Israeli startup Quantum Machines announced on Thursday that it will join forces with French quantum computing company Alice & Bob to support a new quantum lab in Paris.
Alice & Bob is leading the construction of the lab, which will cost $50 million. Quantum Machines will provide hardware and software for the facility. The company’s platform is designed to help speed up the development of practical quantum computers. Another partner in the project is Bluefors, a Finnish company that builds cryogenic systems used in quantum research.
The Paris lab will support Alice & Bob’s work on a new generation of quantum chips. These chips are named Lithium, Beryllium, and Graphene. The lab will serve as a research and development center. It will be funded through Alice & Bob’s recent private funding round, which raised $103 million.
Alice & Bob was founded in 2020. The company focuses on building fault-tolerant quantum computers.
Quantum Machines was founded in 2018 by three physicists: Dr. Itamar Sivan, who serves as CEO; Dr. Yonatan Cohen, the Chief Technology Officer; and Dr. Nissim Ofek, the Vice President of R&D. All three earned PhDs in physics, with expertise in quantum computing and quantum electronics. They conducted their research at the Submicron Center of the Weizmann Institute, under the supervision of Professor Moty Heiblum.
Quantum Machines raised $170 million in funding in February. The company is currently valued at $700 million. It employs 180 people. About half of its staff are based in Israel. The rest are located in Denmark, Germany, Japan, the United States, and other countries.
