Sebastian Hassinger, an independent quantum consultant and former enterprise lead at IBM Quantum and Amazon Web Services (AWS), has released a new book titled The New Quantum Era. The publication chronicles the history of quantum information science and explores the evolution of various qubit modalities for non-physicists.
From Enterprise Quantum to Independent Consulting
Hassinger spent nearly a decade working within enterprise quantum environments, starting with IBM Quantum before transitioning to AWS. The company functions as a hub for multiple emerging technology projects.
“The beginning of 2026, I went independent and started a company called The New Quantum Era, which is sort of a grab bag of all of the projects that I’m working on,” Hassinger said during a joint podcast interview with Yuval Boger, Chief Commercial Officer at QuEra Computing.
Writing Quantum History for Non-Physicists
The New Quantum Era originated from a podcast Hassinger co-hosted with a friend to interview researchers about their laboratory work. Neither host possessed a physics PhD, a dynamic that influenced how complex concepts were broken down for a general audience. The podcast sought to translate dense academic research into conceptual understandings for listeners outside the physics community.
Hassinger noted that the book serves as a foundational guide he wished he had access to when he entered the industry. The text outlines the historical development of quantum computing, the emergence of different qubit modalities, and the practical applications researchers hope to achieve.
Comparing Industry Backgrounds
Both Hassinger and Boger entered the quantum sector without traditional doctoral degrees in physics, bringing instead extensive backgrounds in deep-tech executive leadership. Boger spent two decades as a CEO and marketing executive for deep-tech firms, including a tenure at Tel Aviv-based software company Classiq, before joining QuEra Computing, which builds neutral-atom quantum computers.
Hassinger’s career spans multiple tech waves, beginning with the commercial internet of the early 1990s, followed by the web, mobile applications, open-source software, big data, and machine learning, before he specialized in quantum technology.
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