Quantum computing is one of those technologies that feels almost mythical. People know it matters, know it may transform the world and know it involves physics that makes even engineers uncomfortable. But ask someone to explain it, and the room gets quiet.
This is exactly why Quantum Source, led by CEO Oded Melamed, is such a fascinating Israeli startup. The company is building one of the only deterministic photonic quantum architectures in the world, with the potential to scale quantum computers to the millions of qubits needed for real-world impact.
In a conversation that moved from basic physics to geopolitics to government strategy, Oded broke down what quantum computing really is, why it matters for Israel and how his team plans to shrink something the size of a football stadium into a server-room machine.
Why Quantum Computing Is So Hard to Understand
Quantum systems behave in ways that do not match our intuition. That is part of why people fear or misunderstand them.
“Quantum computers are based on particles, on atoms, ions and photons. It is too difficult to understand,” Oded says.
He offers a simple metaphor. Imagine each qubit as a ball. Unlike classical bits that are either zero or one, a quantum qubit can exist anywhere on the surface of that ball. Only when measured does it collapse into one of the two poles.
Then imagine many of these balls interacting. When one changes state, it affects all the others.
This interconnectedness allows quantum computers to explore many states at once. It is why breaking an RSA encryption key takes classical computers practically forever, but quantum computers are theorized to test vast possibilities in parallel.
Why Today’s Quantum Computers Are Not Yet Useful
Despite the promise, current quantum machines only have a few hundred qubits. Useful quantum computing requires millions.
“To unlock the potential of quantum computers, we need machines with millions of qubits. Today we have several hundreds,” Oded explains.
Photonic qubits, based on photons, are one of the best paths to reach large scale. But existing methods generate photons using probabilistic processes with low success rates. Creating even a handful of qubits requires millions of attempts.
The result is massive machines that consume enormous power and require the footprint of a football field.
This is the bottleneck Quantum Source was founded to solve.
The Breakthrough: Deterministic Photonic Qubits
Quantum Source works with single atoms placed on photonic chips. Instead of relying on probability to generate qubits, they use a deterministic process.
The impact is dramatic.
If qubits can be generated reliably and efficiently, the entire quantum machine can shrink.
“We can shrink down a huge machine to something that can fit in a regular server room,” Oded says.
It also makes the system faster, cheaper and far more energy efficient. No one else in the world is developing this architecture.
Quantum Computing Will Start With Governments and Multinationals
Quantum computers will not appear in homes. Not anytime soon.
“In your house you do not need such a machine,” Oded says simply.
Instead, governments and global corporations will use them for drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling and optimization problems that require extreme computational power. Quantum will work alongside supercomputers, not replace them.
A classical machine will solve what it can. When it reaches a quantum-suitable algorithm, it will offload that part to the quantum computer and continue.
Why the Company Is in Rehovot, Not Tel Aviv
Quantum Source’s core technology originated from the Weizmann Institute under Professor Barak Dayan. Staying physically close to the research groups was essential.
More than half the team has PhDs in physics, mathematics or computer science, and many prefer to work in quieter environments. For a company solving deep scientific problems, Rehovot makes far more sense than Rothschild Boulevard.
How Oded Went From Semiconductors to Quantum Computing
Before founding Quantum Source, Oded was CEO of Altair Semiconductor, which he and his co-founders scaled to 200 employees before being acquired by Sony.
Years of flying to Japan and Europe gave him long stretches of listening time, and on one of those flights he heard a podcast about quantum computing. It captured him immediately.
He returned to Israel and began exploring the space. After nearly starting one quantum venture, abandoning it and retiring briefly, three entrepreneurs approached him with a radical new idea. One of them was Professor Dayan.
Oded fell in love with the concept and joined as co-founder.
Quantum Error Correction: The Hardest Part of the Problem
Quantum states are fragile. Noise from the environment can alter them easily. Quantum error correction attempts to stabilize these states.
Unlike classical error correction, quantum error correction is massively complex. It may take thousands of physical qubits to create one stable logical qubit.
This is why scaling matters. Without millions of qubits, fully fault tolerant quantum computing is impossible.
The Geopolitics: Why Quantum Is a National Strategic Asset
Quantum computing will determine advantage among nations. Whoever builds the first fully capable quantum computer will have economic and security leverage.
“The first nation that will own a real quantum computer will have an advantage over its rivals and even over its friends,” Oded says.
The United States leads. China is investing heavily. Europe follows.
Israel, he says, is modest in its investments.
Modest here does not mean humble. It means underfunded.
Israel Needs a Government Strategy. It Does Not Have One.
Quantum development requires private capital but also significant long-term government backing. That is true in every country where progress is being made.
In Israel, resources are pulled in many directions. Quantum receives only a fraction of what it needs.
Oded credits the Israel Innovation Authority for supporting Quantum Source from day one, but the budget allocated to quantum is still too small.
The Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Finance are aware of quantum’s importance, but awareness has not turned into serious investment.
Why Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett Joined the Board
Naftali Bennett visited the company early and became enthusiastic about the national implications. His experience as both a tech founder and a national leader makes him uniquely valuable.
He helps the company understand how governments think, how to frame strategic importance and how to navigate large institutions.
Connections matter, and Bennett provides access that accelerates decision making.
Will Quantum Ever Touch Individual Consumers?
Probably not directly.
But it will shape their lives through the industries that adopt it.
Quantum will accelerate drug discovery, materials development, energy optimization and secure communication systems.
It may not appear as a feature in consumer apps, but its impact will be everywhere.
What Quantum Source Plans to Deliver
Quantum Source aims to introduce a large scale, fault tolerant quantum machine before the end of the decade.
To get there, the company expects to raise another 50 to 100 million dollars beyond what it has already secured. It raised 50 million dollars last year and has enough runway to reach its next scientific milestone.
The next critical step is demonstrating a working prototype of its core building block. Once that is proven, the path to a commercial system becomes real.
A Long Journey With High Stakes for Israel
Quantum computing is not a typical startup story. It is slow, expensive and deeply scientific. It requires mature founders, patient capital and national commitment.
But if Israel succeeds in building competitive quantum technology, the implications extend far beyond business. It affects national security, global positioning and the technological foundation of future industries.
Oded and his team believe Israel can take that place. What they are building may be the most ambitious deep tech effort in the country today.
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