Next Generation Quantum

Next Generation Quantum Corp (NGQ) is a New York City-based quantum technology startup founded in 2019 by Shaina Raklyar and German Kolmakov. The company is developing the NGQ network Interconnect, a proposed system of devices intended to link several quantum computers together into a single network aimed at data centers and technology companies. The company states that such interconnected clusters could deliver up to one million times the computation acceleration while consuming 100 times less energy.

The concept originated at CUNY New York City College of Technology (City Tech), where Kolmakov was a physics professor and Raklyar was an undergraduate research partner; the underlying idea has been granted a patent. As of early 2022 the company was described as operating largely in stealth mode, with a team of quantum engineers and advisors. Its stated positioning spans quantum computing, quantum communication and cybersecurity applications.

Founding story

The company was founded in 2019 by Shaina Raklyar and German Kolmakov. Kolmakov, a professor and Physics Department Chair at CUNY New York City College of Technology, and Raklyar, at the time his undergraduate research partner at the same institution, jointly conceived the interconnect concept, which was subsequently granted a patent. Raklyar serves as co-founder and CEO and has also worked as an adjunct lecturer at City Tech while pursuing a Ph.D. in photonics at the CUNY Graduate Center, with prior roles as a research assistant, an NSF I-Corps entrepreneurial lead, and a research intern at Weill Cornell Medicine; she holds a BS in biomedical informatics from City Tech. Kolmakov, co-founder and CTO, holds a Ph.D. in quantum physics, is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (UK), was formerly a physicist at Lancaster University, and has authored more than 100 publications, largely on theories of quantum fluids.

Latest developments

In February 2022, trade publication The Quantum Insider profiled the company and its proposed network Interconnect, noting that the startup remained effectively in stealth mode and that its founders had articulated long-term ambitions including an eventual IPO.