Q/C Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCLS) saw its stock surge 20% on Tuesday morning after the quantum-class computing firm revealed that Martin Shkreli has joined the company as a Strategic Advisor — marking a high-profile return to the business arena for the polarizing former pharmaceutical executive.
The company, which develops computing architectures that rely on light instead of traditional electrical signals, said Shkreli will bring industry connections, technological insight, and experience in early-stage scaling to its advisory group. He will work alongside existing advisor James Altucher as Q/C aims to expand its capabilities across advanced computing, AI, and blockchain.
“I’m convinced that the next leap in frontier computing is optical, not purely quantum. Q/C’s ’quantum class’ technology approach bridges frameworks, offering the potential for extraordinary performance and efficiency gains,” Shkreli said in the announcement.
Executive Chairman Josh Silverman welcomed the move, adding that Shkreli will also support efforts to attract additional senior experts to both executive and board roles.
Q/C’s showcase product, the qc-LPU100™, is promoted as an optical-powered high-performance computing system designed to outperform conventional hardware. In collaboration with Lightsolver, the company is tailoring its light-based processing unit for blockchain uses. According to Q/C, the LPU has achieved speeds up to 100 times faster than leading GPUs and quantum machines, while consuming just 1/100th of the energy.
Shkreli’s appointment marks his latest step back into the technology and finance sectors following years of controversy linked to his earlier pharmaceutical ventures.