Billy McLaughlin joins Quantcore as Non-Executive Director

Quantcore has appointed William (Billy) McLaughlin to its board as its first non-executive director.

Billy brings 30 years of international semiconductor experience to Quantcore. He was co-founder of III-V Epi, a compound semiconductor wafer foundry, and has led multiple businesses through scale-up from R&D to volume manufacturing.

Currently, Billy is vice president at MAX IEG Consultants, serves as a board member and an advisor at Photon Bridge, and is an advisor to Silicon Catalyst and Cambridge Deeptech Labs.

Founded in August 2025 by Dr Jack Brennan, Dr Valentino Seferai, Wridhdhisom Karar, and Prof Martin Weides, Quantcore raised £2.5m in seed funding earlier this year to manufacture niobium-based superconducting quantum components in the UK. Operating at higher temperatures and higher frequencies than aluminium, niobium reduces energy consumption and maximises the potential for scalable quantum computers. With experience in semiconductor fabrication and deep tech manufacturing, Billy is ideally matched to Quantcore’s current stage of development and will offer strategic guidance towards its ambitious roadmap.

Dr Jack Brennan, CEO and Co-founder of Quantcore, said: “Billy has a proven ability to scale deep tech businesses from ideas that formed in the lab. That experience matters a lot at this stage. Quantum hardware is not simple to make or to sell; we have the technical expertise, so it’s incredibly exciting to be strengthening our commercial capabilities. Having someone who understands the complexities of what we’re building, and who has navigated similar challenges, is invaluable to us.”

Billy McLaughlin, Non-Executive Director at Quantcore, said: “What Quantcore is doing is important. The UK needs to be able to manufacture this technology domestically, and right now Quantcore is the only company here that can do that with niobium. The team contains deep domain expertise and the foundation is solid. I’m delighted to join the board and look forward to contributing strategically to Quantcore’s development.”

Claire Cramm, Investment Manager at PXN Ventures, said: “The UK’s ability to manufacture quantum hardware domestically is a strategic question, not just a commercial one. Quantcore is the only company in the UK producing niobium-based components, and that position becomes more valuable as government and national laboratory demand for sovereign supply grows. Billy’s background in semiconductor manufacturing and deep tech scale-ups is well suited to what Quantcore needs now to successfully capture that opportunity.”

Kimberley Hay, Ventures Director at Blackfinch Ventures, said: “Quantcore is tackling one of the most challenging and strategically important areas of quantum technology. The team has developed a compelling technical advantage with specialist manufacturing capabilities that are rare not only in the UK but globally. As the company focuses on scaling commercial opportunities, Billy brings exactly the kind of experience needed to help bridge world-class innovation with market adoption. We’re delighted to welcome him to the board.”

About Billy McLaughlin

Billy McLaughlin is a senior executive with 30 years’ international semiconductor experience.

He is vice president at MAX IEG Consultants, a board member at Photon Bridge, and an advisor to Silicon Catalyst and Cambridge Deeptech Labs.

His career includes leadership roles at Globalfoundries, Motorola, e2V (Teledyne), CST Global / Sivers Photonics, SmartKem, Silecs, and Quantum Science.

Billy holds a BEng (Hons.) from the University of Glasgow, is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and is a co-inventor of seven semiconductor patents.