Having been in the photonics industry for more than ten years, Hengesbach possesses an extensive background in photonics and quantum optics. Prevalent through his education and numerous publications, he has dedicated his career into mastering the industry. Founder Dr Hans van den Vlekkert is retiring from the operational side of the business and will remain with the company as a director and shareholder.

Dr Hengesbach has had his dissertation awarded the Borchers Badge of RWTH Aachen University, as well as his research in the field of laser technology with the renowned Hugo Geiger Prize of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft and the WLT Prize of the Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft Lasertechnik eV (Scientific Society for Laser Technology).

He took over as CEO in May, after previously having served as managing director of the quantum startup Q.ant in Stuttgart, Germany. “With the TriPleX material platform, Quix Quantum and the manufacturing technology contractor Lionix International have developed a mature basic technology for the production of photonic integrated circuits with exceptionally low attenuation and protected by a strong IP portfolio. As a result, we are already able to sell quantum processors and are one of the few companies in the world to record real revenues from second-generation quantum technology. This is very rare in the significantly overheated and artificially inflated quantum technology market,” said Dr Hengesbach.

In combination with his past executive and management experience, Hengesbach was an obvious and fitting choice for Quix Quantum. “He has both the practical and theoretical knowledge,” says Dr van den Vlekkert in full support, “which is vital to effectively and successfully manage the overall operations within Quix Quantum. Being the worldwide market leader in photonic quantum computing hardware comes with inevitable growth, and we see the need to further expand.”

Quix Quantum BV was founded in January 2019 by Drs Hans van den Vlekkert and Jelmer Renema. The company operates ‘fabless’ and currently employs fifteen experts who specialize in the design and further development of photonic quantum computers. Quix Quantum states it is the world market leader in the production of photonic processors for quantum applications both in the number of systems sold, their quality (fidelity) and the number of inputs and outputs, so-called Qumodes.

Further reading: Quantum photonic processor with a record number of qumodes, WileyIndustryNews.com, 1 April 2022