A startup making quantum computing software just hauled in funding from the Department of Energy as it launches a new product to help evaluate quantum computers.
Super.tech, a Chicago startup that develops software designed for the next generation of quantum computing, received $1.65 million in grant funding from the DOE. It was part of $110 million in total awards the department handed out this week to small businesses focused on scientific technologies and clean energy. A total of 87 projects received funding.
Super.tech emerged out of stealth last year and is led by Pranav Gokhale, a University of Chicago graduate. The 28-year-old is the fastest UChicago student to complete his Ph.D. in computer science in the department’s history, the university said. Gokhale is building the startup alongside UChicago computer science professor Fred Chong.
The company's software platform is designed to help companies get their quantum programs running faster and get better performance out of their quantum computing hardware. On the heels of the DOE funding, Super.tech announced a new offering called SupermarQ, which the startup says is a new approach to evaluating quantum computers. SupermarQ aims to help quantum companies measure the quality of quantum computers and helping them know which device to use, Super.tech said.
Super.tech participated in the first cohort of Duality, the first startup accelerator program in the country that's dedicated solely to quantum computing. The Chicago-based program is led by UChicago's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and UChicago’s Chicago Quantum Exchange, along with the University of Illinois, Argonne National Laboratory and P33.
Chicago has emerged as a hub for quantum activity in recent years. It's home to two quantum research centers: Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, which were both selected to receive $115 million from the DOE. And earlier this year EeroQ, a startup creating a quantum computing chip, moved its headquarters from Michigan to Chicago to get closer to the city's quantum resources.
