Qolab concluded 2025 with strategic collaborations to advance scalable superconducting quantum hardware. The company strengthened its position through investments with Western Digital and Applied Ventures, leaders in semiconductor manufacturing. These partnerships support Qolab’s mission to build a commercially useful quantum computer through semiconductor-aligned manufacturing.
Applied Ventures & Western Digital Semiconductor Collaborations
In 2025, Qolab forged strategic collaborations with Applied Ventures and Western Digital, both leaders in semiconductor manufacturing and precision engineering. These partnerships are designed to advance Qolab’s work in scalable superconducting quantum hardware, leveraging expertise in semiconductor-aligned fabrication techniques. This collaboration is key to transitioning quantum systems from laboratory prototypes to deployable, manufactured hardware. Qolab’s work with these companies complements its co-leadership role in the Quantum Scaling Alliance, focused on full-stack co-design for quantum-classical computing. Additionally, Qolab contributed to national quantum initiatives, including the DARPA Quantum Benchmarking Initiative and the Department of Energy’s Quantum Systems Accelerator, sharing fabrication tooling and performance benchmarking knowledge. This broad engagement underscores Qolab’s commitment to establishing rigorous standards for next-generation quantum systems.
DARPA Benchmarking & Qolab Start System Deployment
Within the DARPA Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, Qolab took a leadership role alongside companies like Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Synopsys. This national consortium focused on establishing performance benchmarks for upcoming quantum systems, driving standardization in the field. Qolab specifically contributed superconducting quantum hardware expertise, aiming to rigorously assess and improve next-generation technology. In December 2025, Qolab launched “Qolab Start,” a superconducting qubit system intended for research and training purposes. The company also deployed devices at Israel’s IQCC, representing its first international installation and broadening its reach.
Scaffold-Assisted Junctions Reduce Qubit Decoherence
Qolab’s research introduced “Scaffold-Assisted Window Junctions,” a fabrication process for superconducting qubits that eliminates a lift-off step. This new technique is compatible with standard semiconductor manufacturing processes, streamlining production. Published findings detail a lift-off-free Josephson junction process, directly addressing a key obstacle in qubit fabrication and potentially lowering manufacturing costs. Identifying lift-off processes as a primary cause of qubit decoherence, Qolab’s statistical analysis of defects offered critical insights for improving qubit performance. The company’s work demonstrated that strongly coupled defects negatively impact qubit stability, and the new fabrication method aims to reduce these. This focus on defect reduction is vital for increasing qubit coherence times and achieving reliable quantum computation.
Qolab’s mission is to translate decades of scientific progress in superconducting qubits into hardware that can be manufactured, scaled, and deployed.
Alan Ho, CEO of Qolab
