Italy may not yet boast an expansive roster of globally dominant quantum computing players, but its strides in the field demonstrate a nation firmly committed to advancing technological innovation. Italy’s quantum landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by startups’ ingenuity and support from collaborative research ecosystems. Despite its modest scale compared to quantum superpowers, Italy has emerged as a hub of creative solutions and groundbreaking advancements in quantum communications, hardware, and software development.
Moreover, according to research, the Italian government has emphasized the strategic importance of quantum technologies, identifying them as a priority for research and development. This focus encompasses various applications, including quantum computation, communication, cryptography, and simulation. By advancing these areas, Italy aims to position itself as a significant player in the global quantum landscape, fostering innovation that could impact cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and advanced scientific modeling. This commitment highlights the country’s ambition to harness cutting-edge technologies to drive scientific progress and economic growth.
Italy has also launched several programs emphasizing research and development, with the National Centre for Research into HPC, Big Data, and Quantum Computing located at Bologna’s Technopole, a flagship initiative under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). Overseen by the ICSC Foundation and comprising 51 public and private partners, the center is dedicated to advancing technological infrastructure for data processing and analysis across diverse sectors.
Quantum computing is a significant focus of the center’s efforts, with dedicated research to explore and advance this cutting-edge field. Its collaboration with prominent institutions, including the “Leonardo” supercomputer, highlights its role as a critical driver of technological progress in Italy and its efforts to establish a more substantial presence on the European and global innovation stage.
The quantum computing sector in Italy is further enriched by a dynamic ecosystem of startups and established companies actively exploring and developing quantum technologies.
SEEQC
SEEQC has launched Italy’s first full-stack quantum computer, SEEQC System Red, at its Naples lab, marking a key milestone in its development. The system offers high-speed performance with 39-nanosecond gate speeds and 98.4% gate fidelities, enabling efficient execution of universal applications. It also serves as a benchmark for SEEQC’s next-generation digital quantum computer, which is set to debut soon.
“This marks more than a single milestone in computing. As the first quantum computer in Italy, SEEQC Red marks a significant point in the history of innovation in Italy, and represents important progress in our mission across the entire quantum computing industry. Our teams in Naples and around the world have collaborated on this achievement, a critical milestone on our roadmap to building scalable, energy-efficient quantum computing. Our next step is to move this into commercial usage by building a quantum data and test center here in Naples, and we look forward to partnering with federal and regional government, private investment funds and our industrial partners to help realize this vision.”
John Levy, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, SEEQC.
The project highlights Italy’s growing commitment to quantum technologies, supported by government funding and research initiatives. SEEQC’s Naples team contributed significantly to the system’s development, focusing on scalable, energy-efficient technologies. With partnerships from global firms like Merck KGaA and BASF SE, SEEQC aims to explore commercial applications, solidifying Italy’s role in the global quantum landscape.
Furthermore, in 2023, SEEQC unveiled a groundbreaking digital chip capable of operating at cryogenic temperatures, enabling direct integration with quantum processors within ultra-cold environments. This innovation eliminates the need for temperature-variant connections between quantum and classical computing components, reducing latency and simplifying quantum computer architecture. SEEQC’s digital chip technology utilizes Single Flux Quantum (SFQ) logic, a superconducting and energy-efficient system capable of operating at speeds up to 40 GHz. This technology supports classical qubit control, measurement, multiplexing, and data processing. Unlike traditional CMOS or CryoCMOS chips, SFQ circuits consume less energy and generate minimal heat. They are well-suited for integration near qubit chips at extremely low temperatures, as low as 20 milliKelvin.
The chip, fabricated at SEEQC’s Elmsford facility, enhances scalability by supporting more qubits per cryogenic chamber, a critical step as future quantum computers may require thousands or millions of qubits. The company’s recent facility expansion further bolsters its capacity to produce advanced superconductive electronics for quantum computing.
The company has also established partnerships with key industry players, including Merck KGaA in Darmstadt, Germany, and BASF SE in Ludwigshafen, Germany, reflecting its commitment to advancing quantum solutions for industry leaders.
Planckian
Planckian, one of the progressive start-up companies from Pisa, Italy, secured over €2.7 million in pre-seed funding to pioneer groundbreaking solid-state energy technology using quantum mechanics last July 2023. The funding, led by Eureka! The venture, supported by CDP Venture, Exor Ventures, and private investors, underscores a strong interest in the company’s innovative vision.
A joint spinoff from the University of Pisa and Scuola Normale Superiore, Planckian aims to transcend traditional electrochemical approaches in energy technology. Its research focuses on leveraging quantum effects to enable qubits to achieve collective higher energy states, with the potential to revolutionize sustainable energy solutions. Initially targeting battery applications, the company envisions devices capable of indefinite energy storage.
“Interest in the new frontiers of quantum physics, particularly in the field of so-called quantum thermodynamics, and the study of unconventional properties of quantum materials, has never been so strong. We believe the time has come to develop new technologies for energy management that can exploit the unique properties of quantum mechanics.”
Planckian’s CSO and co-founder Marco Polini.
We consider this to be a challenging and ambitious endeavor, for which we are pleased to benefit from the support of a global community of scientists and innovators.”
Vittorio Giovannetti, Executive Scientific Advisor and Co-Founder at Planckian
This year, the company has continued to strive with innovative approaches for superconducting quantum computers to address the key challenges in scalability and qubit interaction with creative solutions. Central to their design is a global control scheme that eliminates the need for individual control lines for each qubit, drastically simplifying wiring and reducing thermal noise. This approach uses three control lines, regardless of the number of qubits, enabling unparalleled scalability.
The Turing machine model from the 1930s has inspired the company’s vision, wherein the inventor, Alan Turing, designed the machine to allow logical qubits to dynamically reposition themselves across an array of physical qubits, executing operations through uniform global pulses applied simultaneously to all qubits. Thus, Planckian’s design was set to leverage the parasitic ZZ couplings—traditionally considered problematic—as functional elements, bypassing the need for tunable couplers and further streamlining system complexity. These advancements promise a quantum computing platform capable of scaling to large numbers of qubits while maintaining energy efficiency and simplicity. The architecture’s ability to perform complex operations, such as multi-qubit gates, in a single step enhances the execution of quantum algorithms, opening avenues for advancements in cryptography, optimization, and other computationally intensive domains.
Planckian’s innovations mark a significant step toward practical, efficient, and transformative quantum computing technologies by resolving critical issues and reimagining how quantum processors operate.
EPHOS
With its innovative glass-based quantum photonic chips, Ephos has emerged as a trailblazer in quantum and photonic computing. Established in 2022, the company has recently secured $8.5 million in seed funding led by Starlight Ventures and other prominent investors, enabling the launch of the world’s first dedicated facility for designing and manufacturing these chips in Milan. Unlike traditional silicon-based designs, Ephos’s glass substrates significantly reduce signal loss, enhancing the scalability and performance of quantum computing, communication, and sensing technologies.
The company employs proprietary 3D design and production techniques to push the boundaries of computational capabilities, offering energy-efficient solutions critical for industries like data centers and AI. As demand for computational power surges, Ephos’s technology provides a sustainable answer to the projected 160% increase in energy use by data centers by 2030.
Strategically, Ephos prioritizes in-house production with U.S. and EU suppliers to ensure secure supply chains and align with Allied interests. Its importance is further cemented by its selection for NATO’s DIANA program, receiving €450,000 in funding to advance its groundbreaking technologies. Ephos’s innovations promise a transformative leap for quantum infrastructure, paving the way for scalable and energy-efficient computing solutions.
Rotonium
Rotonium, an Italian deep-tech startup also launched in 2022, has secured €1 million in seed funding, led by Galaxia and CDP Venture Capital, to advance its groundbreaking quantum computing technology. The company is developing single-photon qudit technology that enables quantum computers to operate at room temperature, paving the way for compact, versatile systems usable on Earth, in the air, and space. This innovation is aimed at decentralizing quantum computing and broadening its accessibility.
The funding will accelerate the development of silicon photonics components, integration testing, and team growth. Rotonium’s technology, capable of operating in energy-constrained environments like space, offers a new frontier for edge quantum computing. With this investment, the company plans to collaborate with universities and research centers, positioning itself as a leader in next-generation quantum processing.
“The Rotonium team, with its long and rich experience in industrial research and in the development of innovative companies, impressed us with the right combination of scientific and entrepreneurial skills, paired up with an innovative vision of quantum computers and their potential market. The original solution proposed by the Company enables the use of unprecedented computing capabilities at the edge, directly in orbit, taking advantage of the possibility of using photons in a more robust configuration compared to competing technologies, without the need for complex and voluminous installations and with energy requirements that are compatible with those available in orbit. We are entering the era of Quantum Utility: this is a favorable moment for a change of pace and perspective in the design and widespread use of quantum computers.”
Claudia Pingue, Head of CDP Venture Capital’s Tech Transfer Fund
The funding will advance the development of Rotonium’s silicon photonics components and accelerate integration testing and team expansion. With energy-efficient solutions tailored for space applications, Rotonium is positioned to lead-edge quantum computing, collaborating with academic and research institutions to push the boundaries of quantum technology.
