The photonics-first contrarian of the public quantum sector, building room-temperature optical machines and the chips behind them. This is its commercial history and how the QUBT business works. QCi, formally Quantum Computing Inc (Nasdaq: QUBT), is the photonics-first contrarian of the public quantum sector. Rather than chase superconducting or trapped-ion qubits, it builds room-temperature optical machines and the photonic chips behind them, and it owns a foundry to make them. This is the commercial history of QCi, from an obscure shell company to a Nasdaq name with its own thin-film lithium niobate fabrication plant. What the company does Quantum Computing Inc, known as QCi, designs photonic quantum machines and the integrated optical chips that power them. Its systems use light moving through engineered chips rather than supercooled superconducting circuits, which the company argues allows room-temperature operation and lower energy use. The product line spans optimisation machines, photonic sensors and quantum networking hardware. QCi also sells foundry services, making thin-film lithium niobate photonic chips for itself and for outside customers. That dual role, product company and chip manufacturer, is unusual in the sector. It lets QCi pitch both finished machines and the building blocks that other photonics developers need. The company frames its approach as practical and affordable, arguing that photonic machines can run in ordinary server rooms without the heavy cryogenics that superconducting and trapped-ion systems require. That positioning is central to its sales pitch, which targets buyers who want quantum and advanced-optics capability without building specialised facilities. Whether the performance matches that promise is the question its critics keep asking. The company frames its appeal as practical and affordable, arguing that photonic machines can run in ordinary server rooms without heavy cryogenics. That positioning targets buyers who want quantum and advanced-optics capability without building specialised facilities. It is a