IQM Partners With Israeli Universities To Accelerate Quantum Tech Research

European quantum computing hardware company IQM Quantum Computers the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) and Bar-Ilan University, both in Israel, announced the beginning of a new research collaboration to accelerate the advancement of quantum computing. 

IQM will provide the researchers of the other universities with its self-developed commercial-grade quantum computing hardware so that they may conduct updated experiments to unlock new technological possibilities and capabilities.

All parties aim to extend the collaboration toward building full-stack quantum computers for scientific and commercial purposes in Israel.

Professor Nadav Katz will lead research efforts at the Hebrew University and Professor Michael Stern will lead his group at Bar-Ilan University. 

Founded in 2018, IQM builds scalable hardware for universal quantum computers with a focus on superconducting technology while providing data centers, research labs, and industrial customers access to its hardware. As of 2020, the company had raised a total of €71 million ($77 million) making it one of Europe’s leading firms in the sector. 

“We are very happy to be working with both the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Bar-Ilan University and look forward to a fruitful, long-term scientific and commercial cooperation,” said Dr. Juha Vartiainen, COO and cofounder of IQM. “This announcement aligns well with our strategy to provide commercial-grade quantum-computing hardware to global research groups.”

“This cooperation is also a significant milestone for our cooperation with the world-class quantum ecosystem in Israel. As quantum computers develop further, the know-how developed in Israel—for example, around machine learning and quantum software—is going to become more critical in the future,” added Dr. Vartiainen.

“We are excited about this new collaboration with IQM and have already measured several consistently high-coherence IQM devices in our lab in Israel,” shared Prof. Nadav Katz, director of HUJI’s Quantum Information Science Center.

“We are proud to take part in a study that places Israel and its universities at the forefront of the global effort to develop quantum computers,” said Prof. Michael Stern. “The road is still long, but I believe that we at Bar-Ilan, together with our partners at the Hebrew University, will succeed in achieving groundbreaking results.”