The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) led a delegation of South Korean quantum deep-tech startups at the Quantum World Congress (QWC) 2026 in College Park, Maryland. Operating under South Korea’s Deeptech Incubator Project for Startups—overseen by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and administered by the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development—KIST utilized its Global Bridge Program (jointly planned with the U.S. Embassy in Korea) to secure strategic partnerships with international quantum vendors, research labs, and enterprise partners.
During the summit, KIST established bilateral ties with commercial annealer vendor D-Wave Systems, giving participating Korean startups direct API and infrastructure access to D-Wave’s quantum annealing hardware. The delegation also engaged with hyperscaler Microsoft to align software stacks, and met with Japan’s Q-STAR industry consortium and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) to solidify cross-border East Asian quantum supply chains.
| [ KIST QWC 2026 Deep-Tech Quantum Startup Cohort ] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Startup Name | Core Hardware / Software Modality | Commercial Technical Specifications & Market Targets |
| • OptiQ-Labs | • Trapped-ion QPU optical hardware • Isotope-selective laser spectroscopy | • Ultra-narrow-linewidth stabilized lasers & ion-trap architectures • Opening U.S. East Coast office (Nov 2026) |
| • Bright Quantum | • On-demand single-photon sources • Quantum-dot optical emitters | • Cryogen-free, ultra-compact room-temperature photon sources • Photonic quantum computing & QKD networking |
| • xDots | • Diamond NV-center quantum sensing • AI/IoT industrial xEnergy platform | • Room-temperature nitrogen-vacancy magnetometry • Real-time industrial equipment energy optimization |
| • SQK | • Quantum-AI medical imaging platform • Physics-informed neural modeling | • QMEDIC low-dose CT reconstruction & signal refinement • Hybrid quantum-classical-HPC orchestration (Qukkos) |
The delegation yielded immediate commercial expansion: optical hardware startup OptiQ-Labs finalized plans to establish a physical U.S. East Coast regional headquarters in November 2026, making it the first startup under the Korean Deeptech Incubator Project to establish a permanent North American operational presence. By bridging trapped-ion laser control systems, cryogen-free quantum-dot single-photon sources, and room-temperature NV magnetometry with North American cloud platforms and testing facilities, the initiative establishes a structured commercialization pipeline to transition Korean physics research into international defense, energy, and medical markets.
Review the official disclosure via PR Newswire here.
September 29, 2026