Q-CTRL and Bleximo Enter Global Partnership

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 10, 2019 - Q-CTRL, a quantum computing startup with U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles, has entered into a global partnership to power superconducting ‘quantum accelerators’ from Bleximo, a full-stack quantum computing startup based in Berkeley, Calif.   With the agreement, Q-CTRL will deliver software tools to the Bleximo team and serve as the preferred provider of ‘quantum firmware’ for quantum computing systems that Bleximo brings to market.

Bleximo’s quantum accelerators utilize superconducting qubits and tailored quantum processors architecture and control hardware to meet the needs of a particular high-value problem.  They are being developed to aid conventional high-performance computing systems in solving complex computational challenges across a variety of industries, including finance, pharmaceuticals, logistics and more.

By focusing on application-specific rather than general-purpose quantum computing systems, Bleximo’s goal is to deliver enhanced performance with a shorter time to market.

Q-CTRL’s quantum firmware provides a set of special low-level commands which make the quantum hardware more resilient against errors. The most advanced machines being developed today can only run operations for very short periods before errors creep in and programs fail, compromising the computational potential of quantum computers. Error is often noted as the Achilles heel of quantum computing hardware.

“Q-CTRL provides infrastructure software that fills an invaluable niche in the development of practical quantum computing technology,” said Alexei Marchenkov, founder and CEO of Bleximo. “Our combined solutions will help speed the development and usefulness of quantum computing for a variety of industrial applications.”

“We are excited to support Bleximo’s vision to deliver its technology for the most impactful and demanding applications in quantum computing,” said Michael J. Biercuk, founder and CEO of Q-CTRL. “With our proprietary algorithms and automation tools, our software will ensure we are able to tailor quantum firmware performance to the needs of Bleximo’s hardware and help deliver real customer value sooner.”

Q-CTRL’s solutions are demonstrated to reduce error rates and improve device stability by orders of magnitude, accelerating the pathway to the first commercially relevant quantum computers. Q-CTRL already works with academic teams and industry-leading organizations such as the IBM Q network to achieve this goal.

Q-CTRL recently completed a US$15 million Series A round led by Australia’s largest venture capital fund, Square Peg Capital and Silicon Valley’s Sierra Ventures.

About Bleximo

Bleximo Corp. is based in Berkeley, California. It was founded in February 2017 and is a venture-capital-backed startup that builds application-specific full-stack superconducting quantum computing systems.

Since mid-2018, Bleximo is an affiliate company in Cyclotron Road. Cyclotron Road is a deep tech incubator program, based at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, that supports entrepreneurial scientists and engineers aiming to grow their innovations into useful products, including access to US Department of Energy research facilities and technical expertise.

In this same year, Bleximo received $1.5 million in a seed round led by Eniac Ventures, with participation from Boost VC, Creative Ventures, KEC Ventures, and Gyan Kapur.

About Q-CTRL

Q-CTRL was founded in November 2017 and is a venture-capital-backed company that provides control-engineering software solutions helping customers harness the power of quantum physics in next-generation technologies.

Q-CTRL is built on Professor Michael J. Biercuk’s research leading the Quantum Control Lab at the University of Sydney, where he is a Professor of Quantum Physics and Quantum Technology.

The team’s expertise led Q-CTRL to be selected as an inaugural member of the IBM Q startup network last year. Q-CTRL is funded by SquarePeg Capital, Sierra Ventures, Sequoia Capital China, Data Collective, Horizons Ventures, and Main Sequence Ventures. In 2019 it was named one of the 10 top quantum computing startups to watch by a major tech publication.

‍