qBraid, a platform for quantum software and cloud solutions, has been awarded a $300,000 Phase I grant from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems (POSE) program. The funding is intended to support the growth of the qBraid-SDK, a hardware-agnostic, open-source runtime and middleware framework that aims to unify how developers interact with quantum hardware.
The qBraid-SDK is designed to formalize governance structures and community practices to sustain long-term growth. The project will expand the contributor base, building on its current interoperability across over 25 devices and more than 20 frameworks, including Qiskit, Cirq, and PyQuil, as well as low-level representations like OpenQASM and QIR. A key goal is to expand capabilities at the algorithm layer, adding support for parameterized circuits, batch execution, hybrid workloads, and HPC integration.
The grant will support the development of a graph-based transpiler that enables seamless conversion between quantum program types, providing a unified runtime interface that standardizes integration across varied hardware platforms. This is intended to address a critical gap in the quantum software ecosystem, which is currently fragmented by proprietary stacks and vendor-specific tools.
The project is led by Ryan Hill, CTO of qBraid, and includes collaborations with Q-CTRL, QuEra, and Oxford Quantum Circuits. The initiative is designed to position the U.S. to maintain leadership in quantum technologies by enabling sustainable, collaborative infrastructure and supporting the development of robust software infrastructure for the quantum ecosystem.
Read the full announcement here and the NSF award abstract here.
September 11, 2025
