Insider Brief
- Open Quantum Design has announced an open-source Error Correction Working Group with QuScript and Western Digital to advance quantum error correction on OQD’s full-stack trapped-ion quantum computer, combining hardware, software, theory, and data reliability expertise.
- Western Digital will contribute decades of error correction and precision engineering experience from hard disk drive storage systems to develop protocols for managing noise, signal integrity, and reliability in quantum systems at scale.
- The working group aims to demonstrate error correction on OQD’s open-source quantum platform and develop open protocols for error correction and system reliability that could become shared standards across quantum computing platforms globally.
PRESS RELEASE — Open Quantum Design (OQD) has announced a new open-source Error Correction Working Group with QuScript and WD (Western Digital, Nasdaq: WDC), the storage foundation of the AI-driven data economy and a leader in precision engineering and large-scale data reliability, to advance quantum error correction (QEC) — an essential step toward fault-tolerant quantum computing.
The collaboration brings together hardware, software, theory and decades of expertise in large-scale data reliability and error correction to develop and demonstrate error correction on OQD’s open-source, full-stack trapped-ion quantum computer. By enabling qubits to reliably detect and correct errors, fault tolerance is key to moving quantum systems beyond the lab and into real-world applications.
“Quantum error correction shares deep parallels with challenges we’ve mastered in hard disk drive storage systems — managing noise, signal integrity, and reliability at massive scale,” said Zvonimir Bandic, Distinguished Engineer at WD. “This collaboration allows us to extend decades of error correction and precision engineering expertise directly into quantum systems, working with physical qubits to advance the reliability required for real-world deployment. We believe WD’s experience in building highly reliable systems at scale uniquely positions us, alongside the Working Group, to accelerate the path to practical, large-scale fault tolerant quantum computing.”
OQD’s open-source approach is designed to bring industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and academic researchers into a shared environment where collaboration drives progress. By making its full-stack quantum computer openly accessible to partners — from hardware designs to control systems and software — OQD enables contributors across sectors to engage directly with the technology, test ideas, and build on each other’s work in real time. This model lowers barriers to participation, attracts diverse expertise, and accelerates iteration, allowing breakthroughs to emerge faster than in closed systems, particularly in areas like reliability, error correction, and system scalability.
The QEC working group will both work to demonstrate error correction, and to develop open protocols for error correction and system reliability that could become shared standards across quantum platforms — helping scale the technology globally.
“Open-source collaboration lowers barriers and accelerates progress,” said Greg Dick, Co-founder and CEO of OQD. “Working with industry experts from WD (Western Digital) and creative entrepreneurs from QuScript amplify what is possible.”
For more information on this and other open-source working groups or on becoming an OQD partner, visit openquantumdesign.org.
