Michaela Eichinger, a product solutions physicist at Quantum Machines, discusses her journey from academia to the quantum industry, her fascination with systems-level views of the quantum stack, and the role of communication in building the quantum ecosystem. In this interview, she talks about the state of quantum computing in 2026, the importance of classical processing and HPC integration, and the key metrics for evaluating quantum computers. Eichinger also shares her insights on the hype surrounding quantum computing, her favorite qubit modality, and her thoughts on the limitations of superconducting qubits. She concludes by expressing her excitement for the future of quantum computing and her desire to continue learning and contributing to the field.
