planqc wins 29 million euro contract from DLR

The German Aerospace Center has entrusted planqc with a contract worth 29 million euros: the development of a scalable quantum computer with neutral atoms. Strategic partnership concluded with Menlo Systems and ParityQC.

Munich-based start-up planqc has received an impressive order from the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The company is to develop a digital hardware and software platform for quantum computing based on neutral atoms that is scalable and can demonstrate quantum algorithms for real-world problems. The contract is worth 29 million euros and is the first order for a digital quantum computer based on neutral atoms in Europe. planqc is cooperating on this with Menlo Systems and ParityQC, which are providing critical components in the form of the laser system and for software and architecture.

This order is an important milestone in our commercialization and growth strategy, which foresees expansion into other key industries and global markets as the next step.

Alexander Glätzle, CEO & Co-Founder planqc

The development of a digital quantum computer based on neutral atoms is a field that has the potential to fundamentally change the future of computational technology. The collaboration of planqc, Menlo Systems, and ParityQC can provide critical components to achieve this goal.

With this project, we are adding another promising technology to our quantum computing portfolio at the Ulm site

Dr. Karla Loida, Project Manager QCI

With the help of optical gratings, a technology developed in Munich, it is already possible today to trap thousands of atoms in a standing wave light pattern generated by a single laser beam. The quantum information is stored in the electronic states of strontium atoms, the same states used to build the world's best atomic clocks, due to their exceptionally long coherence times. This unique combination of quantum technologies has the potential to be one of the fastest ways to scale thousands of qubits with superior gate accuracy, a prerequisite for industry-relevant quantum advantages.

For neutral atoms to become qubits, they must first be trapped and held by laser beams in a vacuum

Dr. Robert Axmann, Head of DLR Quantum Computing Initiative

The startup, which was founded in April 2022 in Garching near Munich, Germany, builds on decades of pioneering research and technology development at Munich's Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ). The contract comes at a time of growth for planqc, following the appointment of Hermann Hauser as an advisory board member. Hauser is considered one of the co-founders of Silicon Valley in the U.S. and founded the company ARM, among others. The founders of planqc are Alexander Glätzle, Sebastian Blatt, Johannes Zellner, Lukas Reichsöllner, Ann-Kristin Achleitner and Markus Wagner.