New hardware provides connection between computing of past and present

Story originally featured in the Spring 2026 State of Innovation newsletter from NYSTAR Executive Director, Ben Verschueren. This report highlighted recent quantum-related successes in New York state.

Despite enormous investment in quantum computing worldwide, one fundamental barrier has slowed adoption: today’s digital infrastructure is classical, while quantum machines communicate with light, making it difficult for the two systems to talk to each other. 

QuantumCue, Inc.—formerly Next Generation Quantum Corp. (NGQ), founded by researcher Dr. German Kolmakov and powered by partnerships with CUNY and the NYC Innovation Hot Spot—is driving the development of hardware to connect existing telecommunications infrastructure to quantum computing and quantum encryption technologies. The big idea: supply a key missing component in deploying quantum networks at scale. 

Dr. Kolmakov, a Physics Professor at the New York City College of Technology (CUNY) and co-founder and CTO of QuantumCue, has spent his career working at the intersection of quantum physics and real-world communication systems. In 2025, he was awarded a full U.S. patent for a an electro-optical converter that transforms electrical signals into optical signals and moves those signals between optical channels using exciton polaritons, hybrid light-matter particles generated by electrical signals. 

More simply put, the device enables classical electronic systems to communicate directly with quantum photonic systems—and provides a key missing component in deploying quantum networks at scale.

While Dr. Kolmakov’s team is actively developing this needed hardware, support from the New York innovation ecosystem has been critical in helping the team transition from research breakthrough to a viable commercialization pathway. Through CUNY and the NYC Innovation Hot Spot, the QuantumCue team has received CUNY prototyping funds, National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps National Teams nomination, and NYC Innovation Hot Spot prototyping support totaling more than $50,000; business development assistance from the NYC Innovation Hot Spot; and travel funding to participate in the TechConnect Discovery Bootcamp in Summer 2025. 

Once complete, the planned patented exciton-polariton optical interconnect aims to enable applications such as quantum-secure communication networks, lower energy data centers, faster computing and drug discovery, and next-generation cybersecurity. Ultimately, this technology will enable the integration of quantum computers with existing internet infrastructure.

Dr. Kolmakov and QuantumCue, Inc. are now pursuing federal funding and industry partnerships to scale the device and move toward manufacturing and deployment.

From left to right: Dr. German Kolmakov - Chief Quantum Officer, QuantumCue, collaborating partner: Prof. Gabriele Grosso, CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, and Tim Dutta, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, QuantumCue.