Newswise – The Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE), a growing intellectual hub for quantum technology research and development, has added several new corporate partners: State Farm, QuEra Computing Inc., PsiQuantum, qBraid and QuantCAD LLC. Additionally, Le Lab Quantique (LLQ), a Paris-based think tank, will join as a non-profit partner.
These organizations, which join the more than 30 companies and nonprofits participating in the CQE community, are developing the potential of quantum technology to address critical societal issues as members of an emerging global ecosystem.
Together, the Chicago Quantum Exchange institutions and partners are advancing the science and engineering needed to build and scale quantum technologies and develop practical applications.
“These new partners bring a wealth of knowledge and talent to the CQE community that will help us continue to push the boundaries of what is possible with quantum technology,” said David Awschalom, Liew family professor of molecular engineering and physics at the University of Chicago, senior scientist at Argonne, director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange and director of Q-NEXT, a Quantum Information Science Center of the Department of Energy. “The work we do together will be critical in shaping quantum innovation around the world.”
Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize numerous areas that require complex calculations. As a national leader in insurance based in Illinois for 100 years, State Farm has built a quantum team within its innovation arm called Labs @ State Farm. The team is currently investigating the viability and readiness of potential quantum computing solutions to better meet customer needs now and in the future.
The start-up company QuEra Computing Inc. makes quantum computers based on programmable arrays of neutral atoms. As a “full-stack” quantum computing provider, QuEra develops hardware and software with the goal of providing useful quantum computing in the short and long term. The first device will be deployed to general users in the cloud this year via the quantum computing service Amazon Braket.
“We are very excited to partner with CQE to work together to strengthen the quantum ecosystem,” said Alex Keesling, CEO of QuEra. “The road to useful quantum computing will require intensifying relationships and forming new partnerships between end users, hardware, software and application providers, researchers and policy makers. CQE’s work in creating the right conditions for these partnerships to form and thrive is outstanding and we at QuEra are excited to work with CQE and its members.”
Another new partner, PsiQuantum, is building an error-corrected, utility-scale quantum computer to provide quantum capabilities that will drive advances in climate, healthcare, energy, finance and beyond. PsiQuantum focuses on the large-scale infrastructure challenges associated with building a machine of one million qubits or more, and leverages its silicon photonics-based architecture to fabricate quantum chips on the production line of a world-leading semiconductor foundry.
As quantum computing becomes more complex, quantum programming needs to become more accessible. Chicago-based qBraid is a quantum computing platform that provides everything needed to develop quantum software. The cloud environment platform enables users to write quantum code and is intended to be compatible with all hardware components and interoperable with all quantum algorithm development tools.
“We are honored and excited to join the Chicago Quantum Exchange,” said Kanav Setia, co-founder and CEO of qBraid. “The CQE has become one of the premier hubs for quantum industry and science in the United States. We look forward to all of the amazing benefits and programs that CQE offers and hope to contribute as much as we can to the community.”
QuantCAD, also with an office in Chicago, offers classic modeling software that accurately predicts the noise sensitivity of quantum devices. By identifying microscopic causes of noise – glitches in a quantum signal – the software accelerates the development of quantum technologies with the aim of saving researchers and engineers time and money while improving device performance.
Previously, both qBraid and QuantCAD were part of the CQE community as members of the founding cohort of quantum startup accelerator Duality. The accelerator announced its second cohort earlier this summer.
Le Lab Quantique (LLQ) is a France-based think tank that joins the CQE’s current US-based non-profit partners and will support the international collaboration and connection essential to advances in quantum computing. LLQ advances quantum technologies and builds relationships among quantum science, industry and finance around the world. They also recently attended a quantum exploration workshop at the UChicago Center in Paris with other members of the CQE and the international quantum community.
About the Chicago Quantum Exchange:
The Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE) is an intellectual hub for advancing the science and engineering of quantum information among the CQE community throughout the Midwest and around the world. A catalyst for research activities by its member and partner organizations, the CQE is based at the University of Chicago and is anchored in the Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory of the US Department of Energy, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Wisconsin- Madison and Northwestern University.