#quantumhardware

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Quantinuum News: Advancing Large-Scale Logical Qubits

Quantum enters large-scale logical computing: hybrid HPC integration and error correction innovations

Quantinuum News

Quantinuum has announced the transition from experimental quantum hardware to large-scale logical computing with multiple milestones. By achieving “beyond break-even” performance with almost 100 logical qubits and complex hybrid workflows with the world's most powerful supercomputers, the company overcame years-old hurdles.

“Skinny Logic” Breakthrough The latest quantum error correction (QEC) study is the company's biggest achievement. Quantum mechanics researchers have devised a highly effective method for building logical qubits, which are entangled physical qubits that exchange information to shelter it from noise. With the 98-qubit Helios quantum processor, researchers found 64 error-detected and 48 error-corrected logical qubits.

“Skinny Logic” uses high-rate encoding to “cut overhead to the bone.” The “no free lunch” rule of quantum physics states that high-quality logical qubits require a lot of physical qubits. The researchers achieved a world-record 2:1 physical-to-logical ratio for error-corrected qubits by “nesting” super-efficient quantum error-detecting codes, including the famed “iceberg code”.

The logical qubits outperformed the physical ones in every test, typically by a factor of 10 to 100. The business's “holy grail” is “beyond break-even” fidelity, which proves data encoding improves computing reliability over bare hardware.

Representation of Reality in 3D Quantinuum demonstrated the applicability of logical qubits by simulating quantum magnetism on a wide scale. Traditional studies use 1D or 2D models to speed computations, but the Helios processor's “all-to-all” connectivity allowed researchers to mimic 3D material interactions. This was possible due to the trapped-ion design's mobile qubits that can communicate across the CPU.

The group created a 94-logical qubit GHZ state, or “cat” state, with 94.9% fidelity to demonstrate system-wide entanglement. This test shows Helios hardware's ability to sustain complicated entanglement beyond approximately 100 logical units, breaking previous un-encoded marks.

Quantum-HPC Hybrid Quantinuum demonstrated that quantum computers can be integrated into HPC ecosystems beyond pure quantum accomplishments. In conjunction with RIKEN in Japan, the world's most powerful supercomputer, Fugaku, was coupled with the Reimei quantum computer.

For the first time, a thorough scientific methodology was used to study chemical processes in proteins at various structures. Reimei modeled the sophisticated quantum mechanics of the molecule's "active site" while Fugaku computed baseline electronic structure. Modern quantum technologies can improve classical systems for materials and medicinal research via a hybrid strategy.

AI-Powered NVIDIA Integration and Exploration AI-driven algorithm discovery accelerates practical applications. Quantinuum developed quantum algorithms on “the Hive” with Hiverge. The “Hive-ADAPT” method reduced quantum resource consumption by an order of magnitude compared to human-designed state-of-the-art versions.

Performance has improved due to Quantinuum and NVIDIA's cooperation. By adding NVIDIA GPU-based decoders to the Helios control engine, the group boosted logical fidelity by roughly 3%. This integration allows real-time quantum error correction decoding, which is crucial for scaling future systems. The Generative Quantum AI system ADAPT-GQE provided training data for complex compounds like imipramine 234 times faster.

The Future

These findings—from seamless HPC integration to ultra-efficient mistake correction—show that universal fault-tolerance is now possible. Quantinuum is developing QCorrect, an error-correction software application that will automatically improve program performance. According to researcher David Amaro, “Our work sets the bar for what more sophisticated fully fault-tolerant codes need to beat on hardware.” Quantinuum's H-Series hardware and software stack expansion has moved the industry from infrastructure construction to its logical and practical execution.

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IonQ ID Quantique Achieves ISO 14001 for Sustainable Quantum

IonQ ID Quantique Creates Industry Standard with ISO 14001 Certification

Quantique IonQ ID

ID Quantique, a division of quantum computing leader IonQ, gets ISO 14001 environmental management accreditation. This certification makes IonQ the first quantum hardware company to meet all three worldwide sustainability, information security, and quality standards. With this milestone, IonQ is the first “pure-play” quantum company to meet ISO 27001 for information security, ISO 9001 for quality, and ISO 14001 for environmental management.

Certification is a turning point for the industry from lab-scale research to large-scale corporate installations. As quantum systems get more complex and require specialized materials and technology, their environmental impact has become increasingly important. IonQ's proactive strategy is to set a standard for ecologically sustainable and groundbreaking quantum innovation.

Ethical Innovation Dedication

ISO 14001 certification is more than a badge of honor—it signifies robust environmental management. This requires a comprehensive IonQ and ID Quantique approach to reduce waste, increase energy efficiency, and meet international standards.

IonQ Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi said quantum technology companies must emphasize environmental concerns. “We are proactively addressing the environmental impact of high-precision manufacturing, advanced materials, cryogenic systems, and specialized photonics,” de Masi said. This accreditation shows the company's commitment to building quantum technologies that are “ready for enterprise deployment today” and match clients' global environmental goals.

Triple Crown Industry Requirements

With ISO 14001, IonQ has three certifications that set it apart from competitors. Due to its reliable quantum-safe communication and sensing technologies, ID Quantique received ISO 9001 certification in 2021. In 2022, IonQ obtained ISO 27001 to build robust information security management systems.

This complete regulatory alignment is crucial for government, defense, and financial partners that need high-performance computing and security and sustainability. The International Accreditation Forum's search results validated IonQ's “pure-play” status as a quantum technology-only company that meets these rigorous international criteria.

Growing the Quantum Ecosystem

Grégoire Ribordy, CEO and co-founder of ID Quantique, noted the “ripple effect” of this accreditation on the quantum ecosystem. Compliance policies and procedures show a higher commitment to global client security and safety.

IonQ has partnered with NVIDIA, AstraZeneca, and Amazon Web Services to demonstrate its enterprise readiness. These collaborations accelerate innovation in complex fields including financial modeling, materials research, medicine development, and logistics using IonQ's quantum solutions.

IonQ also underlines its ongoing scalability infrastructure investment in the report. The company is building “enterprise-grade” performance with high-availability solutions like IonQ Forte Enterprise and the upcoming IonQ Tempo. The 2025 world record of 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity shows IonQ's technology's precision and reliability.

Accessibility and global reach

IonQ, headquartered in College Park, Maryland, has expanded to California, Colorado, Washington, Switzerland, Italy, South Korea, and the UK. The company serves networking and sensing clients on land, sea, air, and space due to its global reach.

IonQ makes quantum services available through all major cloud providers, making it easier for companies to add high-speed compute and quantum-safe security to their digital infrastructure. ISO 14001 certification ensures IonQ's responsible and sustainable growth, making integration easier.

Quantum-Safe Security Futures

ID Quantique excels in actual randomness and unhackable communications, which will become increasingly important in the quantum period. Quantis QRNG chips and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) systems from IDQ are used in satellite communications, banking, gaming, and mobile phones.

The company's focus on Quantum Detection Systems like Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detectors shows its technological sophistication. These quantum physics and life science gadgets require high-precision manufacturing and specific cryogenics, which the new ISO 14001 accreditation addresses.

ID Quantique, a leader in the sector after two decades of research, launched quantum-resistant networks in Switzerland with Cisco and built one of Europe's largest operational QKD networks.

Overall, IonQ and ID Quantique's achievement represents a stride toward a moral and sustainable quantum future, not just a regulatory milestone. They are ensuring the quantum revolution is both revolutionary and responsible by aligning their scientific advances with worldwide environmental standards.

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Superconducting Quantum Circuits Stay Stable for Over a Year

Overview

This paper proposes in situ deposited aluminum oxide passivation for superconducting microwave resonators to improve durability. To shield tantalum and aluminum surfaces from environmental degradation, researchers deposited this protective layer under ultra-high vacuum as the film grew. These passivated devices show negligible microwave loss and good quality after 14 months of air exposure, according to experiments. However, native oxide resonators performed poorly due to interfacial defects and chemical oxidation. Our results give a scalable technique to retain material chemical integrity for reliable superconducting quantum circuits.

Quantum Advancement via Superconducting Circuit Protection

Quantum computing has advanced significantly after a team of researchers from National Taiwan University (NTU) and National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) solved one of the most persistent “materials bottlenecks” in scalable quantum hardware. A new atomic-scale "shield" has allowed the scientists to show that critical superconducting elements can work well for almost 14 months in air. This extreme stability may enable long-lasting quantum processors.

Searching for Stability

Superconducting quantum circuits are promising quantum computer platforms. These circuits pair qubits and read quantum states using superconducting microwave resonators. These resonators perform best with a high internal quality factor (Qi), which measures microwave energy waste.

However, these parts are very delicate. As soon as exposed to oxygen, their surfaces produce "native oxides" as Ta2O5 and AlOx . These are commonly thin tantalum (Ta) or aluminum films. These oxides may appear protective despite being permeable and physically defective, according to sources. O2 and moisture slowly permeate these oxides, forming two-level systems (TLSs), small defects that absorb microwave radiation and quickly degrade device performance.

The Universal “In Situ” Solution

Yi-Ting Cheng, Minghwei Hong, and Jueinai Kwo led the research team to develop a global in situ passivation strategy to combat this “aging” effect. This novel method prevents oxides from developing, unlike standard methods that clean or etch them away.

A multi-chamber ultra-high vacuum (UHV) system generates tantalum and aluminum epitaxial films on atomically pure sapphire substrates. After the superconducting metal forms, the researchers install a 2–3-nanometer covering of amorphous aluminum oxide (Al2O3) without breaking the vacuum.

The researchers' study states that “this approach offers three key advantages,” including chemically clean surfaces, contamination-free interfaces, and a thick capping layer that prevents environmental deterioration.

Fourteen months of best results

Study results are outstanding. The researchers made microstrip resonators using their innovative passivation process and compared them to native oxide devices.

Both resonators initially had internal quality factors above one million (106). Performance changed dramatically over time. Resonators insulated by the in situ Al2O3 layer showed no degradation after 14 months of air exposure. Qi reduced considerably in native oxide tantalum resonators after two months. Aluminum deteriorated faster; unprotected Al resonators lost an order of magnitude in two weeks.

The scientists utilized XPS to analyze the films' chemical makeup to figure out why the shield worked so well. XPS tests showed that the in situ Al2O3 layer prevented the superconducting metal from oxidizing for months.

The Scalability Path

This innovation overcomes a major quantum technology scaling challenge. Large-scale quantum computer components must be made utilizing complex, multi-step processes that may involve storage or transport. Equipment must be sturdy during realistic “storage and transportation” stages.

By combining passivated tantalum circuits into two-dimensional Fluxonium superconducting qubits, the researchers produced dielectric loss tangents comparable to recent state-of-the-art investigations. The authors concluded, “Our findings establish a robust, scalable passivation strategy that addresses a longstanding materials challenge,” but they warned that more research is needed to find even stronger protective layers that can withstand specific industrial developers like TMAH-based chemicals. They think this method provides a solid materials path for quantum hardware. These researchers protected the computer's "heart" from environmental damage to promote reliable, large-scale quantum computing.

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NQFF & Qolab Collaboration targets Quantum Scaling Challenge

Singapore's National Quantum Federated Foundry (NQFF) has partnered with Qolab, a quantum computing company co-founded by 2025 Physics Nobel Laureate Professor John M. Martinis, to advance the worldwide quantum hardware ecosystem. The partnership will tackle superconducting quantum processor scalability, a major technical challenge in building a utility-scale quantum computer. The cooperation develops and manufactures wafer-scale cryogenic low-pass filters to replace bulky, manual components with integrated solutions that can support millions of qubits.

The Environmental Noise Challenge

These efforts aim to protect delicate quantum states from outside effects. Superconducting qubits, used by top companies, operate at temperatures near absolute zero. Qubits' extreme susceptibility to high-frequency microwave noise can cause decoherence and processing issues at millikelvin temperatures.

Quantum systems use cryogenic low-pass filters as shields to allow control pulses but reject unwanted signals. Current industry standards use bulky, discrete components that are prone to errors and difficult to mass-produce. Traditional filtering procedures increased the physical and reliability load on the dilution refrigerator's tiny volume as the industry moved from dozens to millions of qubits.

Solution at Wafer Scale

From single parts to semiconductor wafer manufacturing, the NQFF-Qolab partnership wants to change this hardware. This technique uses Singapore's semiconductor manufacturing expertise and NQFF's quantum device nanofabrication expertise. The company wants to manufacture filters directly on silicon wafers like computer chips to integrate them densely with qubit circuits.

Qolab's CTO, Professor Martinis, stressed the need for this modification. He added we need reliable, producible supporting hardware and additional qubits to scale from dozens to millions of qubits to develop real quantum computers. This unique strategy should increase quantum package stability and substantially reduce hardware footprint.

Singapore Quantum Hardware Hub

Qolab chose Singaporean researchers for its semiconductor and tech ecosystem. Through ongoing investments in Research, Innovation, and Enterprise (RIE) under the National Quantum Strategy, Singapore has become a global quantum supply chain hub.

The National Quantum Office of A*STAR supports this collaboration. As a federated network, the NQFF uses the capacities of several key institutions:

Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR

The A*STAR Microelectronics Institute

National University of Singapore

Mr. Ling Keok Tong, Executive Director of the National Quantum Office, said the collaboration proves that Singapore can solve hardware difficulties using quantum research and semiconductor engineering.

Global Collaboration and Deployment

This research aims to affect beyond Singapore. This partnership's cryogenic filters will be used in quantum systems at UCLA. This UCLA pledge highlights the worldwide quantum hardware industry's cooperation and Singapore's growing manufacturing capability.

Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo saw the research collaboration agreement signing. The signing took occurred during a significant quantum event that included a public discussion by Professor Martinis on superconducting qubit history and prospects and a NQFF Industry Day with hardware advances from important participants globally.

Road to Fault-Tolerance

Qolab aims to create fault-tolerant, utility-scale superconducting quantum computers. The NQFF-Qolab collaboration is overcoming the cryogenic filtering “bottleneck” to prepare quantum processors for the future.

This alliance moves quantum hardware from lab to industrial manufacturing as global momentum accelerates. Now that nanofabrication and systems knowledge are coupled, Singapore and Qolab are aggressively solving the production problem of millions of qubits. This partnership will provide utility-scale quantum computing to the world, ensuring that auxiliary gear can grow with quantum processor power.

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BTQ Technologies Corp News: Expands QCIM Program in U.S

BTQ Technologies Corp news

To grow its US operations, quantum-secure networking leader BTQ Technologies Corp. built a Quantum Hardware Commercialization Hub in New York City. The new Flatiron District building will house the company's Quantum Compute in Memory (QCIM) program and ambitious quantum-resistant silicon roadmap.

The Vancouver-based company's expansion marks a turning point from theoretical architecture to silicon validation and commercial execution. BTQ has assembled a “dense network of talent” from Tokyo Electron, Apple, Meta, and Texas Instruments to lead this effort.

A Strategic New York Beachhead

BTQ is opening a research and development center in New York City's Flatiron District to boost its US presence and capitalise on the area's engineering and encryption expertise. Sean Hackett, Head of Silicon Product, and Zach Belateche, Head of Hardware, run the hub. The major developers of the QCIM architecture patents are both Stanford graduates.

The BTQ Head of Cryptography, Anne Reinders, has ten years of Intel experience in applied cryptography and hardware security. Senior engineers tasked with accelerating the transition from architectural to market-ready silicon are joining this core leadership team.

The “Blue-Chip” Talent Boom

The caliber of BTQ's QCIM engineering hires is particularly impressive. Former Apple Special Projects Group engineering lead Fabien Goncalves is a key hire. Goncalves is well recognized for creating low-latency, safety-critical embedded systems for Apple's automotive hardware program. As BTQ integrates hardware, his system design and production-grade embedded software expertise will be vital.

The team adds senior FPGA and systems engineer Michael Anfang. He worked on Facebook Reality Labs (Meta) augmented reality technologies and PsiQuantum quantum control platforms. The startup also hires Cale Woodward, who led digital design and verification for mixed-signal ASICs at Texas Instruments from RTL design to silicon tape-out.

Steve Nease, a Tokyo Electron ASIC and SoC designer who spearheaded advanced-node tapeouts, and Dzmitry Branavets, a ST Engineering low-level software specialist, are also important additions. They provide “deep, hands-on experience” in post-quantum cryptography and semiconductor manufacturing.

The QCIM Roadmap Joins Cryptography and Silicon

This expansion uses Quantum Compute in Memory (QCIM), a proprietary architecture, to bridge the gap between cutting-edge cryptographic algorithms and modern silicon fabrication. Sean Hackett says QCIM was built from scratch to meet commercial and government security standards.

The 2026 relationship with ITRI will accelerate BTQ's silicon certification efforts. Globally renowned applied research institute ITRI and BTQ are testing the QCIM chip architecture in actual silicon. ITRI and the New York hub will collaborate on testing, system integration, and rapid prototyping.

“We are thrilled to welcome such a dense network of talent from blue-chip technology and semiconductor companies,” said BTQ Technologies CEO Olivier Roussy Newton. “This team dramatically strengthens our ability to execute more quickly on QCIM and to build and commercialize quantum-secure hardware products”.

Quantum Internet Security

“BTQ is a vertically integrated quantum corporation that protects mission-critical networks as the world moves from classical systems to the “quantum internet.” The full-stack platform includes neutral-atom quantum computing, middleware, and post-quantum security.

Quantum vulnerabilities to encryption standards make BTQ's mission imperative. BTQ develops quantum-safe silicon solutions for banking, telecommunications, logistics, and military quantum computer defenses.

BTQ is planning to move from research to production-ready silicon with a reinforced engineering staff and a new New York headquarters. As the business nears tapeout, the IT community will watch to see if this “concentration of talent” can influence quantum-secure technological regulations.

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Quantum Advantage Tracker Accelerates Scientific Research

A new collaborative endeavor is making the search for “quantum advantage” a public, high-stakes relay race in a world where technical discoveries often emerge privately. The Quantum Advantage Tracker, launched recently by luminaries in the field, is the core arena where quantum and classical computing approaches are in a “neck-and-neck” race few predicted this early. According to IBM Quantum researchers Jay Gambetta and Robert Davis, this open-source project is tracking progress and influencing quantum scientific validation.

Define the Goal Beyond the Hype Quantum advantage has been used for years to describe when a quantum computer does a task faster, better, or cheaper than a classical solution. Stress that this milestone won't be a one-time proclamation or "eureka" moment. It is iterative, and the international scientific community must validate it. According to the tracker's developers, “no single researcher or organization can expect to achieve quantum advantage in a vacuum,” implying that quantum and classical researchers must collaborate to gain benefit. The Tracker allows the community to test claims and create new classical algorithms designed to match or exceed quantum performance. BlueQubit: A Competition Case Study This scientific “ping-pong” is best shown by quantum startup BlueQubit. They studied peaked circuits, random circuits with a very probable output. Unlike random circuit sampling, which is notoriously difficult to verify, peaked circuits allow excellent verification because the “peak” result is known at the time of construction. BlueQubit's Tracker submission chronology shows how fast research is moving: October: BlueQubit solved a challenge using Quantinuum's trapped-ion circuits in two hours. Their best classical method was expected to take 3.2 million years to get the same result. December: IBM's superconducting ibm_boston processor enabled “peak-finding” on circuits with 5,000 gates. The quantum processor finished in under twelve minutes, while classical runtimes were expected to be close to four months. February: Another tide shift. Modern classical simulation methods could handle the identical problem instances in seconds to an hour, eliminating the quantum runtime gap. This rapid reversal is considered “science working” rather than a quantum hardware breakdown. These findings should spur the development of more complex quantum circuits. New Scientific Discovery Pace Traditional scientific progress is measured by years-long publication cycles. The Quantum Advantage Tracker aims to change this by enabling a faster exchange rate than traditional journals. Instead of waiting for peer-review and publication, researchers can update data, respond to criticism, and enhance claims in real time. The Tracker currently has over 30 entries from esteemed organizations like Los Alamos National Lab, Caltech, Algorithmiq, and the Flatiron Institute. These submissions show a multi-platform effort to push compute limits using IBM and Quantinuum technology. The Way Forward The Tracker's openness emphasizes testing and facts above excitement. By inviting hardware teams and classical algorithm experts to "throw their hats into the ring," the effort ensures that quantum advantage claims will be thoroughly investigated. Even though the communication is faster than the paper-driven cycle, trust and validation are still important. The Tracker's designers invite researchers exploring fascinating quantum technologies or pushing classical techniques to contribute to this interactive map of computation's future. The “race to advantage” is increasingly about a shared, validated knowledge of what these powerful new technologies can do, not merely who arrives first.

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Israeli Tower Semiconductor with Xanadu for Photonic Quantum

Israeli Tower Semiconductor news

The Canadian quantum firm Xanadu and semiconductor manufacturer Tower Semiconductor have expanded their photonic quantum hardware relationship. This expanded alliance aims to bring quantum designs from lab to factory. Tower's silicon photonics technology is helping both companies design a fault-tolerant material stack. This strategic cooperation improves integrated photodiodes and low-loss circuits' performance and scalability. The joint venture provides the industrial base for large-scale, commercial quantum computers. This development shows the quantum industry's maturity as mass production approaches.

The two companies had a history of successful “tapeouts” and technological synergy before the announcement. The teams tested and improved Xanadu's sophisticated photonic designs in Tower Semiconductor's process early on to prepare for commercial-scale manufacturing.

A Unique Quantum Hardware Manufacturing Process

This relationship is built on co-engineering a manufacturing flow for Xanadu's proprietary material stack. This stack's architecture compatibility and manufacturing alignment ensure quantum systems' scalability and performance as complexity rises.

By applying these advances to a high-volume foundry, the partners are addressing the quantum industry's largest challenge: moving from lab prototypes to large-scale, manufacturable information processing devices. Christian Weedbrook, Xanadu's founder and CEO, said this relationship has been “instrumental” in developing their technology from early concepts to prototypes and demonstration systems.

Weedbrook said, “We are laying the groundwork for a truly useful quantum computer by fusing Tower's world-class technology and manufacturing expertise with our architectural breakthroughs, fabrication process engineering, and design innovations.”

Tech Focus: Integrated Photodiodes and Ultra-Low Loss Silicon Nitride

Current development efforts focus on optimizing photonic circuit components, which are their building elements. Teams concentrate on:

Silicon nitride (SiN) with ultra-low loss: Essential for quantum signal integrity during circuit transmission. The quantum system needs integrated photodiodes for high-performance measurement and detection.

Xanadu can test its unique designs on a platform that produces large volumes by using standard product processes to make these components. Tower Semiconductor's RF Business Unit vice president and general manager Dr. Ed Preisler calls Xanadu's architecture one of the most scalable.

Preisler added that this agreement verifies Tower's silicon photonics platform's wide spectrum of high-tech applications in data centers, telecommunications, and automotive, beyond quantum computing.

Global Reach of Tower Semiconductor

The connection benefits from Tower Semiconductor's global infrastructure. Tower, a leading analog solution foundry, provides process platforms for industrial, medical, mobile, aerospace, and military applications. Integrated power management, MEMS, SiPho, SiGe, BiCMOS, and CMOS image sensors are among their technologies.

The company has a robust production site network for multi-fab sourcing and expanded capacity for foreign customers:

Israel has one 200mm facility.

Two US 200mm facilities exist.

Japan: 51% TPSCo shareholding authorizes two 200mm and 300mm facilities.

Italy: STMicroelectronics shares Agrate's 300mm factory.

Xanadu's Mission and Software Leadership

After starting in 2016, Xanadu has become a quantum hardware and software leader. The Canadian business aims to create viable, global quantum computers.

In addition to Tower Semiconductor's hardware, Xanadu is a major quantum software player. The company developed PennyLane, a popular open-source application and quantum computing library. Xanadu is a full-stack leader in fault-tolerant quantum computing, focusing on software accessibility and hardware scalability.

Future-focused goals

Tower Semiconductor and Xanadu's alliance is well-positioned to meet the strict manufacturability demands of the next decade as the quantum sector transitions to commercial devices. The press release includes safe harbor statements about the risks and uncertainties of making such forward-looking predictions, but the current trajectory suggests that photonic quantum circuits will eventually be as efficient and reliable as analog semiconductors.

Parties should visit Tower Semiconductor and Xanadu's websites to learn about their technology and ambitions.

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John Martinis to Announce Qolab inc Quantum Innovation

Quantum computing pioneer John M. Martinis aspires to build the most powerful quantum computer, delighting the tech sector. Michael Martinis, who co-won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for superconducting quantum circuits, is rethinking quantum hardware with his new startup, Qolab inc.

A Macroscopic World History

Martinis is known as a “hardware guy” who prefers lab physics to textbook abstraction. His rise to the top began at Berkeley in the 1980s. During this time, he and his colleagues investigated whether quantum mechanics, which applies to subatomic particles, might be applied to larger systems.

Their discovery of “macroscopic quantumness”—the state in which a large number of charged particles in a circuit operate as a single quantum particle—led to the invention of superconducting circuits used by Google, IBM, and others. He and Michel Devoret and John Clarke shared the Nobel Prize for their efforts.

Martinis impact on the field has been shown twice. Besides his groundbreaking discoveries, he managed Google researchers that achieved “quantum supremacy.” Though classical supercomputers eventually outperformed it, their machine was the only one that could check a random quantum circuit's output for almost five years.

The Qolab Inc.: Beyond “Noisy”

Despite his success with IT giants, Martinis now advocates a “radical shift” in quantum system construction. He created Qolab to escape the “noisy” stage of quantum computing, which is characterized by unstable qubits and high error rates, by designing a bottom-up error-correction mechanism.

In an interview with New Scientist, Martinis said established approaches frequently miss the physical and manufacturing complexity needed for truly unequaled computational capacity. Specifically, he notes:

Wiring complex systems requires managing thousands of connections.

Noise reduction: shielding fragile quantum states.

Scalable fabrication: Making complex quantum processors reliably.

Prioritizing “Plumbing” and accuracy

This “ultimate” machine prioritizes high-fidelity gates over qubit count, a criterion often used by competitors to establish dominance. The fundamental obstacle to scaling quantum computers, according to Martinis, is “plumbing” qubit interconnects and control systems.

Martinis claims he can improve these methods to develop a computer that outperforms IBM and Google in real-world tasks. This new architecture has these purposes:

Material Science: Modeling complex molecular structures for batteries or innovative materials.

Cryptography: Solving complex mathematical problems that underpin cybersecurity.

Drug Discovery: Quantum modeling speeds drug development.

A Split Community

Martinis' remark has prompted a heated debate over when science will achieve quantum usefulness. Some technologists think large-scale quantum computers can be constructed in a decade, but others doubt it. Scalability may take time.

Nobel laureate adherence to hardware-first strategy shows the global quantum domination race's high stakes. Martinis's ability to handle “intractable” problems for traditional computers could change cybersecurity and logistics, according to experts.

The 2026 Outlook

IT professionals are now focused on Boston because Martinis will headline the Quantum. Conference of Tech World 2026. His initial technical benchmarks for Qolab's new architecture are expected there. This talk will likely prove if his “ground-up” method can build the “ultimate” machine he promised.

For a man who has changed the sport twice, the stakes are great. Martinis' work at Qolab could determine whether the quantum revolution is a theoretical goal or a near-term reality as he searches for the next key physics turning point.