Quantum Circuits, Inc.

Quantum Circuits, Inc.
Name	Quantum Circuits, Inc.
Type	Private
Industry	Quantum computing
Founded	2015
Founder	Robert Schoelkopf, Michel Devoret, Jerry M. Chow
Headquarters	New Haven, Connecticut
Products	Superconducting qubits, quantum processors, cryogenic control electronics
Num employees	~200 (est.)

Quantum Circuits, Inc. is a private technology company focused on superconducting quantum computing hardware and integrated control systems. The company develops quantum processors, cryogenic instrumentation, and software stacks aimed at scaling gate-based quantum computers for research and commercial applications. Its work intersects with academic institutions, national laboratories, and industrial partners in the quantum information science ecosystem.

History

Founded in 2015 by researchers from Yale University including Robert Schoelkopf, Michel Devoret, and Jerry M. Chow, the company emerged amid advances from laboratories such as IBM Research, Google Quantum AI, D-Wave Systems, Rigetti Computing, and Intel Quantum. Early milestones included translating circuit quantum electrodynamics results to manufacturable devices similar to efforts at University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and Harvard University. Subsequent fundraising rounds and pilot deployments paralleled trajectories of firms like IonQ, PsiQuantum, Alibaba Quantum Laboratory, and Xanadu Quantum Technologies. Over time the firm attracted talent from Honeywell Quantum Solutions, Microsoft Quantum, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and National Institute of Standards and Technology laboratories. The company’s roadmap reflected research trends from conferences such as Quantum Information Processing (QIP), APS March Meeting, and IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE).

Technology and Products

The company’s core technologies build on superconducting qubit designs that evolved from work associated with Yale Quantum Institute, Columbia University, Caltech, and pioneering groups linked to the Nobel Prize in Physics winners for quantum experiments. Its product lineup includes planar transmon-style qubits, multi-qubit processors, cryogenic microwave components, and control electronics akin to platforms developed by Rigetti Computing and IBM Quantum. The firm emphasizes coherence optimization strategies influenced by studies from ETH Zurich, University of Waterloo, Tsinghua University, and Peking University, while integrating fabrication techniques used by GlobalFoundries, TSMC, Applied Materials, and Lam Research. Middleware and firmware interfaces draw inspiration from software projects at Microsoft Research, Google Research, AWS Center for Quantum Computing, and academic toolkits from QuTech, Perimeter Institute, and Los Alamos National Laboratory collaborators. Benchmarking and error-mitigation approaches align with methods from Sandia National Laboratories, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and standards developed in discussions involving National Science Foundation program offices and U.S. Department of Energy initiatives.

Facilities and Manufacturing

Manufacturing and test facilities echo infrastructures found at university cleanrooms and commercial fabs such as Yale Cleanroom, MIT.nano, Stanford Nanofabrication Facility, Berkeley Marvell Nanofabrication Lab, and corporate fabs at Intel and IBM. The company operates dilution refrigerators, cryogenic measurement suites, and microwave labs comparable to setups at NIST Boulder, University of Maryland, and Delft University of Technology. Supply chain and materials sourcing interact with vendors and research partners including Oxford Instruments, Bluefors, Keysight Technologies, Rohde & Schwarz, and fabrication partners similar to GlobalFoundries and TSMC. Quality assurance practices mirror protocols used at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Lockheed Martin facilities when moving from prototype research to small-scale production.

Partnerships and Funding

Strategic partnerships extend to academic hubs such as Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, and University of Chicago, and industrial collaborations reminiscent of alliances between IBM and Microsoft. Funding has come from venture capital firms and government programs paralleling investments from Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, GV (formerly Google Ventures), and grant sources like the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, and DARPA. Cooperative projects with national laboratories and consortia mirror activities of Quantum Economic Development Consortium participants and regional innovation initiatives involving Connecticut Innovations and state-based technology funds. Collaborative agreements and sponsored research followed models used by Intel and Google when engaging startups for joint development.

Corporate Structure and Leadership

Leadership includes executives and scientific officers with backgrounds at institutions such as Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, IBM Research - Almaden, Google X, Microsoft Research Lab and industry veterans from Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, and BAE Systems. Board members and advisors have affiliations with universities including Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Cornell University, and national labs like Los Alamos National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. Corporate governance follows practices common to venture-backed technology companies and research spin-outs from Yale University and other academic incubators.

Research and Academic Collaborations

The company maintains collaborative research programs with academic groups at Yale University, Princeton University, Harvard University, MIT, Columbia University, Stanford University, Caltech, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of California, Berkeley, University of Maryland, and international centers like Delft University of Technology and ETH Zurich. Joint publications and conference presentations appear alongside authors from Perimeter Institute, QuTech, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and labs associated with the Nobel Committee awardees in related fields. Research topics include device physics, materials science collaborations with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory, and control theory efforts linked to MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. Educational outreach and training partnerships mirror programs at Quantum Information Science and Engineering Network (QISE-NET) and summer schools hosted by Institute for Quantum Computing and Perimeter Institute networks.

Category:Quantum computing companies Category:Companies based in Connecticut