Meet the Companies Building the Next Generation of Quantum Chips

The race to build practical, fault-tolerant quantum computers is accelerating, driven by significant technological advancements and substantial investment. At the heart of this revolution are the quantum chips themselves, the complex engines that harness the bizarre rules of quantum mechanics to perform calculations beyond the reach of today's most powerful supercomputers. Companies around the globe are pursuing diverse approaches, from superconducting circuits and trapped ions to neutral atoms and photonics. This article highlights some of the key players at the forefront of developing these foundational quantum processing units.

The field is marked by both established technology giants and innovative startups, each pushing the boundaries of what's possible. From achieving higher qubit counts to improving error rates and exploring novel architectures, the progress is rapid. As noted in discussions about the Quantum Chip Race: Companies Building the Future, the variety of techniques being explored underscores the complexity and potential of this nascent industry.

Leading the Charge: A Look at the Companies

Here's a snapshot of some of the companies making significant strides in the development of quantum chips:

Akhetonics

Based in Germany, Akhetonics is a photonics startup taking a unique approach by developing an all-optical, general-purpose quantum chip. This contrasts with many others focusing on more specialized applications. Their bold vision and fundamental approach attracted significant early investment, including a €6 million seed funding round led by Matterwave Ventures in November 2024, signaling strong investor confidence in their direction.

Alice & Bob

French startup Alice & Bob is focused on a critical challenge in quantum computing: fault tolerance. Their work towards building a “fault tolerant” quantum computer is backed by substantial funding, including a $104 million Series B round secured in January 2025. This funding is aimed at advancing their unique approach to qubit design, specifically targeting cat qubits, which are theoretically more resilient to certain types of errors.

Amazon

Amazon officially entered the quantum chip hardware arena in early 2025 with the introduction of Ocelot. Developed in partnership with the California Institute of Technology, Ocelot represents Amazon's first foray into building its own quantum silicon. Prior to this hardware initiative, Amazon Web Services (AWS) had already established a presence in the quantum space with Braket, a cloud-based service providing access to quantum computers from various providers like D-Wave, IonQ, and Rigetti.

Atom Computing

Atom Computing, a U.S. company, is a prominent player in the neutral atom quantum computing space. They build quantum computers using arrays of optically trapped neutral atoms. Their technology received a significant boost through a collaboration announced with Microsoft at the Microsoft Ignite 2024 conference, where the two companies unveiled plans to launch a commercial quantum computer utilizing Atom Computing's technology in 2025.

D-Wave

A veteran in the quantum computing field, D-Wave was founded in 1999 as a spinout from the University of British Columbia in Canada. Now a public company listed on the NYSE, D-Wave specializes in quantum annealing. Their latest system, the Advantage2 prototype, leverages this process, which uses quantum physics to find optimal solutions by identifying the lowest-energy states in a system. While different from gate-based universal quantum computing, quantum annealing is particularly suited for optimization problems.

EeroQ

Located in Illinois, EeroQ is a startup pursuing a less common but potentially promising path for its quantum chip design, betting on helium. After raising a $7.25 million seed round in 2022 and securing regional public support, the company demonstrated its commitment to expansion with a $1.1 million investment announced in September 2024 towards growing its headquarters in Chicago’s Humboldt Park.

Fujitsu and RIKEN

Collaboration is also a key theme in the quantum race. In April 2025, Japanese tech giant Fujitsu partnered with the research institution RIKEN to announce the development of a 256-qubit superconducting quantum computer. This represents a significant scaling up from their previous 64-qubit iteration developed in 2023 at the RIKEN RQC-FUJITSU Collaboration Center, showcasing steady progress in increasing qubit counts.

Google

Google continues to be a major force in quantum computing hardware. In December 2024, they announced Willow, their latest quantum computing chip, positioned as a successor to the well-known Sycamore. Google highlighted Willow as “a major breakthrough in quantum error correction.” Hartmut Neven, founder of Google Quantum AI, made headlines with his statement that Willow’s performance provided “credence to the notion that quantum computation occurs in many parallel universes,” illustrating the profound implications of these technological advancements.

IBM

IBM has a long history in computing and is a leader in superconducting quantum processors. Their quantum efforts include notable chips like Condor, a milestone superconducting chip designed for scaling up to 1,121 qubits, demonstrating their focus on increasing size. They also developed Heron, a 156-qubit processor specifically engineered for improved performance and lower error rates, highlighting the dual focus on scale and quality of qubits.

Infleqtion

Founded in 2007, Infleqtion, formerly known as ColdQuanta, is a US-based company that develops quantum computers based on neutral atom technology. This places them alongside other players exploring neutral atoms as a scalable path towards building quantum systems, leveraging the properties of individual atoms trapped and manipulated by lasers.

Intel

Intel, a global semiconductor leader, is developing quantum computers using silicon spin qubits, leveraging their extensive expertise in silicon manufacturing. In June 2023, they unveiled Tunnel Falls, a 12-qubit research chip. While a next-generation chip based on Tunnel Falls was expected in 2024, its release had not occurred as of early 2025, illustrating the challenging timelines inherent in quantum hardware development.

IonQ

IonQ is a publicly listed U.S. company specializing in trapped-ion quantum computers, with products like the IonQ Forte. Trapped-ion technology uses electromagnetic fields to suspend and manipulate individual ions as qubits. After going public via a SPAC in late 2021, IonQ expanded its capabilities by acquiring Canadian networking specialist Entangled Networks, indicating the growing importance of interconnectivity and networking in scaling quantum systems.

IQM

Finnish startup IQM is building superconducting quantum computers, emerging as a spinout from Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. They received early support from the Business Finland government agency and later from the EIC Accelerator program. IQM has successfully attracted significant private investment, including a €128 million Series A2 round in 2022, building on a €39 million round in 2020. This funding includes support from the European Investment Bank and the EIC Fund, highlighting European backing for quantum initiatives.

Microsoft

Microsoft is actively pursuing a distinct path in quantum hardware. In February 2025, Microsoft introduced Majorana, a quantum chip utilizing a topological core architecture. This approach is theoretically more resilient to errors, a key challenge in quantum computing. Microsoft has previously articulated an ambitious long-term goal of building a quantum supercomputer within a decade, positioning topological qubits as a potential foundation for this aim.

Oxford Ionics

A British startup, Oxford Ionics spun out of Oxford University and focuses on trapped-ion quantum computing, leveraging the deep research base of its parent institution. They secured significant funding, including a £30 million Series A (approx. $36 million) in early 2023, followed by an additional £2 million (approx. €2.32 million) from the UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) the same year. Their expertise has also led to selection for DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), alongside companies like Quantinuum.

Pasqal

Pasqal, a French startup, employs a full-stack approach to quantum computing based on neutral atoms. Emerging from the Institut d’Optique in 2019, the company benefits from the involvement of co-founder Alain Aspect, a 2022 Nobel Prize laureate for physics, lending significant scientific credibility. Pasqal raised a substantial €100 million Series B round in February 2023, led by Singapore’s Temasek, with a mix of existing and new investors including sovereign wealth funds and venture capital firms.

PsiQuantum

PsiQuantum is a quantum computing startup pursuing a photonic approach, aiming for a massively scaled machine: “a 1 million-quantum-bit machine.” Their progress includes the announcement in February 2025 of Omega, a quantum photonic chipset manufactured at GlobalFoundries in New York, demonstrating their ability to leverage existing semiconductor fabrication capabilities. The company has attracted significant investment, including a reported potential $750 million round at a $6 billion pre-money valuation, building on a $450 million Series D in 2021. Founded by Australian academics, they also have backing from the Australian and Queensland governments.

Qilimanjaro

Based in Barcelona, Spain, Qilimanjaro is a startup focusing on analog quantum app-specific integrated circuits (QASICs) and adopting a full-stack strategy encompassing hardware, software, and applications. Their innovative approach gained recognition when they won the Four Years From Now startup competition at Mobile World Congress in 2024, followed by receiving €1.5 million in funding from Catalonia later that year, supporting regional quantum ecosystem development.

Quandela

Quandela is another French startup contributing to the photonic quantum computing landscape. Founded in 2017, the company focuses on developing photonic quantum computers. They received significant investment with a €50 million Series B round in November 2023, bolstered by support from the French government through the France 2030 Plan, indicating national strategic interest in their technology.

Quantinuum

Formed in 2021 by the merger of Cambridge Quantum and Honeywell Quantum Solutions, Quantinuum is a prominent player in trapped-ion quantum computing. Their flagship hardware is the H-Series. Quantinuum has also focused heavily on error correction, announcing a significant breakthrough in this area with Microsoft in April 2024, highlighting the importance of software and algorithmic advances alongside hardware development.

QuantWare

QuantWare is a Dutch startup specializing in superconducting quantum processing units (QPUs). A spinout of TU Delft and QuTech, they developed a proprietary 3D chip architecture called VIO designed to address scaling bottlenecks. In February 2025, they began accepting preorders for Contralto-A, their first QPU specifically for quantum error correction. Following a €6 million seed round in 2023, they announced a €20 million Series A (approx. $19.27 million) in March 2025, including equity and grant funding from the European Innovation Council.

QuEra

Boston-based QuEra is a startup utilizing neutral atoms, which they see as the “best approach to achieve large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers.” Their products include Aquila, a 256-qubit analog neutral-atom quantum computer launched in 2022, which is accessible via Amazon Braket, demonstrating industry collaboration. QuEra has attracted major investors, notably Google, which led a $230 million debt round in February 2025, with participation from SoftBank, Valor, and existing investors, signaling strong confidence in their neutral atom path.

Rigetti Computing

Founded in 2013 by Chad Rigetti, Rigetti Computing is a quantum company focused on superconducting technology. Like D-Wave and IonQ, Rigetti is a publicly listed company, having gone public via a SPAC in 2021 after raising nearly $200 million in VC funding. Their product line includes systems like Ankaa-3 and the upcoming 336-qubit Lyra system. In February 2025, they announced a strategic partnership with Taiwan-based Quanta Computer, involving a $35 million investment from Quanta and a joint commitment of over $100 million each over five years to accelerate development and commercialization.

SEEQC

U.S. quantum startup SEEQC, standing for “scalable, energy efficient quantum computing,” is a spinout of Hypres, a chip company founded by former IBM employees from its superconducting electronics division. SEEQC is developing a unique approach integrating classical and quantum processing directly on the same chip. In 2023, they partnered with Nvidia to build an “all-digital, ultra-low-latency chip-to-chip link” between quantum computers and GPUs. They raised a $30 million funding round in January 2025, co-led by Booz Allen Ventures and NordicNinja, with participation from backers like Merck’s M Ventures. SEEQC is also leading the U.K.-supported QuPharma project with BASF and Merck to explore quantum computing's potential in drug discovery.

SpinQ

SpinQ is a Chinese startup founded in 2018 developing quantum computers. They are notable for claiming to have developed portable quantum computers, some of which utilize nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology, a technique adapted from medical imaging and spectroscopy.

Xanadu

Xanadu is a Canadian startup pursuing a photonic approach to build quantum computers. Founded in 2016, Xanadu has raised approximately $275 million, including a $100 million Series C in November 2022 that valued the company at $1 billion. In January 2025, they introduced Aurora, a 12-qubit system featuring 35 photonic chips, showcasing their progress in integrating photonic components for quantum computation.

Conclusion

The landscape of quantum chip development is vibrant and diverse, with companies exploring multiple fundamental technologies – superconducting, trapped-ion, neutral atom, and photonics – each with its own set of advantages and challenges related to scaling, error correction, and connectivity. The significant funding rounds, strategic partnerships, and rapid pace of chip announcements from both established tech giants like Amazon, Google, IBM, Intel, Fujitsu/RIKEN, and Microsoft, as well as innovative startups like Akhetonics, Alice & Bob, Atom Computing, EeroQ, Infleqtion, IonQ, IQM, Oxford Ionics, Pasqal, PsiQuantum, Qilimanjaro, Quandela, Quantinuum, QuantWare, QuEra, Rigetti Computing, SEEQC, SpinQ, and Xanadu, underscore the global effort and intense competition. While significant hurdles remain, the progress highlighted by these companies brings the promise of practical quantum computing closer to reality, potentially transforming industries from medicine and materials science to finance and artificial intelligence.