QED-C

QED-C
Name	QED-C
Formation	2018
Type	Consortium
Headquarters	United States
Region served	Global

QED-C The Quantum Economic Development Consortium is an industry-driven consortium focused on advancing quantum information science and technology through standards, workforce development, and supply-chain coordination. It brings together stakeholders from IBM, Google, Microsoft, Intel, Honeywell, Amazon, Boeing, and national laboratories such as Argonne, Berkeley Lab, and Oak Ridge to accelerate commercialization. The consortium engages with standards bodies, academic institutions, and federal agencies to coordinate roadmaps, testing, and interoperability across quantum computing, quantum sensing, and quantum communication.

Overview

QED-C organizes cross-sector efforts to translate advances in Physics, Materials science, and Computer science into commercially viable products. Members include multinational corporations like Samsung, NVIDIA, Cisco, Fujitsu, and startups that work alongside universities such as MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Harvard, and Chicago. The consortium interfaces with standards organizations including NIST, IEEE, and ITU to align measurement, benchmarking, and interoperability efforts. QED-C's activities touch on supply-chain issues involving firms like Lam Research, Applied Materials, ASML, and Tokyo Electron for fabrication, and on cryogenics and control systems involving Oxford Instruments, Cryomech, and Keysight Technologies.

History and Organization

Formed in 2018 after workshops and roadmaps held by NIST, OSTP, and the DOE, QED-C grew from collaborative initiatives including the QIST Roadmap and the National Quantum Initiative Act. Early steering involved corporate research labs such as Bell Labs, IBM Research, and Microsoft Research. Organizationally, QED-C established technical working groups and member councils drawing on expertise from national research centers like Brookhaven and Sandia, and academic centers such as Caltech and Princeton. The consortium coordinates with funding agencies including NSF and initiatives like QLCI.

Standards and Technical Working Groups

QED-C convenes technical working groups to develop consensus on measurement, benchmarking, and interoperability. These groups collaborate with standards bodies including IEEE-SA, ISO, and ETSI. Technical working groups cover areas such as qubit characterization, cryogenic infrastructure, photonic integration, and control electronics, drawing on expertise from companies like Rigetti, D-Wave, IonQ, and PsiQuantum. They address device-level standards referencing fabrication partners such as TSMC, GlobalFoundries, and Intel Foundry Services. Working groups also liaise with testing labs like UL and metrology centers like NMI-affiliated organizations for traceable measurements.

Industry Impact and Projects

QED-C has influenced benchmarking initiatives and co-sponsored projects that aim to define performance metrics analogous to classical benchmarks used by SPEC, Top500, and SIAM. Industry projects include interoperability testing for quantum networking prototypes involving telecom firms like AT&T, Verizon, and NTT. Consortium-led efforts support workforce development programs aligned with curricula at Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, and UIUC. QED-C projects address supply-chain resiliency engaging semiconductor equipment makers like KLA and materials suppliers such as Dupont and 3M. The consortium also helped coordinate multi-party demonstrations connecting cryogenic control stacks from Xanadu and error-correction research involving collaborations with groups at Yale and Waterloo.

Partnerships and Collaborations

QED-C partners with government and international entities, coordinating with NIST, DOE, NSF, and the National Quantum Coordination Office. International collaborations span agencies such as the European Commission, CIFAR, and national programs like UKRI. QED-C fosters links to standards organizations including IEC, CEN, and CENELEC, and works with consortia like Open Compute Project and Linux Foundation-affiliated projects to promote open tooling. Academic partnerships include joint activities with ETH Zurich, University of Sydney, and Tsinghua University researchers. Private-sector collaborations extend to venture firms and incubators including Y Combinator, Sequoia Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz portfolio companies focusing on quantum technologies.

Governance and Funding

Governance comprises a board of directors drawn from member organizations, technical advisory committees, and working-group chairs with representation from corporations, national labs, and universities. Funding sources include membership dues from companies like Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg, and technology firms, project-specific grants from DOE Office of Science and NIST, and in-kind contributions from partners such as HP Inc. and Dell. Financial oversight and strategic planning align with public-private partnership models seen in initiatives like the NNI and coordination mechanisms similar to those used by the SIA.

Category:Quantum information science organizations