The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) has announced a NIS 100 million ($33 million USD) call for proposals to establish a centralized national quantum computing research and development infrastructure. Designed to support both domestic industry and academic institutions, the initiative aims to serve as Israel’s primary national hub for evaluating, integrating, and adopting advanced quantum computing technologies across the full hardware and software stack.
Full-Stack Services Across Diverse Quantum Architectures
Because no single physical qubit architecture—such as superconducting circuits, trapped ions, neutral atoms, or photonics—has yet established absolute dominance, the IIA mandate explicitly requires the infrastructure operator to integrate at least three distinct quantum processing technologies into a unified framework. This multi-modality requirement will allow Israeli developers to test, benchmark, and compare algorithm performance across different physical backends simultaneously.
The operator will provide end-to-end R&D capabilities across every layer of the quantum value chain:
- Hardware & Control Systems: Access to native quantum processors, classical control/measurement hardware, and low-latency feedback systems.
- Algorithm & Software Development: Tools for quantum error correction (QEC) prototyping, software stack optimization, and cloud-accessible user interfaces.
- Benchmarking & Proof-of-Concept: Independent platform evaluation to determine which hardware architecture best suits specific industrial use cases.
- Workforce Development: Capacity building through multidisciplinary workshops, technical training, and direct technology transfer to local high-tech startups.
Strict Operational Benchmarks and Execution Timelines
To ensure the facility remains at the global technological frontier, the contract requires the winning consortium or industrial entity to continuously upgrade its hardware backends to match international market advancements.
The proposal imposes strict operational timelines:
- 12-Month Initial Service Milestone: The operator must begin delivering functional R&D services—including cloud-based QPU access, hardware testing, and algorithmic evaluation—within one year of approval.
- 18-Month Full Establishment: The entire physical and software infrastructure must be fully built out and operational in Israel within 18 months.
By establishing a centralized, multi-platform testbed, the initiative aims to shorten product development cycles for Israeli startups, build a specialized local workforce, and accelerate the commercialization of quantum applications across defense, financial services, and deep-tech sectors.
Review the official program announcement via the Israel Innovation Authority Press Room here, and track local high-tech ecosystem developments on the Times of Israel Coverage here.
July 20, 2026
