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Researchers at the University of Oxford have reported a new benchmark for single-qubit gate fidelity using trapped-ion technology, achieving an error rate of just 0.000015%—equivalent to one error in 6.7 million operations. The result is scheduled for publication in Physical Review Letters and represents an order-of-magnitude improvement over the group’s own prior record set in 2014. The experiment used calcium ions manipulated by microwave signals, rather than conventional laser control, enabling enhanced operational stability and simplified integration. The system was operated at room temperature and without magnetic shielding, reducing the engineering overhead typically associated with trapped-ion platforms. The use of microwave-based [...]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in partnership with the University of Colorado Boulder, has developed and deployed the Colorado University Randomness Beacon (CURBy), the first random number generator to use quantum entanglement as a certifiable source of randomness. The system is publicly accessible and operates under a protocol that allows any user to verify its outputs, addressing a long-standing challenge in cryptographic and public randomness services. CURBy is based on a NIST-run Bell test that produces raw randomness from entangled photon pairs. This type of quantum nonlocality ensures the outcomes are fundamentally unpredictable and cannot be pre-determined or [...]

Quantum Art has integrated its Logical Qubit Compiler with NVIDIA’s CUDA-Q hybrid quantum-classical platform, enabling developers to orchestrate applications across QPUs, CPUs, and GPUs. The collaboration leverages Quantum Art’s proprietary multi-qubit gate and multi-core trapped-ion architecture alongside NVIDIA’s quantum-classical acceleration framework to enhance scalability and reduce quantum circuit depth. The integrated platform is optimized for synthesizing quantum circuits at the ~200 logical qubit scale, a range relevant to emerging commercial workloads. Quantum Art reports early improvements in Quantum Volume performance—up to a 25% gain in the log-scale metric—due to shallower circuit generation and enhanced multi-core compiler capabilities. System-level benchmarks will track [...]

SEEQC and IBM have announced a technical collaboration under DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI) to investigate the integration of SEEQC’s Single Flux Quantum (SFQ) chip-based control technology with IBM’s quantum computing systems. The partnership aims to explore architectural solutions for consolidating classical control elements into cryogenic system-on-a-chip designs operating near quantum processors, enhancing energy efficiency and system compactness. The collaboration will focus on addressing systems-level engineering challenges that are critical for scaling large fault-tolerant quantum computers. SEEQC’s SFQ-based digital control approach could potentially reduce the need for bulky room-temperature racks by relocating key control components inside dilution refrigerators, next to qubit [...]

Introduction Quantum optimization on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) hardware offers a practical pathway to explore potential speedups for combinatorial and real-world optimization problems. Unlike fault-tolerant approaches that await future hardware, near-term methods leverage current devices by combining quantum subroutines with classical processing. This article reviews recent experimental and theoretical advances implemented on actual quantum processors, focusing on canonical problems such as spin-glass Ising models, higher-order binary optimization, Max-Cut, and maximum independent set. Many vendors have reported signs of quantum advantage or supremacy in various contexts. Here, we examine six representative works that provide concrete benchmarks on today's hardware (in no particular [...]

Q-CTRL has expanded its presence in India by launching partnerships with four domestic organizations—ELTECH Consulting, Kquanta Research, Quantum Biosciences, and Uttkrist—to scale access to its Black Opal quantum education platform. The move aligns with national goals to grow a quantum-literate workforce and follows the successful deployment of Black Opal through the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation in 2024. Black Opal, Q-CTRL’s interactive quantum learning platform, delivers end-to-end quantum education for students and professionals with no prior experience. The company reports that over 3,000 students enrolled through Tamil Nadu’s Naan Mudhalvan Upskilling Platform, with an 83% course completion rate. The new collaborations [...]

ORCA Computing has successfully delivered and installed its photonic quantum computing platform at the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), completing a key milestone under the UK government’s £121 million Quantum Computing Testbeds programme. The installation represents the first deployment of a photonic quantum system within a UK public-sector facility. The system, part of ORCA’s PT Series, integrates multiple photonic sources in a single architecture designed for real-world application development. The system was delivered and operational within thirty-six hours, marking an on-time fulfillment of ORCA’s February 2024 contract with the NQCC. It will now support hybrid quantum–classical workflows and early-stage quantum [...]

Orange Business and Toshiba Digital Solutions have jointly launched the first commercial quantum-safe network service in France, combining quantum key distribution (QKD) with post-quantum cryptography (PQC). The solution, called Orange Quantum Defender, is now available to enterprise customers in the greater Paris area and is already securing critical data for a major French financial services firm. The system leverages Toshiba’s QKD technology across Orange's commercial fiber infrastructure, integrating a defense-in-depth strategy that pairs hardware-based quantum key exchange with software-based cryptographic algorithms resistant to quantum attacks. This architecture addresses the growing threat of “store now, decrypt later” tactics, in which sensitive data [...]

Rigetti Computing has completed a $350 million at-the-market (ATM) equity offering, significantly increasing its cash reserves to approximately $575 million. The transaction provides the superconducting quantum hardware firm with expanded capital for scaling operations, without incurring debt, and aligns with its strategy to pursue commercial readiness in the quantum computing sector. The company stated that proceeds will primarily support working capital, capital expenditures, and general corporate operations. In addition, funds may be allocated toward future strategic collaborations, acquisitions, or partnerships. The ATM structure, previously disclosed by Rigetti, enabled the firm to issue shares incrementally over time, rather than through a single [...]

OVHcloud has confirmed that it will begin offering quantum processing units (QPUs) via its Quantum Cloud platform starting September 2025, beginning with Pasqal’s 100-qubit Orion Beta system based on neutral atom technology. This deployment follows the company’s selection in the AQUILA program, a French national initiative designed to stimulate domestic quantum adoption and ecosystem development. The QPU will be offered under a pay-as-you-go Quantum-as-a-Service (QaaS) model, with additional systems to follow by the end of 2025 and a total of at least eight QPUs expected by 2027—seven of which will be European. The announcement also expands OVHcloud’s emulator portfolio, adding Quobly’s [...]