Who is winning the race to build quantum chips?
Several companies are racing to develop quantum chips that can reliably host large numbers of qubits, a crucial step towards making quantum computing a commercial reality. Quantum computing has the potential to solve complex problems in fields such as medicine, cybersecurity, materials science, and chemistry.
Tech giants like Google and Microsoft are at the forefront of this effort, but startups are also playing a significant role, particularly in addressing bottlenecks like connectivity and error correction. Some notable companies making progress in quantum chip development include Akhetonics, a German photonics startup working on an all-optical, general-purpose chip, which raised €6 million in seed funding in November 2024.
Alice & Bob, a French startup, is developing a full quantum computing system using cat qubits, a type of superconducting qubit designed to reduce errors. The company raised $104 million in Series B funding in January 2025. Amazon’s AWS introduced Ocelot, its first quantum computing chip, in early 2025, developed in partnership with the California Institute of Technology.
Other companies making notable advancements include Atom Computing, which is building quantum computers with arrays of optically trapped neutral atoms and plans to launch a commercial quantum computer in 2025 in collaboration with Microsoft. D-Wave‘s latest flagship system, the Advantage2 prototype, uses quantum annealing to find the most stable arrangements of elements.
EeroQ, an Illinois-based startup, is betting on helium for its quantum chip design and raised $7.25 million in seed funding in 2022. Fujitsu and RIKEN developed a 256-qubit superconducting quantum computer in April 2025, up from a 64-qubit iteration in 2023. Google announced Willow, its latest quantum computing chip, in December 2024, which it claims is a major breakthrough in quantum error correction.
IBM‘s quantum efforts include Condor, a milestone superconducting chip for scaling up to 1,121 qubits, and Heron, a 156-qubit processor focused on improved performance. Intel is developing quantum computers based on silicon spin qubits and unveiled Tunnel Falls, a 12-qubit research chip, in June 2023.
Other notable companies include IonQ, which is developing trapped-ion quantum computers; IQM, a Finnish startup building superconducting quantum computers; and Microsoft, which introduced Majorana, a quantum chip using a topological core architecture, in February 2025.
Pasqal, a French startup, is taking a full-stack approach to quantum computing and raised €100 million in Series B funding in February 2023. PsiQuantum, a quantum computing startup using photonics technology, announced Omega, a quantum photonic chipset, in February 2025 and is reportedly raising a potential $750 million round at a $6 billion pre-money valuation.
Qilimanjaro, a Spanish startup, is focusing on analog quantum app-specific integrated circuits and received €1.5 million in funding from Catalonia in 2024. Quandela, a French startup, is developing photonic quantum computers and raised €50 million in Series B funding in November 2023.
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Quantinuum, a quantum computing company formed by the merger of Cambridge Quantum and Honeywell Quantum Solutions, announced a breakthrough in error correction in April 2024. QuantWare, a Dutch startup, came up with a proprietary 3D chip architecture and raised €20 million in Series A funding in March 2025.
QuEra, a Boston-based company, is betting on neutral atoms and raised $230 million in debt funding in February 2025, led by Google. Rigetti Computing, a quantum company focusing on superconducting technology, signed a strategic partnership with Taiwan-based Quanta Computer in February 2025.
SEEQC, a U.S. quantum startup, raised $30 million in funding in January 2025 and is leading the U.K.-supported QuPharma project to explore how quantum computing can accelerate drug discovery. SpinQ, a Chinese startup, develops quantum computers using nuclear magnetic resonance. Xanadu, a Canadian startup, introduced Aurora, a 12-qubit system, in January 2025, and has raised $275 million to date.