Insider Brief
- Diraq signed a Letter of Intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $38 million in proposed CHIPS funding to support the scaling and domestic production of silicon-based fault-tolerant quantum processors in the United States.
- The company said its CMOS-based quantum architecture is designed to leverage existing semiconductor manufacturing processes to enable large-scale quantum systems with potentially millions of qubits on a single chip and physical qubit costs below $1.
- GlobalFoundries said it is partnering with Diraq on cryo-CMOS quantum capabilities and semiconductor infrastructure as the company expands its U.S. operations, including a planned new site in Los Angeles.
PRESS RELEASE — – Diraq, the quantum computing pioneer, today announced it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $38 million in proposed federal funding from the CHIPS Research and Development Office. This award would support production and scaling of fault-tolerant silicon quantum computing processors via the U.S. semiconductor industry.
“The Department of Commerce’s incentives strengthen and accelerate U.S. quantum leadership and technological resilience,” said Bill Frauenhofer, Executive Director of Semiconductor Investment and Innovation. “Quantum computing has significant implications for national defense, advanced materials and biopharmaceutical discovery, financial modeling and energy systems.”
“The U.S. Government has played an important role for over 25 years in funding silicon quantum research through entities such as the U.S. Army Research Office and more recently DARPA. The foundational advancements that came from this work underpin Diraq’s technology today,” said Andrew Dzurak, Diraq Founder and CEO. “Silicon-based processors are the most economical and scalable approach to utility-scale quantum computing. By scaling our CMOS qubit technology in the United States, we are defining the industrial standard for the next era of supercomputing and cementing the nation’s role as a global architect of fault-tolerant quantum systems.”
Diraq is pioneering the use of silicon-based quantum processors, which have the ability to contain millions of qubits on a single chip, and are fabricated with existing semiconductor manufacturing processes. No other approach offers a more economical or scalable path to quantum infrastructure at industrial scale. This investment will accelerate Diraq’s roadmap to enable an end-to-end quantum supply chain – including cryostats, chips, and packaging – with fully American production.
“This LOI is a powerful signal that the U.S. government recognizes silicon-based quantum processors as a viable architecture to securing domestic computing leadership,” said Dr. William Jeffrey, Chairman of the Board for Diraq and former Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). “Quantum technology is a matter of national competitiveness. Diraq’s approach, built on decades of foundational research, is uniquely positioned to deliver scalable, fault-tolerant quantum systems.”
Diraq’s quantum computers are engineered to achieve utility-scale unit economics by utilizing existing CMOS manufacturing. Shortlisted for Stage B of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), Diraq’s system architecture is designed to meet the following industrial specifications:
- Scalable Cost: Sub-dollar pricing at less than $1 per physical qubit.
- Infrastructure Ready: Compact, rack-deployable units compatible with existing data center environments.
“As quantum computing enters its industrial phase, the challenge shifts from scientific discovery to engineering and scale, making reliable access to advanced semiconductor infrastructure essential,” said Gregg Bartlett, Chief Technology Officer at GlobalFoundries. “We’re proud to partner with Diraq to advance silicon-based quantum processors, leveraging our cryo-CMOS quantum capabilities and broad technology portfolio under one roof to enable quantum systems at scale within a trusted domestic ecosystem.”
Founded in Sydney, Australia, Diraq has U.S. offices and labs in Palo Alto and Chicago, and will soon open a significant new operation in Los Angeles. The company is growing its team and business in the United States and is actively working with domestic partners to further accelerate the U.S. quantum ecosystem.
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