D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS) announced that it has received second-year funding for its Improved Materials for Superconducting Qubits with Scalable Fabrication initiative from the Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub.
Funding awarded through Quantum Circuits subsidiary
The funding was granted to D-Wave subsidiary Quantum Circuits LLC as part of four programs collectively awarded more than $25 million in second-year support.
According to the company, the participating projects met first-year milestones by demonstrating progress in the design, fabrication and characterization of quantum computing components.
Project backed by New York-based NORDTECH consortium
The SQFab initiative is administered through NORDTECH, a regional consortium that includes semiconductor research facilities, government laboratories, defense contractors, universities and technology manufacturing organizations across New York State.
NORDTECH operates as one of eight hubs within the U.S. Microelectronics Commons program, a Department of War initiative managed through the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division.
Initiative focused on scalable superconducting qubit manufacturing
The project aims to improve materials used in superconducting qubits while developing scalable manufacturing methods to support next-generation microelectronics technologies.
The work is also intended to help establish fabrication infrastructure for superconducting qubits and improve the scalability of quantum systems through advanced packaging and testing protocols for gate-model quantum computing platforms.
CEO highlights growing role of quantum computing
“This award reflects the growing recognition that quantum computing will play an important role in advancing U.S. microelectronics innovation,” said Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave.
Program aims to strengthen U.S. semiconductor capabilities
The broader Microelectronics Commons initiative is designed to accelerate domestic microelectronics prototyping, strengthen semiconductor supply chains and expand U.S. leadership in critical technologies by fostering collaboration between industry, government and academic institutions.
D-Wave describes itself as the first commercial provider of quantum computers and says it is the only company offering both annealing and gate-model quantum computing technologies within a dual-platform product portfolio.