Glasgow quantum startup Quantcore wins £10K IOP qBIG prize
What's the deal? Glasgow-based quantum hardware maker QuantcoreDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has won the 2026 qBIG prize from the Institute of PhysicsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (IOP).
The annual award goes to a small or medium-sized company in the UK or Ireland for breakthroughs in commercialising quantum technologies.
Quantcore, a spin-out from the University of Glasgow, builds the superconducting processors, resonators, and sensors used in quantum computers and sensing systems.
The prize includes £10,000 in cash, plus mentoring from sponsor Quantum ExponentialDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a UK venture capital firm, and business support from the IOP.
Why now? The award, now in its fourth year, was presented in London at the Economist Commercialising Quantum 2026 event.
Quantcore raised £2.5m in seed funding from several backers earlier in 2026.
"I'm delighted to win the award," said Quantcore chief executive officer Jack BrennanDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. "A huge thanks to the qBIG group for choosing Quantcore, and a huge thanks to my fantastic team for working so hard to build the company."
The signal: Quantcore's niobium-based components can operate at higher temperatures than materials now used in quantum computers.
That edge points to a wider race to make quantum hardware cheaper and easier to run — a key hurdle for commercialising the technology.
Image credit: OJB Quantum, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Read more: Physics World
