Cat-qubit developer Alice & Bob plans to spend about $50 million on a 4,000-square-meter quantum lab in Paris, pairing Israeli quantum control system firm Quantum Machines control gear with 20 dilution refrigerators from Bluefors, a cryogenic systems maker, to speed its push toward fault-tolerant quantum chips and a 100-logical-qubit system by 2030.
Alice & Bob is drawing on its recent $103 million Series B haul to outfit the site with a nanofabrication cleanroom where engineers will prototype quantum processing units for the forthcoming Lithium, Beryllium and Graphene chip families.
Alice & Bob CEO Théau Peronnin stated in an emailed announcement the lab will serve as a “cornerstone of French quantum infrastructure” and a “blueprint of how to build industrial-scale tech in Europe.” He noted the company’s focus is “shifting from pure research to commercialization,” and the new facility will enable Alice & Bob to “create technology that can be tested by actual clients and end users.”
Alice & Bob founders, Théau Peronnin and Raphael Lescanne
Engineers will center the site on a “cryostat farm” of 20 Bluefors dilution refrigerators, each chilled to ultra-low, millikelvin temperatures, while Quantum Machines’ control hardware orchestrates the cat qubits in real time. Alice & Bob anticipates this advanced setup will significantly accelerate chip development cycles. The project aligns with Alice & Bob’s role in France’s Proqcima program and supports broader European ambitions, such as those outlined in the EU’s Digital Decade plan to be at the leading edge of quantum capabilities by 2030. The plan aims to position the Paris as a prominent European quantum hub.
“This facility marks a major milestone for the French quantum industry,” said François Charbonnier, Investment Director at Bpifrance, in an announcement.
Last year, Alice & Bob announced that their cat qubit quantum chip by Alice & Bob was available on Google Cloud.
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