QuiX Quantum wins grant to build 100-plus-qubit photonic computer
What's the deal? QuiX Quantum, a Dutch-German developer of universal photonic quantum computers, has won a grant from PhotonDeltaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to lead a national mission building the technology foundations for a 100-plus-qubit photonic quantum computer. The award comes under Phase II of the PhotonDelta National Growth Fund Integrated Photonics Programme.
What's the endgame? The three-year programme runs from January 2026 through December 2028 and unites QuiX with several Dutch industrial and academic partners. Together they will develop and integrate twelve deliverables spanning the quantum photonic stack — low-loss chips, photon sources, detection, control electronics, packaging, and manufacturing.
Why now? Earlier in 2026, QuiX delivered a universal photonic quantum computing platform built for the German Aerospace CenterDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s Quantum Computing Initiative. The company is now advancing a next-generation fault-tolerant architecture, with loss-tolerant logical-qubit demonstrations planned for 2028–2030.
The targets: Partners are tackling distinct bottlenecks at once. Work includes ultra-low-loss silicon nitride waveguides and fibre-to-chip coupling at 0.1 dB per facet, a quasi-deterministic single-photon source, on-chip photon-number-resolving detectors, and control chips targeting latencies below 10 ns — down from 150 ns for today's feed-forward control.
What could go wrong? The 100-plus-qubit figure is a development target, not a working machine. Commercially deployable fault-tolerant photonic quantum computers are not expected before 2030, and the mission ends with a manufacturing strategy rather than a finished system.
The signal: The programme marks a shift from processor demonstrations toward integrating sources, chips, detectors, and control into a single scalable system. "Scalable, Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing cannot be built by one company alone," said Stefan Hengesbach, chief executive officer of QuiX Quantum, framing the award as part of Europe's push to keep quantum supply chains at home.
Read more: hpcwire.com
Image credit: Savannah River Site
