Fellowships and a Japan Foundation Fellowship for studying at Tokyo University. He has been a Visiting Professor at Imperial College, Tokyo University, Hitotsubashi University, the University of St. Gallen, the University of Maryland, and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He has consulted and lectured for approximately 100 companies and organizations, including NASA and the World Bank. He is currently a director of Orix Corporation in Japan. He has served as editor-in-chief and chairman of the MIT Sloan Management Review and writes regularly on Technology Strategy and Management for Communications of the ACM. In 2009, he was named one of the most influential people in technology and IT by Silicon.com.

Cusumano has published 14 books and more than 120 articles. His latest book is The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power (2019, with Annabelle Gawer and David Yoffie). His prior book with David Yoffie, Strategy Rules: Five Timeless Lessons from Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs (2015), has been translated into 18 languages and received wide media coverage from CNBC, Bloomberg News, The New York Times, The Economist, The Financial Times, Fast Company, and other media outlets. Other books include Staying Power (2010), based on the 2009 Oxford Clarendon Lectures and named one of the top books of 2011 by Strategy + Business Magazine; and The Business of Software (2004), also named one of the best books of the year in Strategy + Business Magazine.  His book Microsoft Secrets (1995, with Richard Selby) has sold approximately 150,000 copies in 14 languages. Platform Leadership (2002, with Annabelle Gawer) is often considered the first management book to examine industry-wide platforms and ecosystem-based competition. Competing on Internet Time: Lessons from Netscape and its Battle with Microsoft (1998, with David Yoffie), was named one of the top 10 business books of 1998 by Business Week and played a central role in the Microsoft anti-trust trial.

Carl Dukatz is a Managing Director and the Global Lead of Next Gen Compute at Accenture. He has led the creation of dozens of quantum applications and prototypes, published research and business perspectives on quantum, and developed multiple training and workforce readiness programs for quantum practitioners. He is the Chair of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium Quantum Use Cases Technical Advisory Committee, with leadership in quantum computing, communications, and sensing. Carl is a sponsoring member of the World Economic Consortium Quantum Economy Network for the Quantum Applications Hub and Quantum for Societal Impact.

Olivier Ezratty is a freelance quantum engineer, author, trainer, teacher and researcher, mostly known for “Understanding Quantum Technologies”, his comprehensive open-source book on quantum technologies (September 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, 1,554 pages). He is a teacher and lecturer on quantum and classical technologies at EPITA, CentraleSupelec, ENS Paris-Saclay, and other Universities. He works for a diverse set of government institutions and industry organizations, as a referent expert for Bpifrance, Agence Nationale de Recherche (France), the European Commission and venture capital funds. He is also one of the cofounders of the Quantum Energy Initiative. He has an Msc in Computer Science from CentraleSupelec.

Professor Yael Kalai is a theoretical computer scientist who focuses on the field of cryptography, both its theoretical nature and its real-world applications. She is an Adjunct Professor in the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and is a member of the Theory of Computation research group in CSAIL. She is also a Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research New England.

Prof. Kalai graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1997 and earned a master’s degree at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2001. Working with Professor Shafi Goldwasser as her doctoral advisor, she completed her PhD at MIT in 2006. She did postdoctoral study at Microsoft Research and the Weizmann Institute before becoming a faculty member at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and now works at both Microsoft Research and MIT CSAIL.

Dr Elica Kyoseva is Director of Quantum Algorithm Engineering at NVIDIA, where she leads a team developing cutting-edge hybrid quantum-classical algorithms leveraging NVIDIA’s HPC architecture. Elica has expertise in quantum computing and its applications to drug discovery and human health. Prior to her role at NVIDIA, she led the Quantum for Bio program at Wellcome Leap, a $50 million effort aimed at showcasing quantum computing’s potential in solving critical health challenges.

Originally from Bulgaria, Elica earned her PhD in Quantum Optics from the University of Sofia. She spent time in academia as a postdoc at the Center for Quantum Technologies in Singapore and, subsequently, as a tenure-track assistant professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design. Elica also spent a year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Research Fellow. She was also a Marie Curie fellow and was awarded the 2016 John Atanasoff Award of President of Bulgaria for internationally recognized scientists.

Jayson Lynch is a Research Scientist in the FutureTech Lab at MIT working on predicting the future progress of algorithms developement and understanding the fundamental limitations to improving computing performance. They earned their PhD from MIT under Erik Demain working on the computational complexity of motion planning problems, computational geometry, and games and puzzles. Afterwards Jayson continued researching computational geometry at the University of waterloo. Some of their other work includes reversible algorithms to help unlock future highly energy efficient computers, as well as cache-oblivious and cache-adaptive algorithms.

William D. Oliver is jointly appointed the Henry Ellis Warren (1894) Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He serves as the Director of the Center for Quantum Engineering and as Associate Director of the Research Laboratory of Electronics. He is a Principal Investigator in the Engineering Quantum Systems Group at MIT campus. He provides programmatic and technical leadership targeting the development of quantum and classical high-performance computing technologies. Will’s research interests include the materials growth, fabrication, design, and measurement of superconducting qubits, as well as the development of cryogenic packaging and control electronics involving cryogenic CMOS and single-flux quantum digital logic.

From 2003-2023, Will also worked at Lincoln Laboratory — most recently as a Laboratory Fellow (2017-2023) — with the Quantum Information and Integrated Nanosystems Group. Over those 20 years, Will was instrumental in growing the quantum group to its present levels. In February 2023, Will stepped down from this position, due to a perceived organizational conflict of interest with his outside professional activities. Nonetheless, he and the EQuS group maintain a strong collaborative relationship with the Laboratory.

Will is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Physical Society (APS), and a Senior Member of the IEEE. He serves on the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee, the US Committee for Superconducting Electronics, and is an IEEE Applied Superconductivity Conference (ASC) Board Member.

Will received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, his M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and B.A. in Japanese from the University of Rochester (NY).

Juliette Peyronnet is the U.S. General Manager at Alice & Bob, leading the company’s commercialization strategy in the United States. With over eight years of experience in bringing deep-tech products to market, she has a strong background in go-to-market strategy and business development. Juliette holds a Master of Science in Photonics and previously advised the French government on GTM strategy in North America. Before joining Alice & Bob, she was a Business Development Lead at Xanadu, where she played a key role in advancing quantum technology adoption

Elizabeth Rossi works on external affairs and governance strategies for Google Quantum AI, facilitating initiatives to connect Google Quantum AI’s research with industry leaders, policymakers, and the public. Her career has focused on this intersection between cutting-edge research and its real-world impact. Before Google, Elizabeth consulted with the Department of Defense on quantum computing strategy. She also gained her technical expertise as a physics researcher with the US Army and a mathematician for US intelligence. Elizabeth holds a BS in physics from The George Washington University.

Jonathan Ruane is a Lecturer in the Global Economics and Management group at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a Research Scientist at MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE). His interests are at the intersection of digital technology, entrepreneurship, advanced computing and international markets. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Trinity College Dublin and a Fulbright recipient.

Ruane teaches across Sloan (MBA, EMA, Exec Education) and EECS. He cofounded a number of pioneering graduate courses at MIT in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (with Professor Simon Johnson) and Quantum Computing (with Professor William Oliver).

He was appointed by the Irish Government to the board of RTÉ, the State broadcaster with public service responsibilities across TV, radio, digital, and performing groups.

Prior to coming to MIT, Ruane was ceo of a VC backed SAAS company that he cofounded and subsequently sold. The business was listed in the Techcrunch Euro Top 100, and Ruane himself was named in the Top 40 Irish Entrepreneurs Under 40. He started his career with Procter & Gamble.

Jonathan is an experienced mountaineer including summits of Mount Everest and the Eiger. He competed in the US and internationally with MIT Rowing Club and was formerly an ultra-distance marathon runner.

He is an Irish citizen and holds graduate degrees from University College Dublin and MIT.

Neil Thompson is the Director of the FutureTech research project, where his group studies the economic and technical foundations of progress in computing, and is cross-appointed at MIT’s Computer Science and AI Lab and MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy.

Previously, Neil was an Assistant Professor of Innovation and Strategy at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he co-directed the Experimental Innovation Lab (X-Lab), and a Visiting Professor at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard. He has advised businesses and government on the future of Moore’s Law, has been on National Academies panels on transformational technologies and scientific reliability, and is part of the Council on Competitiveness’ National Commission on Innovation & Competitiveness Frontiers.

He has a PhD in Business and Public Policy from Berkeley, where he also did Masters degrees in Computer Science and Statistics. He also has a masters in Economics from the London School of Economics, and undergraduate degrees in Physics and International Development. Prior to academia, He worked at organizations such as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Bain and Company, the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Canadian Parliament.