EXCLUSIVE: Quantum’s SpaceX Moment? Ashlee Vance on PsiQuantum’s Moonshot

Sourcery

Content provided by Sourcery with Molly O'Shea. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Sourcery with Molly O'Shea or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

2M ago 25:39

MP3•Episode home

EXCLUSIVE: Quantum’s SpaceX Moment? Ashlee Vance on PsiQuantum’s Moonshot

Core Memory creator, Silicon Valley’s Science Expert, & once–quantum skeptic Ashlee Vance sits down with PsiQuantum’s Co-Founder & CSO Pete Shadbolt for a candid, wide-ranging conversation.

After touring PsiQuantum’s secretive labs—more than five years after first covering the company—Ashlee found his skepticism shaken, likening PsiQuantum’s ongoing uphill climb to SpaceX’s decade-long, near-death march toward liftoff. Pete reveals why mission, mindset, and his mantra “always be impressive” are non-negotiables for a team attempting a moonshot that may take years to fully realize.

If PsiQuantum succeeds, this may be remembered as the conversation where skeptics began to believe.

1. Pete Shadbolt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-shadbolt-4b7541126/

2. Ashlee Vance: https://x.com/ashleevance

3. Molly O’Shea: ⁠https://x.com/MollySOShea⁠

4. Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryvc⁠

Brought to you by:

• Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel.

As a Sourcery Listener you get: 75,000 points after spending $3,000 on Brex card(s), white-glove onboarding, $5,000 in AWS credits, $2,500 in OpenAI credits, & access to $180k+ in SaaS discounts. On top of $500 toward Brex travel, $300 in cashback, plus exclusive perks (like billboards..) visit → https://brex.com/sourcery

• Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. Visit: https://turing.com/sourcery

• Kalshi—The largest prediction market and the only legal platform in the US where people can trade directly on the outcomes of future events: https://kalshi.com/sourcery

Follow Sourcery for the latest updates!

https://www.sourcery.vc/

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro: Molly welcomes Pete & Ashlee

(00:53) Ashlee’s history covering quantum since 2007

(03:11) What makes PsiQuantum different

(05:11) Touring PsiQuantum labs: hardware challenges & scale

(07:20) Why Ashlee trusted PsiQuantum’s story

(08:43) Pete: “Come and see the wafers”

(10:23) The academic → startup culture gap in quantum

(13:24) Ashlee’s “mind palace” shoot in chaotic engineer’s office

(16:12) How PsiQuantum keeps its team motivated for a decade-long mission

(17:02) Apollo 11 as a model for focus & alignment

(20:01) Pete’s management mantra: “Always be impressive”

(20:25) The mud-slinging problem in quantum pitches

(22:51) Hardware timelines: SpaceX as a 10–15 year lesson

(24:47) Closing reflections: Quantum’s future and PsiQuantum’s place in history

95 episodes

#Trading #Business #Sourcery with Molly O'Shea