Ashley Montanaro, CEO of Phasecraft on Quantum Advantage, Deep Tech, and the Future of Computing

What happens when computing reaches the limits of classical physics?In this episode of Riding Unicorns, James and Hector sit down with Ashley Montanaro, Co-Founder & CEO of Phasecraft, one of Europe's leading quantum computing companies.Backed by Episode 1, Phasecraft is building the software and algorithms that will unlock the commercial potential of quantum computers. While much of the industry focuses on hardware, Ashley explains why the real breakthroughs will come from the software layer, and why better algorithms could be worth orders of magnitude more than incremental hardware improvements.The conversation explores what quantum computing actually is, why "quantum advantage" could become one of the defining technology milestones of the next decade, and how quantum and AI will work together to accelerate scientific discovery.Ashley also shares what it's really like building a deep tech company, how non-dilutive funding helped Phasecraft grow, and why the next generation of computing could transform industries ranging from energy and pharmaceuticals to materials science and cybersecurity.Topics Covered• What quantum computing actually is and why it matters • Why software may create more value than quantum hardware • The race towards practical quantum advantage • How quantum algorithms unlock problems classical computers cannot solve • The future of materials discovery, batteries, pharmaceuticals and chemistry • Why AI and quantum computing will reinforce each other • The cybersecurity implications of post-quantum computing • Building a deep tech company with long development cycles • Raising over £5m in non-dilutive funding through grants and government programmes • Commercialising frontier research before the market fully exists • Lessons from building one of Europe's leading quantum software companies • Why radically new computing architectures could define the next generation of technologyThis is a conversation about one of the most important technological revolutions still to come, why quantum computing is moving from theory to commercial reality, and what it takes to build a company at the frontier of science and software.