Quantum Computing & the Future of AI with Cesar Martinez

What's actually happening inside a quantum computer, and why might one end up in your phone someday? On this episode, DeAndre and Grant sit down with Cesar Martinez Delgado, hardware engineering manager at Quantum Computing Inc. (QCI), for a refreshingly plain-English tour of quantum computing, followed by a second half packed with the kind of engineering wisdom you only earn by building (and breaking) a lot of things.
Cesar takes us from pebbles and voltages to atoms and photons, explains why a quantum computer "floats every path of the maze at once," and breaks down the competing flavors of qubits (superconducting, photonic, trapped ions, neutral atoms) without losing anyone. Then he makes QCI's case for photonics: room-temperature hardware that's accessible, shrinkable, and scalable, no nuclear-powered cryogenic freezers required, all in service of a mission to "put quantum in the hands of a billion people."
From there it becomes a builder's masterclass: validate before you build, plan for the integration and testing that always blow up your timeline, treat engineering like a muscle, and remember that you learn far more from the wrong answers than the right ones.
What we get into:

Cesar's path from a curious kid who took everything apart (and couldn't always put it back) to quantum hardware lead, by way of 3G telecom, optical communications, and drone competitions
Quantum computing 101: how representing and processing information differs from your laptop, explained with pebbles and a maze
The major qubit technologies: superconducting (think IBM and Google), photonic, semiconductor, trapped ions, and neutral atoms, plus why every quantum computer still leans on a classical one
What QCI is building across the whole quantum stack: computing, intelligence, cybersecurity, communications, and remote sensing
Why QCI bet on photonics: room temperature, scalable, and far less power-hungry than cryogenic superconducting machines
Quantum + AI: speeding up reservoir-style models without the crushing energy bill (and the new AI-focused product they'd just launched)
Why quantum is suddenly everyone's "what's next," and why QCI is opening machines up for tinkerers to play with
Richard Feynman and the principle of "representing nature by nature"
The engineering half: fast validation, faking it with mock-ups, the integration/testing trap, budgeting ×2, "paper dolls," documentation, and designing for users instead of engineers
Closing advice: planning and cadence, the 80% of the work hiding in manufacturing, and not over-automating the things your users will just swipe away

A few lines that stuck with us:

"Put quantum in the hands of a billion people."

"We're trying to represent nature by nature."

"Engineering is a muscle."

"You don't learn from the right answers. You learn from the wrong answers."

About the guest: Cesar Martinez Delgado is a hardware engineering manager at Quantum Computing Inc. (QCI), with 15 years of engineering experience spanning telecom, optical communications, and drones. He's based in Chicago.
The Hardtech Podcast is hosted by DeAndre Harakas and Grant Chapman of Glassboard.