Mercier Lecture Explores Canada’s Quantum Opportunity
The Ernest C. Mercier Lecture in Entrepreneurial Science returned to the Schulich School of Business on September 29, bringing together leaders from science, engineering, investment and entrepreneurship to explore Canada’s opportunity to play a leading role in quantum technology.
Presented in partnership with York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering, the event featured a keynote address by Christian Weedbrook, Founder and CEO of Xanadu Quantum Technologies, and a panel examining what it will take to turn Canada’s strength in quantum research into engineering and commercial leadership.
A full house of students, faculty, alumni, founders, investors and members of York’s innovation community attended the lecture. In his welcoming remarks, Schulich Dean Detlev Zwick highlighted the opportunity to bring together expertise in science, engineering, business and entrepreneurship to turn breakthrough ideas into enterprises with global impact.
Weedbrook founded Toronto-based Xanadu in 2016 and has since built the company into a global leader in photonic quantum computing, pursuing the ambitious goal of developing fault-tolerant quantum computers using light.
During his keynote, “From Quantum Science to a Global Technology Company,” Weedbrook reflected on his path from physicist to entrepreneur and the experiences that shaped Xanadu’s growth from a scientific idea into a global technology company. He spoke about the entrepreneurial journey behind building a deep-tech venture, offering insights into the opportunities and challenges that come with translating breakthrough research into a business.
Following the keynote, Matthew Lombardi, Co-founder of The Icebreaker and an instructor in Schulich’s MBA in Technology Leadership, moderated a panel featuring Alex Maierean, CEO and Co-founder of Phantom Photonics; Pirathayini Srikantha, Associate Professor in York University’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; and Allen Lau, Co-founder and Operating Partner at Two Small Fish Ventures.
The conversation explored Canada’s quantum opportunity through the interconnected lenses of science, engineering and business — from the country’s research strengths and the infrastructure and talent needed to turn discoveries into working technologies, to the challenges of attracting capital and building globally competitive companies from Canada.
The annual lecture is made possible through the continued support of Eileen Mercier and provides a platform for exploring the intersection of science, entrepreneurship and business.
