Quantum networks—where entanglement is distributed across distant nodes—promise to revolutionize quantum computing, communication, and sensing. However, a major bottleneck has been scalability, as the entanglement rate in most existing systems is limited by a network design of a single qubit per node. A new study, led by Prof. A. Faraon at Caltech and conducted by A. Ruskuc et al., recently published in Nature (ref: 1-2), presents a groundbreaking solution: multiplexed entanglement using multiple emitters in quantum network nodes. By harnessing rare-earth ions coupled to nanophotonic cavities, researchers at Caltech and Stanford have demonstrated a scalable platform that significantly enhances entanglement rates and network efficiency. Let's take a closer look at the two key challenges they tackled—multiplexing to boost entanglement rates and dynamic control strategies to ensure qubit indistinguishability—and how they overcame them.

Breaking the Entanglement Bottleneck via Multiplexing
One of the biggest challenges in scaling quantum networks is the entanglement rate bottleneck, which arises due to the fundamental constraints of long-distance quantum communication. When two distant qubits are entangled via photon interference, the rate of entanglement distribution is typically limited by the speed of light and the node separation distance. In typical systems with a single qubit per node, this rate scales as c/L (where c is the speed of light and L is the distance between nodes), leading to long waiting times between successful entanglement events. This severely limits the scalability of quantum networks.

NVIDIA today announced it is building a Boston-based research center to provide cutting-edge technologies to advance quantum computing. The NVIDIA Accelerated Quantum Research Center, or NVAQC, will integrate leading quantum hardware with AI supercomputers, enabling what is known as accelerated quantum supercomputing. The NVAQC will help solve quantum computing's most challenging problems, ranging from qubit noise to transforming experimental quantum processors into practical devices.

Leading quantum computing innovators, including Quantinuum, Quantum Machines and QuEra Computing, will tap into the NVAQC to drive advancements through collaborations with researchers from leading universities, such as the Harvard Quantum Initiative in Science and Engineering (HQI) and the Engineering Quantum Systems (EQuS) group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Italian supercomputing centre Cineca today announced an agreement with IQM Quantum Computers, a global leader in superconducting quantum computers, to deliver the most powerful quantum computer in Italy.

IQM Radiance quantum computer, powered by IQM's 54-qubit quantum processing unit (QPU), will be installed in the fourth quarter of 2025. The quantum computer will be integrated into Leonardo, which is one of the world's fastest supercomputers. This will mark a major technology and innovation milestone for Italy and the larger quantum ecosystem.

Equal1 today unveils Bell-1, the first quantum system purpose-built for the HPC era. Unlike first-generation quantum computers that demand dedicated rooms, infrastructure, and complex cooling systems, Bell-1 is designed for direct deployment in HPC-class environments. As a rack-mountable quantum node, it integrates directly alongside classical compute—as compact as a GPU server, yet exponentially more powerful for the world's hardest problems. Bell-1 is engineered to eliminate the traditional barriers of cost, infrastructure, and complexity, setting a new benchmark for scalable quantum computing integration.

Bell-1 rewrites the rule book. While today's quantum computers demand specialized infrastructure, Bell-1 is a silicon-powered quantum computer that integrates seamlessly into existing HPC environments. Simply rack it, plug it in, and unlock quantum capabilities wherever your classical computers already operate. No new cooling systems. No extraordinary power demands. Just quantum computing that works in the real world, as easy to deploy as a high-end GPU server. It plugs into a standard power socket, operates at just 1600 W, and delivers on-demand quantum computing for computationally intensive workloads.

Microsoft launched its Majorana 1 chip—the world's first quantum processor powered by a Topological Core architecture—last month. The company's debuting of its Majorana design was celebrated as a significant milestone—in 2023, an ambitious roadmap was published by Microsoft's research department. At the time, a tall Majorana particle-based task was set: the building of a proprietary quantum supercomputer within a decade. Returning to the present day; outside parties have criticized Microsoft's February announcements. The Register published an investigative piece earlier today, based on quotes from key players specializing in the field of Quantum studies. Many propose a theoretical existence of Majorana particles, while Microsoft R&D employees have claimed detection and utilization. The Register referred back to recent history: "(Microsoft) made big claims about Majorana particles before, but it didn't end well: in 2021 Redmond's researchers retracted a 2018 paper in which they claimed to have detected the particles."

As pointed out by Microsoft researcher Chetan Nayak; their latest paper was actually authored last March 2024, but only made public in recent weeks. Further details of progress are expected next week, at the American Physical Society (APS) 2025 Joint March Meeting. The Register has compiled quotes from vocal critics; starting with Henry Legg—a lecturer in theoretical physics at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. The noted scholar believes—as divulged in a scientific online comment—that Microsoft's claimed Quantum breakthrough: "is not reliable and must be revisited." Similarly, collaborators from Germany's Forschungszentrum Jülich institute and the University of Pittsburgh, USA released a joint video statement. (Respectively) Experimental physicist Vincent Mourik and by Professor Sergey Frolov outlined: "distractions caused by unreliable scientific claims from Microsoft Quantum."

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and IQM Quantum Computers, one of the global leaders in superconducting quantum computers, have completed and launched Europe's first 50-qubit superconducting quantum computer, now open to researchers and companies through the VTT QX quantum computing service.

The new 50-qubit quantum computer further strengthens Finland's position among the countries capable of developing and investing in quantum computing. Finland first announced its efforts in quantum computing development back in November 2020 with a total budget of EUR 20.7 million from the Finnish government to develop a 50-qubit quantum computer.

Today, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced Ocelot, a new quantum computing chip that can reduce the costs of implementing quantum error correction by up to 90%, compared to current approaches. Developed by the team at the AWS Center for Quantum Computing at the California Institute of Technology, Ocelot represents a breakthrough in the pursuit to build fault-tolerant quantum computers capable of solving problems of commercial and scientific importance that are beyond the reach of today's conventional computers.

AWS used a novel design for Ocelot's architecture, building error correction in from the ground up and using the 'cat qubit'. Cat qubits-named after the famous Schrödinger's cat thought experiment-intrinsically suppress certain forms of errors, reducing the resources required for quantum error correction. Through this new approach with Ocelot, AWS researchers have, for the first time, combined cat qubit technology and additional quantum error correction components onto a microchip that can be manufactured in a scalable fashion using processes borrowed from the microelectronics industry.

Microsoft has launched Majorana 1, the world's first quantum processor powered by a Topological Core architecture, marking a significant step toward fault-tolerant, utility-scale quantum computing. The chip leverages tetron qubits—topological qubits built on Majorana zero modes (MZMs)—to achieve stability and scalability, with a roadmap to one million qubits, a threshold critical for solving industrial challenges like microplastic degradation and self-healing materials. At the heart of Majorana 1 lies a superconductor-semiconductor heterostructure combining indium arsenide and aluminium. This "topoconductor" material enables precise control of MZMs, exotic quantum particles that encode information non-locally, inherently resisting noise and errors. The design, detailed in the latest paper, arranges MZMs in H-shaped nanowires, forming two-sided tetrons that suppress errors exponentially via three factors: topological gap-to-temperature ratio, wire length-to-coherence length, and high-fidelity microwave readout. Microsoft claims that thopoconductor can "create an entirely new state of matter - not a solid, liquid or gas but a topological state."

Unlike conventional qubits requiring analog tuning, Microsoft's architecture uses digital voltage pulses for error-resistant, measurement-based operations. This approach simplifies scaling, with the current chip housing eight tetrons and supporting protocols for quantum error detection, such as the Hastings-Haah Floquet codes and ladder codes outlined in Microsoft's technical roadmap. These codes rely on single- and two-qubit Pauli measurements, native to tetrons, to detect and correct errors without complex gate sequences. DARPA's US2QC program validated that Microsoft's topology-first strategy minimizes overhead, enabling a future million-qubit system compact enough to fit in Azure datacenters. The chip's quantum capacitance measurement system detects parity shifts in microseconds, achieving a signal-to-noise ratio critical for fault tolerance. Applications span designing catalysts to break down pollutants, optimizing enzymes for agriculture, and simulating novel materials. Microsoft aims to merge quantum, AI, and high-performance computing into Azure, accelerating discoveries once deemed decades away. Majorana 1 proves that topological qubits—once a high-risk bet—are now the cornerstone of scalable quantum systems.

Quobly, a leading French quantum computing startup, has reported that FD-SOI technology can serve as a scalable platform for commercial quantum computing, leveraging traditional semiconductor manufacturing fabs and CEA-Leti's R&D pilot line.

The semiconductor industry has played a pivotal role in enabling classical computers to scale at cost; it has the same transformative potential for quantum computers, making them commercially scalable and cost competitive. Silicon spin qubits are excellent for achieving fault-tolerant, large-scale quantum computing, registering clock speeds in the µsec range, fidelity above 99% for one and two-qubit gate operations and incomparably small unit cell sizes (in the hundredths of 100 nm²).

IonQ, a leader in the quantum computing and networking industry, today announced the delivery of IonQ Forte Enterprise to its first European Innovation Center at the uptownBasel campus in Arlesheim, Switzerland. Achieved in partnership with QuantumBasel, this major milestone marks the first datacenter-ready quantum computer IonQ has delivered that will operate outside the United States and the first quantum system for commercial use in Switzerland.

Forte Enterprise is now online servicing compute jobs while performing at a record algorithmic qubit count of #AQ36, which is significantly more powerful than the promised #AQ35. With each additional #AQ, the useful computational space for running quantum algorithms doubles. A system with #AQ36 is capable of considering more than 68 billion different possibilities simultaneously. With this milestone, IonQ once again leads the industry in delivering production-ready systems to customers.

Today at its inaugural IBM Quantum Developer Conference, IBM announced quantum hardware and software advancements to execute complex algorithms on IBM quantum computers with record levels of scale, speed, and accuracy.

IBM Quantum Heron, the company's most performant quantum processor to-date and available in IBM's global quantum data centers, can now leverage Qiskit to accurately run certain classes of quantum circuits with up to 5,000 two-qubit gate operations. Users can now use these capabilities to expand explorations in how quantum computers can tackle scientific problems across materials, chemistry, life sciences, high-energy physics, and more.

The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) has signed a purchase agreement with IQM Quantum Computers (IQM), a global leader in designing, building, and selling superconducting quantum computers. Under the agreement, IQM will deliver two advanced Radiance quantum systems of 54 qubits and 150 qubits in the second half of 2025 and by the end of 2026, respectively.

The two distinct systems, featuring high-quality qubits and industry-leading fidelities will play a pivotal role in executing quantum algorithms across a range of application domains.

In developing the OPX1000, a controller fit for the ever-growing quantum processors counting 1,000 qubits and beyond, we had to think deeply about every detail that impairs scalability. Our recently unveiled OPX1000 module for microwave generation (MW-FEM) generates pulses up to 10.5 GHz directly, without analog oscillators or mixers. The choice of technology to reach microwave frequencies is not trivial. We choose cutting-edge direct digital synthesis (DDS) for very specific reasons, and we believe it will enable scalability and performance to an even greater degree. In this blog, we dive deeper into the considerations for going this route and existing alternatives. So stick around, whether you like mixers or hate them, this will be an interesting ride.

Summary of Technologies for Microwave Operation
The control signals for qubit drive and readout often fall in the microwave range, which is outside the range of baseband controllers. Many qubit labs have solved the issue with solutions based on mixing, including single sideband mixers, IQ-mixers, or more complicated schemes such as double super-heterodyne (DSH) conversion. Mixer-based solutions make use of analog local oscillators (LOs) that are multiplied by the signal of a controller or an AWG. IQ-mixers naturally suffer from two main spurs (affectionate name for unwanted signals), the LO leakage and the mixer image, which require non-trivial calibration to be removed. Other schemes, such as double super-heterodyne, offer a zero-calibration solution but use many more components. Additionally, mixing schemes require having an LO source per mixer if different drive frequencies are used. Having a low phase source per mixer is very expensive, and in order to cut prices, will probably include a phase-lock loops (PLL), leading to phase differences between channels, which is detrimental for multi-qubit systems. In other words, while mixers can be useful, we need to be aware of the pros and cons involved.

With computation potential far beyond current supercomputers, quantum computers are the subject of enthusiastic research and development worldwide. In 2023, Academia Sinica successfully overcame various bottlenecks in the fabrication, control, and measurement of quantum chips. In October, the creation of a 5-qubit superconducting quantum computer developed in Taiwan marked a significant milestone. Starting this week, it will be made available online to project collaborators.

Dr. Chii Dong Chen, Distinguished Research Fellow at Academia Sinica's Institute of Physics and Research Center for Applied Sciences, noted that this project is part of the quantum technology special project funded by the National Science and Technology Council. Initially scheduled to build a 3-qubit quantum computer by February of 2024, Academia Sinica's research team surpassed the development schedule approved by the National Science and Technology Council and built a 5-qubit system by October of 2023. The fidelity of the quantum bit logic gates reached an impressive 99.9%.

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGTI) ("Rigetti" or the "Company"), a pioneer in full-stack quantum-classical computing, announced today the launch of its Novera QPU, a 9-qubit quantum processing unit (QPU) based on the Company's fourth generation Ankaa -class architecture featuring tunable couplers and a square lattice for denser connectivity and fast 2-qubit operations. The Novera QPU is manufactured in Rigetti's Fab-1, the industry's first dedicated and integrated quantum device manufacturing facility.

The Novera QPU includes all of the hardware below the mixing chamber plate (MXC) of a dilution refrigerator. In addition to a 9-qubit chip with a 3x3 array of tunable transmons, the Novera QPU also includes a 5-qubit chip with no tunable couplers or qubit-qubit coupling which can be used for developing and characterizing single-qubit operations on a simpler circuit. In addition to the 9-qubit and 5-qubit chips, Novera QPU components include:

Alice & Bob, a leading hardware developer in the race to fault tolerant quantum computers, today announced the tape out of a new chip expected to improve error rates with every qubit added, making it a prototype for the company's first error-corrected, logical qubit.

The 16-qubit quantum processing unit (QPU), Helium 1, is the first chip in Alice & Bob's roadmap combining cat qubits to run an error correction code. The company will be able to use this platform to create its first logical qubit with error rates lower than any existing single physical qubit. With the tape-out complete, the chip enters a characterization and calibration phase that will be followed by a release on the cloud.

The Platform for Digital and Quantum Innovation of Quebec (PINQ²), a non-profit organization (NPO) founded by the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy of Quebec (MEIE - ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie du Québec) and the Université de Sherbrooke, along with IBM, are proud to announce the historic inauguration of an IBM Quantum System One at IBM Bromont. This event marks a major turning point in the field of information technology and all sectors of innovation in Quebec, making PINQ² the sole administrator to inaugurate and operate an IBM Quantum System One in Canada. To date, this is one of the most advanced quantum computers in IBM's global fleet of quantum computers.

This new quantum computer in Quebec reinforces Quebec's and Canada's position as a force in the rapidly advancing field of quantum computing, opening new prospects for the technological future of the province and the country. Access to this technology is a considerable asset not only for the ecosystem of DistriQ, the quantum innovation zone for Quebec, but also for the Technum Québec innovation zone, the new "Energy Transition Valley" innovation zone and other strategic sectors for Quebec.

International Data Corporation (IDC) today published its second forecast for the worldwide quantum computing market, projecting customer spend for quantum computing to grow from $1.1 billion in 2022 to $7.6 billion in 2027. This represents a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.1%. The forecast includes base quantum computing as a service as well as enabling and adjacent quantum computing as a service.

The new forecast is considerably lower than IDC's previous quantum computing forecast, which was published in 2021. In the interim, customer spend for quantum computing has been negatively impacted by several factors, including: slower than expected advances in quantum hardware development, which have delayed potential return on investment; the emergence of other technologies such as generative AI, which are expected to offer greater near-term value for end users; and an array of macroeconomic factors, such as higher interest and inflation rates and the prospect of an economic recession.

Today, it was announced that Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will become the first university in the world to house an IBM Quantum System One. The IBM quantum computer, intended to be operational by January of 2024, will serve as the foundation of a new IBM Quantum Computational Center in partnership with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). By partnering, RPI's vision is to greatly enhance the educational experiences and research capabilities of students and researchers at RPI and other institutions, propel the Capital Region into a top location for talent, and accelerate New York's growth as a technology epicenter.

RPI's advance into research of applications for quantum computing will represent a more than $150 million investment once fully realized, aided by philanthropic support from Curtis R. Priem '82, vice chair of RPI's Board of Trustees. The new quantum computer will be part of RPI's new Curtis Priem Quantum Constellation, a faculty endowed center for collaborative research, which will prioritize the hiring of additional faculty leaders who will leverage the quantum computing system.

Earlier this week Microsoft revealed its roadmap for the building of a proprietary quantum supercomputer. The company's research department has been making progress with the elusive building blocks of topological qubits over a number of years. Microsoft's VP of advanced quantum development - Krysta Svore - has informed TechCrunch that their team anticipates it taking under ten years to construct and complete a quantum supercomputer utilizing qubits, with a view to perform a reliable one million quantum operations per second. Svore stated: "We think about our roadmap and the time to the quantum supercomputer in terms of years rather than decades."

Majorana-based qubits are extremely difficult to create, but worth the effort due to being inherently stable. Microsoft's quantum team has dedicated itself to hitting a first milestone, with more devices developed and data collected since last year's major breakthrough. Svore reiterates: "Today, we're really at this foundational implementation level...We have noisy intermediate-scale quantum machines. They're built around physical qubits and they're not yet reliable enough to do something practical and advantageous in terms of something useful. For science or for the commercial industry. The next level we need to get to as an industry is the resilient level. We need to be able to operate not just with physical qubits but we need to take those physical qubits and put them into an error-correcting code and use them as a unit to serve as a logical qubit." Svore's team is focusing more on the building of hardware-protected qubits, that are tiny - "smaller than 10 microns on a side" with performance of one qubit operation in less than a microsecond.

Today at Commercialising Quantum Global 2023, IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), an industry leader in quantum computing, announced the availability of IonQ Aria on Amazon Braket, AWS's quantum computing service. This expands upon IonQ's existing presence on Amazon Braket, following the debut of IonQ's Harmony system on the platform in 2020. With broader access to IonQ Aria, IonQ's flagship system with 25 algorithmic qubits (#AQ)—more than 65,000 times more powerful than IonQ Harmony—users can now explore, design, and run more complex quantum algorithms to tackle some of the most challenging problems of today.

"We are excited for IonQ Aria to become available on Amazon Braket, as we expand the ways users can access our leading quantum computer on the most broadly adopted cloud service provider," said Peter Chapman, CEO and President, IonQ. "Amazon Braket has been instrumental in commercializing quantum, and we look forward to seeing what new approaches will come from the brightest, most curious, minds in the space."

Chinese company Origin Quantum announced that it has developed China's first practical 24-qubit quantum computer using superconducting chip technology, named Wuyuan. The computer uses an unspecified number of quantum processing units (QPUs), but comes with a custom operating system, and a cloud-computing platform, allowing Chinese businesses to hire the computer as they would any HPC cloud-computing instance. Origin Quantum said that with the production of Wuyuan, the company is already developing an even more powerful quantum computer, named Wukong. Origin Quantum is one of the many curiously new Chinese high-technology startups that have sprung up and don't feature on Western tech sanctions lists, to which Western companies are forbidden to sale certain high-tech machinery and chips to.Many Thanks to TumbleGeorge for the tip.

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ), an industry leader in quantum computing, today announced plans to open the first known dedicated quantum computing manufacturing facility in the U.S., located in the suburbs of Seattle, Washington. The new facility will house IonQ's growing R&D and manufacturing teams, as they develop systems to meet continued customer demand. With public support from U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) - an early proponent of the CHIPS and Science Act - and Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, US representative from Washington's 1st congressional district,today's announcement is part of IonQ's broader intent to invest $1 billion through expansion in the Pacific Northwest over the next 10 years.

"IonQ making the decision to open the first ever quantum computing manufacturing facility in the country right here in Bothell is a very big deal—and it's great news for Washington state," said Senator Murray. "Opening this facility will absolutely help ensure Washington state continues to be a leader in innovation and cutting-edge technologies—but it also means jobs that will be an investment in our families and their futures. These are the kinds of investments that happen when we pass legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act to invest in American manufacturing and build the economy of the future right here at home."

Today, Intel unveiled research breakthroughs fueling its innovation pipeline for keeping Moore's Law on track to a trillion transistors on a package in the next decade. At IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) 2022, Intel researchers showcased advancements in 3D packaging technology with a new 10x improvement in density; novel materials for 2D transistor scaling beyond RibbonFET, including super-thin material just 3 atoms thick; new possibilities in energy efficiency and memory for higher-performing computing; and advancements for quantum computing.

"Seventy-five years since the invention of the transistor, innovation driving Moore's Law continues to address the world's exponentially increasing demand for computing. At IEDM 2022, Intel is showcasing both the forward-thinking and concrete research advancements needed to break through current and future barriers, deliver to this insatiable demand, and keep Moore's Law alive and well for years to come." -Gary Patton, Intel vice president and general manager of Components Research and Design Enablement

Researchers at Toshiba Corporation have achieved a breakthrough in quantum computer architecture: the basic design for a double-transmon coupler that will improve the speed and accuracy of quantum computation in tunable couplers. The coupler is a key device in determining the performance of superconducting quantum computers.

Tunable couplers in a superconducting quantum computer link two qubits and perform quantum computations by turning on and off the coupling between them. Current technology can turn off the coupling of transmon qubits with close frequencies, but this is prone to crosstalk errors that occur on one of the qubits when the other qubit is irradiated with electromagnetic waves for control. In addition, current technology cannot completely turn off coupling for qubits with significantly different frequencies, resulting in errors due to residual coupling.