There are still a few kinks to work out before quantum computing really takes off, and one of them is memory storage.
But after securing a $2 million seed round this week, Chicago-based quantum memory startup MemQ thinks it can be part of the solution.
With backing from the George Shultz Innovation Fund, along with Quantonation and Exposition Ventures, MemQ wants to expand its capabilities to store large quantum data sets and create new markets, and is working to develop commercially viable quantum memory units.
The Chicago startup previously received non-dilutive funding — for which it did not give up equity in the company — from the Department of Energy.
While quantum networking currently requires tens of thousands of devices on a chip to get meaningful data rates, MemQ's platform offers more scalability and compatibility with existing telecommunications infrastructure.
Manish Singh, MemQ co-founder and CEO, thinks the technology will help advance the field of quantum computing.
A spinout from the University of Chicago, MemQ was co-founded in 2021 by Singh in partnership with Sean Sullivan and Supratik Guha, professor in the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and senior scientist at Argonne National Laboratory.
Since then Singh has been impressed with how well Chicago's quantum ecosystem has come together and been able to attract the top talent despite tech workers tending to stick to the coasts.
The city is home to a quantum biology institute, new quantum research centers and the first startup accelerator program in the country that’s dedicated solely to quantum computing, and last November's Chicago Quantum Summit, put on by the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE) highlighted just how much the sector has grown.
MemQ is also currently incubated at Duality, UChicago's quantum startup accelerator, and Chain Reaction Innovations, which provides support and resources to bring the technology platform to market.
"Things like the Quantum Exchange, Duality, Chain Reaction Innovation — they have done a wonderful job of putting our strengths in quantum out there," Singh said. "Things get harder for a very specialized kind of hardware, and that's where you need buy-in from larger organizations like CQE to be able to develop software for an emerging sector like quantum."
