Mohamed Abdel-Kareem

The governments of Singapore and Japan have signed a landmark Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on quantum science, technology, and innovation, marking Singapore’s first international quantum-specific agreement at the government-to-government level. Signed by Singapore’s Minister for Digital Development and Information, Josephine Teo, and Japan’s Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy, Onoda Kimi, the agreement establishes a bilateral framework to accelerate the development of a resilient quantum ecosystem across Southeast Asia and East Asia. The MOC outlines eight priority areas for cooperation, including shared research infrastructure, security policy dialogue, standards and governance, and cross-border pilot project deployments. A central objective of [...]

A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators, led by Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), introduced the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act on January 8, 2026. The legislation seeks to sustain and expand the federally coordinated quantum strategy originally established in 2018. The bill aims to accelerate the transition from basic research to practical, real-world applications—a move viewed as critical for national security and global economic competitiveness. Key Provisions and Extensions The 2026 Act proposes several significant updates to the federal quantum framework: Ten-Year Extension: The bill extends the National Quantum Initiative (NQI) by five years, pushing the formal program timeline [...]

Icarus Quantum, a Boulder-based specialist in quantum light sources, has been awarded a $400,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The funding will support the development of a packaged, commercial-grade solution for efficient photon sources, which are essential for building the next generation of quantum interconnects and distributed quantum computing networks. The company's core technology centers on semiconductor quantum dots—specifically Indium Arsenide (InAs) dots—coupled to high-quality optical cavities. Icarus Quantum claims its deterministic generator can achieve quantum efficiencies exceeding 70%, a significant leap over the roughly 1% efficiency of standard [...]

Argonne National Laboratory and Intel have successfully deployed and operated a 12-qubit quantum dot processor as part of a strategic industry-government partnership. The results of this collaboration, led by the Q-NEXT National Quantum Information Science Research Center, were recently published in Nature Communications. This milestone validates the use of existing high-volume semiconductor manufacturing techniques to produce scalable, high-yield quantum hardware. The processor, code-named Tunnel Falls, leverages Intel’s 300-millimeter silicon manufacturing line and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. Unlike superconducting or ion-trap systems, which require vastly different architectures than classical electronics, silicon spin qubits are essentially modified single-electron transistors. This compatibility allows Intel [...]

The Bloch Quantum, a multi-state coalition led by the Chicago Quantum Exchange, has advanced to the second and final stage of the U.S. Economic Development Administration Tech Hubs awards competition. The proposal, which targets the Chicago metropolitan area spanning Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana, was one of only 11 selected from 19 applicants to move forward. A final announcement of the winners—who will receive significant implementation funding—is expected in the second quarter of 2026. The Bloch’s proposal focuses on securing the domestic quantum supply chain and accelerating the transition of quantum technologies from the laboratory to commercial deployment. If funded, the initiative [...]

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Quantum Circuits Inc. for a total purchase price of approximately $550 million. The transaction, comprising $300 million in common stock and $250 million in cash, is expected to close in late January 2026. This acquisition establishes D-Wave as the first commercial entity to possess a dual-platform strategy, integrating its established quantum annealing systems with high-fidelity, error-corrected gate-model superconducting technology. The strategic core of the merger is the integration of Quantum Circuits’ hardware-native error detection with D-Wave’s scalable control infrastructure. Quantum Circuits, a Yale University spin-out led by [...]

Infleqtion has reached a key milestone in its path to becoming a publicly traded entity with the filing of a Form S-4 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This filing represents the formal progression of the business combination agreement with Churchill Capital Corp X (NASDAQ: CCCX). Upon the deal's expected closure in the first quarter of 2026, the combined company will operate as Infleqtion, Inc. and list on a major North American exchange under the ticker symbol "INFQ." The transaction is expected to provide Infleqtion with over $540 million in gross proceeds, assuming no redemptions, including a $125 [...]

The University of Iowa has been awarded nearly $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to enhance its quantum materials research infrastructure and accelerate the development of next-generation quantum technologies. Funded through the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the grant will support the purchase of advanced nanofabrication equipment for the university’s Materials Analysis, Testing, and Fabrication (MATFab) Facility. The project, titled "Heterogeneous Nanoscale Materials Collaborative for Quantum Technologies at The University of Iowa," aims to investigate the integration of dissimilar materials to optimize optical and electronic properties for quantum sensing and communication. The investment is centered on [...]

Photonic Inc. has raised $180 million CAD ($130 million USD) in the first close of a new funding round led by Planet First Partners. The investment, which includes new participation from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and TELUS, brings the company's total capital raised to $375 million CAD ($271 million USD). Returning investors include BCI and Microsoft, signaling continued institutional support for Photonic’s mission to build the first commercial-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer using a distributed networking approach. Evercore acted as the sole placement agent for the transaction. The company’s technical roadmap centers on its Entanglement First™ Architecture, which utilizes a [...]

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) has successfully demonstrated scalable on-chip cryogenic control for gate-model qubits, representing a significant technical expansion of its hardware portfolio. The successful validation of this technology confirms that the multiplexed control architecture originally developed for D-Wave’s commercial annealing systems is transferable to a universal gate-model framework. By integrating control logic directly onto the quantum processor, D-Wave aims to mitigate the "wiring bottleneck"—the requirement for high-density, individual control lines routed from room temperature into the dilution refrigerator—which currently limits the scalability of superconducting quantum computers. The demonstration utilized a specialized multichip package integrating a high-coherence fluxonium qubit chip [...]