Mohamed Abdel-Kareem

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the State of Maryland have signed a memorandum of agreement to establish the Capital of Quantum Benchmarking Hub, a major new research center dedicated to testing and evaluating quantum computing prototypes. The Hub will be based at the University of Maryland’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS) in College Park, with operations formally launching under DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI). Under the agreement, DARPA and Maryland have each committed to matching contributions of up to $100 million over four years, depending on the progress and results achieved. The initiative will [...]

QuEra Computing has been selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to participate in Stage A of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI). The initiative seeks to determine whether fault-tolerant, commercially useful quantum computers can be developed within the next decade. Eighteen companies are slated to participate in Stage A before a subset of them are selected to move on to Stage B. In Stage A, QuEra will present detailed technical concepts and research plans, with the potential to advance to hardware evaluation in subsequent stages. QuEra will leverage its neutral-atom quantum computing platform for the program, highlighting its scalable [...]

Rigetti Computing has been awarded a $5.48 million grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research to further develop its Alternating-Bias Assisted Annealing (ABAA) chip fabrication process. Rigetti will lead a consortium including Iowa State University, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, the University of Connecticut, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to study ABAA's impact at the microscopic level. The project aims to deepen understanding of defect mitigation in superconducting qubits, a critical challenge for scalable quantum computing. ABAA, introduced by Rigetti in 2024, involves applying alternating low-voltage pulses at room temperature to the oxide barrier of Josephson junctions, enabling [...]

PQShield has announced the launch of its UltraPQ-Suite, a comprehensive product range offering deeply specialized implementations of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) optimized for a post-standards world. The UltraPQ-Suite addresses critical challenges faced by manufacturers and developers during the global transition to quantum-safe security, offering solutions that prioritize performance, security, or footprint according to application needs. The first product introduced under this suite, PQPlatform-TrustSys, delivers a quantum-safe Root of Trust for ASIC and FPGA hardware to achieve compliance with new regulations such as the NSA’s CNSA 2.0. The UltraPQ-Suite is organized into three pillars: ultra fast, ultra secure, and ultra small. Ultra fast [...]

IonQ and EPB have announced a partnership to establish the first U.S. quantum computing and networking hub in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As part of the collaboration, the EPB Quantum Center will house IonQ’s Forte Enterprise quantum computer alongside EPB’s existing quantum networking infrastructure. IonQ will also open a Chattanooga office to provide application development support, training, and technical services, further advancing Tennessee’s role in the emerging quantum economy. The $22 million reflects EPB’s investment in the collaboration, which includes their share of the Forte Enterprise system as well as application development support, training, and other services. The new center will serve as [...]

The Government of Finland has published a new national Quantum Technology Strategy, positioning quantum technologies as a future driver of economic growth and sustainability. Released on April 24, 2025, by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the strategy defines Finland’s ambitions to leverage its scientific strengths and maintain competitiveness in the evolving global quantum landscape. The document emphasizes the need for targeted investments and accelerated commercialization to realize quantum benefits, especially as national funding has historically been more limited compared to peer countries. The strategy outlines four core objectives: expanding quantum research and education, accelerating industrial adoption, securing quantum-resilient digital [...]

ULVAC, Inc. and ULVAC CRYOGENICS INC. have developed and installed a dilution refrigerator designed specifically for quantum computing applications, supporting Japan’s first fully domestically built quantum computer. The system, operational as of April 4, 2025, at the Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology, University of Osaka, plays a critical role in maintaining the ultra-low temperatures required for superconducting qubit operation. The initiative marks a significant milestone toward achieving supply chain independence for Japan’s quantum ecosystem, addressing long-standing challenges in locally sourcing core quantum technologies. The newly deployed system integrates all major subsystems—including cryogenic infrastructure, control electronics, and qubit chips—based entirely [...]

The Government of Spain has launched its first Quantum Technologies Strategy (2025–2030) with an initial investment of €808 million ($917 million USD), announced at the OECD Global Technology Forum in Madrid on April 24, 2025. Ministers Óscar López and Diana Morant presented the initiative, which supports quantum computing, communications, and sensing. Funding is drawn from the ERDF and Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (RTRP) and is expected to reach €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion USD) when including leveraged public and private capital. The strategy is framed as a national commitment to quantum infrastructure and digital transformation. The strategy outlines four national objectives: [...]

Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc. has entered into a four-year research and development partnership with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to accelerate the development of silicon photonic integrated circuits for quantum computing and communications. The collaboration will support joint efforts to optimize photonic components such as entangled photon sources and squeezed light generators, which are essential for building fault-tolerant photonic quantum processors. The agreement also includes knowledge exchange around chip-scale integration and circuit-level design, with an emphasis on future military and commercial applications. As part of the partnership, AFRL will provide Xanadu with access to its silicon photonics Process Design [...]

Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC) and Riverlane have announced the development of the UK’s first quantum error corrected (QEC) testbed, to be installed in a commercial data centre and connected to high-performance computing (HPC). Funded through the UK’s Quantum Missions Pilot programme, the system is scheduled to go live by March 2026. It will support the UK Government’s Mission 1 objective of achieving a trillion error-free quantum operations (TeraQuop) by 2035. The testbed will feature OQC’s patented Dimon™ dual-rail superconducting qubit architecture, combined with Riverlane’s leakage error detection and decoding stack, to explore fault-tolerant quantum error correction under operational conditions. The integrated [...]