Beyond the Lab: How Phasecraft is Redefining Technical Partnerships in Quantum Computing

The standard playbook for technical partnerships often leads nowhere – endless meetings with middle management, superficial alignments, and little real progress. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Phasecraft co-founder Ashley Montanaro revealed how they’re taking a radically different approach by going straight to the source: the scientists and engineers doing the actual work.

Breaking Through Organizational Barriers

“I always find is incredibly valuable to try to get to talk to people who are sort of on the ground, who are doing the R&D, who are the scientists, who are the engineers,” Ashley explains. This direct connection helps avoid getting “bogged down speaking to people who in the sort of middle layer of perhaps management, who maybe find what you’re doing very interesting, but they perhaps do not understand it on a sort of deep technical level.”

Building Deep Technical Relationships

Rather than pursuing multiple surface-level partnerships, Phasecraft focuses on developing what Ashley calls “very intense R&D partnership[s]” where they’re “actually working directly with the scientists and the engineers.” Their collaboration with Johnson Matthey exemplifies this approach, focusing on solving concrete problems in battery technology and catalysts for clean energy.

Finding the Right Problems

This direct engagement with technical teams helps identify problems where quantum computing can deliver unique value. As Ashley notes, “If you want to model or simulate a battery or a solar cell accurately, you really need to understand the quantum mechanics within that battery or solar cell.” This insight only comes from deep technical discussions with domain experts.

Managing Resources Strategically

For startups, partnership selection is crucial. “As a startup, you have limited resources, limited time, and you’re just not able to work with everyone out there,” Ashley emphasizes. This constraint drives their focused approach to partnerships, ensuring they invest in relationships that can deliver real value.

Maintaining Technical Credibility

When working directly with technical teams, maintaining credibility is paramount. Ashley stresses that “it’s critically important that you don’t over promise and only say things which you believe you actually can deliver.” This principle helps build trust with technical partners while establishing long-term credibility in the market.

Driving Toward Quantum Advantage

Their partnership strategy focuses on achieving what Ashley calls “quantum advantage, where quantum computing is outperforming classical computing for a problem of genuine practical interest.” This clear goal helps align technical teams around concrete objectives rather than theoretical possibilities.

Building for Commercial Impact

Looking ahead, Phasecraft expects their technical partnerships to deliver significant value within “three to five years time,” when they anticipate “using quantum computers to have solved genuinely important problems from elsewhere in science and engineering.” This timeline reflects their commitment to turning technical collaboration into commercial reality.

The Technical Partnership Playbook

For founders looking to build meaningful technical partnerships:

1. Bypass management layers to connect directly with technical teams
2. Focus on depth over breadth in partnership development
3. Identify problems where your technology offers unique advantages
4. Maintain credibility through realistic promises
5. Align around concrete objectives rather than theoretical possibilities

Phasecraft’s approach demonstrates how direct engagement with technical teams can accelerate development while ensuring partnerships deliver real value. For founders working to commercialize complex technologies, it offers a blueprint for building partnerships that go beyond superficial alignments to drive meaningful technical progress.