Qunnect builds and deploys quantum networking hardware that enables the distribution of entanglement over existing telecom fiber, creating the infrastructure needed for secure, scalable quantum communication networks. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Qunnect CEO Noel Goddard to gain a deeper understanding of the company.
Noel Goddard’s Background
Could you tell me more about your background? Goddard said:
“I’m a biophysicist by training. After I did my PhD at Rockefeller University in Physics and Biology, I completed postdoctoral research as a Junior Fellow at Harvard. Intellectually, I really like the challenge of interdisciplinary problems, which is at the core of entrepreneurship. I founded my first biotech company, Goddard Labs, in 2012, and then served as CTO of Symbiotic Health before becoming a seed investor with Accelerate NY Seed Fund. Those experiences opened my eyes to the challenges in bringing deep technologies to market.”
“I joined Qunnect in 2020–first as its COO and then becoming its CEO. What attracted me was the opportunity to build infrastructure for something fundamentally new—quantum networking—but to do it in a way that’s actually deployable on existing telecom fiber. I found in Qunnect’s founders a shared drive for transforming lab discoveries into real-world, deployable technologies that would have impact.”
Formation Of The Company
How did the idea for the company come together? Goddard shared:
“Qunnect originated in the labs of the Quantum Information Technology group at Stony Brook University. The founding team—our Chief Science Officer Mehdi Namazi and Chief Technology Officer Maël Flament—had developed breakthrough technology around a field-deployable quantum memory which did not require extreme cooling or vacuum, significant barriers to scaling. That’s the technical foundation.”
“When I joined in 2020, the company had brilliant science, and our goal was to transition this from research to product. The insight that made Qunnect possible, was recognizing the need to develop a complete suite of products as a drop-in solution to utilize existing telecom fiber. This required us to not only design a number of first-in-class quantum products, but also to design support products to enable the use of quantum technology in the real world. Today, the company is deploying real entanglement-based quantum networks on standard metro fiber around the world. And we’re only just getting started.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Goddard reflected:
“Definitely our proudest moments are the commercial launch of each of our products. Just like your children, it’s hard to pick a favorite! This allowed us to start engaging design partners like Cisco, Deutsche Telekom and the US government. It’s exciting to see how our technology can be used for different applications.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Goddard explained:
“Our flagship is the Carina product suite, which is a full-stack, rack-mounted system to perform quantum entanglement distribution. It enables researchers to develop new protocols and use cases for entanglement-based networking and it is the foundation for the future of distributed quantum computing, and secure networks at scale.”
“The key differentiator is that Carina is built for deployment, not demonstration. It’s compatible with telecom server racks intended for taking their place in standard data centers. Carina works on existing commercial fiber, and doesn’t require exotic cooling or pristine lab conditions. And it has three core components that together enable what alternative technologies haven’t yet cracked—high purity entanglement generation and stable delivery of that entanglement across the network with 24/7 auto-optimized performance.”
“Right now, we’re working on developing application-specific bundles on top of Carina for different use cases. These include quantum-secure communications for defense and financial services, quantum alarms for intrusion detection on critical networks, distributed quantum computing infrastructure, and precision timing and sensing applications.”
Challenges Faced
Have you faced any challenges in your sector of work recently? Goddard acknowledged:
“Quantum networking has been the secondary focus of quantum discussions with quantum computing often being the focus. That is beginning to change. However, one of the main challenges we face came from the secondary effects of the National Security Agency’s assessment of quantum key distribution (QKD). In 2020, NSA announced it would not be procuring QKD technologies which were the most evolved use cases for quantum networks at the time. The NSA correctly identified limitations with QKD. However, quantum networking technologies have significantly evolved past QKD since then.”
“The 2020 assessment on QKD stifled investment on quantum networks as many investors at the time were skittish of a technology they assumed was without a use case the government found useful. We’ve had to explain that entanglement-based networking solves many of the problems the NSA flagged. We enable distributed architectures, we work on existing fiber, and we support the protocols and applications that make quantum networking actually useful.”
“We believe that addressing this by re-evaluating that policy and making clear how far quantum networks have come is essential for U.S. leadership in the field. A recent Senate report echoed these sentiments, so we may well be on the path to correction.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Goddard noted:
“We’ve gone from basic research experiments to commercial prototypes and now, commercial products. During the pandemic, we had the opportunity to step back and assess what path could best secure early adoption of our products when the market had not developed yet. That drove us to reframe Qunnect from a single-product company into an infrastructure-focused company with a portfolio of technologies that helped make quantum networking into a deployable system that works over already-deployed telecom fiber. That resulted into the engineering behind Carina, the world’s first turnkey entanglement distribution system that installs in standard racks and operates reliably in real-world conditions.”
“The second evolution was proving metro-scale deployment. GothamQ demonstrated we could operate over 34 kilometers of commercial fiber in New York City—not controlled lab fiber, but the stuff that’s already in the ground carrying internet traffic. That achievement opened the door for network operators, like Deutsche Telekom, to deploy our products on their infrastructure.”
“Our next evolution is creating an open-access infrastructure to catalyze the development of use cases. ABQ-Net represents a unique model in creating a network that any company or customer can use to test and develop new quantum technologies on. To date, nothing like this exists in the United States.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Goddard cited:
“The breakthrough that enabled everything was commercializing the first room-temperature quantum memory in the world in 2021. From there, we undertook the creation of a suite of products that would become Carina. We then launched GothamQ in New York City, proving entanglement-based networking works at metro scale on commercial fiber. Our Berlin deployment with Deutsche Telekom took that further with a third party validating our approach and achieving our longest distances with a major telecom operator. Stay tuned for updates on the performance of that deployment to be made very soon.”
“Strategic backing from Cisco Investments, Airbus Ventures, and Quantonation has validated the market opportunity. Most recently, ABQ-Net represents something different: the first open-access quantum networking facility in the US.”
Customer Success Stories
Can you share any specific customer success stories? Goddard highlighted:
“Our partnership with Deutsche Telekom has become a calling card of sorts for their research and development unit, T-Labs. One of their engineers saw a post on LinkedIn from our Co-Founder and Chief Scientist, Mehdi Namazi. That led to conversations and tours of our facilities that eventually led to the creation of the first quantum network in Berlin, Germany. It is truly a testament to curiosity and collaboration leading to real results and we are excited about where that partnership will lead in the days ahead.”
Funding/Revenue
Are you able to discuss funding and/or revenue metrics? Goddard Goddard revealed:
“Qunnect closed an extended, oversubscribed Series A with $10 million in 2025 with our lead investor Airbus Ventures and investment from Cisco Investments, Medina Ventures and Quantonation. We expect to open up Series B in 2026 for the purpose of securing deeper government funding, to advance our product road map and establishing scalable manufacturing processes. We are particularly proud of manufacturing real products and selling to customers ~$4 million in components and racks.”
Total Addressable Market (TAM)
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Goddard assessed:
“Worldwide, governments have invested over $55 billion in quantum technologies. This is an industry race—but it has profound national security and economic implications.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Goddard affirmed:
“Number one—we deploy. Most of the current players in quantum networking are stuck in research. We ship working products and plug-and-play systems and create entanglement-based quantum networks over already deployed commercial telecom fiber.”
“The other big differentiator is our full-stack approach. We’re not just selling components. For customers to deploy quantum networks we had to build the technologies that integrated those innovations on current infrastructure and in configurations our customers were used to working with. In that way, Qunnect’s Carina is a complete system: It installs like standard telecom equipment and works in the hands of our customers rather than only in pristine lab environments.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Goddard emphasized:
“One of our most important goals is advocating for the quantum networking industry as a whole. The NSA’s 2020 decision that discouraged investment in quantum key distribution reduced investment in quantum networks just as the technology was maturing, and that policy gap allowed China and Europe to pull ahead while U.S. companies struggled to secure funding. A recent Senate report echoed these concerns, calling quantum communications essential infrastructure for national security. Getting policy right isn’t just about Qunnect—it’s about ensuring the U.S. can lead in a technology that will define the future of secure communications.”
“On the technical side, we’re focused on creating the enabling tech that will allow us to deploy quantum networks across and through critical computing infrastructure, particularly data centers. This requires creating quantum repeaters–much like the repeaters in our current digital internet infrastructure–that help distribute entanglement over long distances and through data centers. We are also working with design partners on protocols for quantum alarms and quantum position verfication–capabilities that will have immense impact on secure communications.”
“Ultimately, our goal is to continue improving and scaling the technology so it can serve as essential infrastructure for the quantum future. That means making our systems more robust, easier to deploy, and capable of supporting the full range of applications the quantum internet will need.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Goddard concluded:
“It’s important to understand the urgency behind quantum networking. For years, experts across security and policy assumed “Q-Day”—the moment quantum computers defeat modern encryption—was still far away. New research suggests it isn’t. In May, Google scientists estimated that a 2048-bit RSA encryption key—the standard used to secure the vast majority of the internet—could, in theory, be cracked in under one week using fewer than one million noisy qubits. That’s roughly twenty times less computing power than we once thought necessary. No such machines exist as yet, but many experts believe they’re within reach.”
“Quantum networks fundamentally change the security model. Instead of relying on mathematical complexity to secure information across networks that quantum computers will eventually break, entanglement-based networks make intrusions physically observable through the laws of physics. You can’t intercept data on a quantum network without disturbing it—the network itself tells you when someone’s trying to eavesdrop. For national security systems, financial infrastructure, healthcare data—anything that cannot tolerate undetected compromise—that’s a fundamentally different kind of protection.”
