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  • 🔵 The Quantum Insider Weekly | Diraq Round. Ordering Quantum? And More News in Quantum

🔵 The Quantum Insider Weekly | Diraq Round. Ordering Quantum? And More News in Quantum

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FROM THE EDITOR.

A quick round of congratulations is in order this week, with a couple of companies making moves and moving up.

Australian quantum startup Diraq secured a $20 million strategic equity investment from the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation. This is needed funding but also a vote of confidence as the company works toward building a utility-scale quantum computer. The funding supports Diraq’s goal of demonstrating genuine quantum advantage by the end of the decade — that’s a milestone that would place Australia firmly on top of — not down under — the global quantum map. (I am contractually obligated to insert one Australian cliche per mention.)

Beyond the technical ambition, Diraq has always distinguished itself through a combination of scientific discipline, commercial focus, and an unmistakable commitment to Australia’s role in the quantum future. That mix has helped position the company as a credible voice in national and international quantum discussions.

Momentum is also building elsewhere in the global ecosystem. QT Sense announced a €4 million financing round to push its quantum sensing platform forward. The raise follows a €6 million round (roughly a year ago) that blended equity with grant funding. Taken together, the progression suggests a company moving from early support toward a more traditional investment profile, with the latest all-equity round pointing to increased confidence in its execution and market readiness.

Enjoy the weekend ahead.

Have a great weekend and thanks for reading!

— Matt, Chief Content Officer at The Quantum Insider

INSIDER BRIEF.

The Noteworthy & Nuanced

Researchers have demonstrated lattice surgery on superconducting qubits, enabling a fault-tolerant quantum operation between logical qubits while actively correcting errors. Using surface-code error correction, the team split a single logical qubit encoded in 17 physical qubits into two entangled logical qubits, overcoming constraints imposed by fixed, two-dimensional chip layouts.

Pakistan will host its first national Quantum Computing Hackathon from February 6–8 at the National Centre for Physics, bringing together early-career researchers to develop quantum solutions aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals. Organized by PIEAS and NILOP under PAEC, with support from NCP, Open Quantum Initiatives, and CERN, the event drew over 950 applications nationwide. Forty-two selected participants will form seven teams, receiving expert mentorship and access to quantum processing units during the three-day program.

Welinq has launched its rack-mounted Entangled Photon Pair Source commercially and delivered its first unit to a European institution, expanding the availability of on-premise components for quantum networking. The product generates entangled photons for quantum communication links and quantum computer interconnects, and is compatible with multiple quantum computing platforms. — Alan Kanapin, Analyst at The Quantum Insider

The Research Rundown

Check out this week’s handpicked quantum research. These are studies headed for real-world impact: improving accuracy, reducing latency, using fewer resources, or solving problems that classical methods struggle with. These are early developments, but they hint at where quantum might earn its keep.

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01Quantum will host a live strategic briefing on February 26, 2026, focused on securing AI inference against adversarial threats, as part of the 2026 Year of Quantum Security, in partnership with The Quantum Insider. The 60-minute session will examine how government and enterprise organizations can protect AI prompts, models, and outputs from extraction, inversion, and long-term cryptographic risk using post-quantum security approaches that integrate into existing systems without disruption. With speakers including Andrew Cheung (01Quantum), Brian Lenahan (Quantum Strategy Institute), and Kristin Milchanowski (BMO), the briefing targets decision-makers navigating emerging compliance, procurement, and trust requirements as AI deployment outpaces current security models.

➡️ The White House is preparing a draft executive order on quantum technology that would reorganize how the federal government funds, coordinates, protects and commercializes quantum information science and technology, according to a document obtained by NextGov/FCW.

➡️ The order would establish a whole-of-government framework led by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, with execution responsibilities spread across the Departments of Energy, Defense and Commerce, reflecting quantum’s dual economic and national security role.

➡️ A central provision would require the federal government to update the National Quantum Strategy within 180 days, followed by mandatory agency implementation plans tied to White House and budget oversight.

➡️ The draft also outlines plans for national quantum computing infrastructure, commercialization “de-risking” mechanisms, standardized system assessments, expanded workforce programs and strengthened counterintelligence protections for quantum research.

Analyst Commentary

It’s quite an effort to unpack the news that the White House is preparing an executive order that might re-start what has been a bit of a legislative bob and weave over the past few years.

But, here’s what we know — or what we think we know. This draft executive order suggests the White House is now moving quantum policy out of its coordination phase and into an execution phase. Rather than emphasizing research alignment or advisory processes, the order appears designed to impose structure, timelines and accountability on a technology area that has grown more complex as private investment, international competition and security concerns have intensified.

The requirement to update the National Quantum Strategy is one area of — I’m not sure contention is the right word… but contention. The existing framework dates to 2018. That might not seem like a long time, but for the insane pace of quantum, that’s a lifetime — a time before today’s fast-growing commercial activity and even before quantum technologies were treated as strategically sensitive infrastructure. As we see it, by forcing a revision on a fixed timeline and requiring agencies to explain how they will implement it, the administration is signaling that quantum policy is no longer aspirational but operational.

Equally significant is the shift toward national capability and evaluation. The proposed effort to deliver a quantum computing system for scientific discovery at a Department of Energy facility, coupled with plans for independent system assessments, suggests a growing concern with comparability, reliability and real-world readiness. As claims about quantum performance proliferate, standardized evaluation becomes a prerequisite for both procurement and policy credibility.

The Commerce Department’s role points to a more explicit federal hand in shaping early quantum markets. Tools aimed at reducing technical and financial risk — from standards development to early testing and procurement — indicate recognition that commercialization will not advance on research funding alone, particularly for capital-intensive hardware.

Ultimately, what we expect is that the draft order will frame quantum less as a race toward a singular breakthrough and more as a long-term exercise in institutional readiness. The emphasis on governance, infrastructure, workforce development and counterintelligence protection suggests the federal government is preparing for a future in which quantum systems are unevenly deployed, tightly regulated and strategically consequential — and where the ability to manage that transition may matter as much as the technology itself.

DATA SPOTLIGHT.

PacketLight Networks and NEC demonstrated quantum key distribution over a 400G dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) network using a dual-fiber setup. They integrated NEC’s QKD system with PacketLight’s PL-4000M 600G Muxponder, achieving 100% data throughput and low latency, verified via a 100GbE tester. The QKD ran over a dedicated parallel fiber, maintaining quantum signal integrity. The result: a cost-effective, scalable quantum-safe model with zero performance tradeoffs on existing high-capacity infrastructure.

INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS.

🇪🇺 The European Union has approved €25 million for the SUPREME consortium, matched by national funding to create a €50 million program to industrialise superconducting quantum technologies across Europe starting in 2026. The 23-partner initiative aims to deliver scalable fabrication processes and demonstrate a 200-qubit, 3D-integrated module while providing shared access to fabrication and design tools for industry and academia.

🏜️ QuEra Computing and Roadrunner Venture Studios have formed a $4 million, state-backed partnership to establish a neutral-atom quantum testbed at the Roadrunner Quantum Lab in Albuquerque. The facility will give New Mexico researchers and startups access to QuEra’s systems and hybrid compute infrastructure.

🪙 BlueQubit has launched the Quantum Advantage Challenge, an open competition to test whether quantum computers can outperform classical systems on a real-world cryptographic problem. The challenge encodes a Bitcoin private key worth 0.25 BTC into a quantum “peaked-circuit” problem.

💸 Diraq has raised a $20 million strategic equity investment from Australia’s National Reconstruction Fund Corporation to support its plan to deliver a utility-scale, silicon-based quantum computer demonstrating genuine quantum advantage by 2029.

🔒️ 01 Quantum and qLABS have launched the $qONE token and a Layer 1 Migration Toolkit to help blockchains transition to post-quantum security without disruptive hard forks. The phased framework enables quantum-resistant upgrades for existing networks.

🎒 EPB has launched a Quantum Computing Fellowship, supported by a $4 million NIST grant, to train a local quantum-ready workforce through hands-on, applied projects. Led by EPB in partnership with IonQ, the program builds on Chattanooga’s existing quantum infrastructure to develop real-world quantum solutions for the community.

🇬🇧 The University of Exeter is leading the UK arm of a five-year international project, backed by £1.5 million from UKRI, to develop quantum sensors that can operate accurately in noisy environments. Working with partners in the UK and Japan, the initiative targets applications ranging from medical imaging and GPS-free navigation to resource exploration.

🏫 The University of South Carolina and Clemson University are launching applied, project-driven quantum initiatives aligned with South Carolina’s statewide quantum readiness strategy, following a $15 million state investment in quantum information science and technology. The programs focus on practical use cases spanning energy and infrastructure sensing, industry performance testing, cybersecurity, and hands-on workforce development.

🥼 FormationQ and the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge have launched a two-year applied quantum program, powered by IonQ’s trapped-ion technology, to translate quantum research into practical, real-world applications. The initiative pairs academic leadership, operational infrastructure, and industry platforms to move quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security beyond the lab.

🧪 QT Sense has raised €4 million to advance Quantum Nuova, a quantum sensing platform that enables real-time, single-cell measurement of cellular stress and biochemical activity in living cells. The funding will support the transition from prototype to deployable system, with early deployments for drug discovery and oncology research, including colorectal cancer applications.

🥼 Quantum Machines plans to open a lab at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park in Chicago, becoming the sixth company to commit to the state-backed campus as Illinois pushes to build a national quantum hub.

🛡️ Global Board Advisors Corp and BoardroomEducation.com launched Quantum Strategic Intelligence (QSI) at the World Economic Forum, introducing an open Sovereignty Standard that brings quantum and agentic-AI risk into boardroom governance and national policy. Designed to layer onto frameworks like COSO, COBIT, and NIST, QSI adds physics-based security, quantum-era risk metrics, and auditable controls to help governments and enterprises manage emerging quantum and AI risks.

🌐 Tennessee officials and EPB announced $24 million in combined funding to advance quantum computing, including $20 million for a new Tennessee Quantum Initiative and $4 million in NIST-backed support for quantum workforce development in Chattanooga. The investments will fund fellowships, expand quantum infrastructure, and support partnerships.

🔗 Welinq has launched its rack-mounted Entangled Photon Pair Source commercially and delivered the first unit to a European institution. With this product and its earlier quantum memory delivery, Welinq now offers multiple on-premise components for building operational quantum networks and quantum computer interconnects.

📡 A $750,000 NASA EPSCoR grant will fund Montana State University research through 2028 to mitigate atmospheric turbulence in quantum laser links between ground stations and space terminals. The project will develop compact, low-power adaptive optical equalizers using programmable photonic integrated circuits.

🇨🇦 Quantum Industry Canada has joined the 2026 Year of Quantum Security, a global initiative aimed at accelerating preparedness for the security impacts of advancing quantum technologies.

🇪🇸 Quantum Motion has opened a new European base at the nanoGUNE Quantum Tower in Spain to support the development, integration, and deployment of silicon-based quantum computing systems. The site strengthens collaboration with European semiconductor and research partners and will advance joint initiatives with CIC nanoGUNE.

🇵🇰 Pakistan will host its first national Quantum Computing Hackathon from February 6–8 at the National Centre for Physics, bringing together early-career researchers to develop quantum solutions aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Organized by PIEAS and NILOP under PAEC with support from NCP, Open Quantum Initiatives, and CERN, the event selected 42 participants from over 950 applicants for hands-on work and expert mentorship.

👩‍🔬 The QUICHE project is a new UK–Germany collaboration integrating quantum computing workflows directly into the widely used ORCA quantum chemistry software. Backed by Innovate UK and Germany’s ZIM programme, it aims to automate chemistry-to-quantum translation, optimize compilation pipelines, and provide resource estimates to enable practical quantum chemistry on future fault-tolerant hardware.

🏫 Los Alamos National Laboratory has launched a new Center for Quantum Computing to unify its quantum research across national security, algorithms, computer science, and workforce development. The center will consolidate up to three dozen researchers, support major federal and state collaborations, and host a 10-week Quantum Computing Summer School training up to 25 students each year.

⚠️ Google is urging governments and industry to accelerate the transition to post-quantum cryptography, warning that advances in quantum computing could soon break today’s encryption and enable “store now, decrypt later” attacks. In a new call to action, the company highlights its own decade-long preparation aligned with NIST’s 2024 standards and presses policymakers to drive coordinated, cloud-first, globally aligned adoption to avoid security gaps in the quantum era.

EVENTS.

Feb. 13 -- African International Conference on Quantum Computing and Simulation will be held at KNUST in Kumasi, Ghana, focusing on quantum computing, algorithms, simulation techniques, and capacity building across Africa.

Feb. 18–20 — Quantum Days 2026, Canada’s flagship quantum science and technology conference, will take place at the Victoria Conference Centre in Victoria, British Columbia. Registration closes Feb. 4.

Feb. 18-19 -- 5th NIST QMMS Workshop  will take place at the NIST Gaithersburg campus in Maryland, USA, bringing together researchers to discuss quantum phenomena in emerging materials.

Feb. 18-20 – Quantum Days 2026, Canada’s flagship quantum science and technology conference, will take place at the Victoria Conference Centre in Victoria, British Columbia. Registration closes Feb. 4.

Feb. 25 -- Is Quantum Sensing Ready for Business Adoption will be held at Digital Catapult in London, UK, examining real-world

March 3-6 -- SIAM Conference on Parallel Processing for Scientific Computing (SIAM SC26), Berlin.

March 16-20 -- Quantum Resources will be held in Tokyo, Japan. The conference brings together leading experts and emerging voices in the field to explore the latest theoretical insights, operational applications, and future directions of quantum resource theories.

March 24 -- Quantum Security & Defence -- Taking place at the Palais des Congrès de Paris, this half-day event convenes industry, government, and research leaders to address quantum security and defence challenges, including quantum-secure communications, certification paths, and practical deployment strategies amid the rising Quantum-AI era.

March 24 -- Convergence Quantum II (CQII) hosted by The Convergence Center for Applied Quantum Computing at The Engine in Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA, defines the next generation of drug discovery through applied quantum use cases, biopharma insights and investor perspectives, 

April 6-8 -- International Conference on Quantum Communications, Networking, and Computing (QCNC 2026) -- Taking place in Kobe, Japan, this IEEE-hosted conference covers advances in quantum communications, networking, computing, cryptography, and related systems, featuring research presentations and industry discussions across key tracks in the field.

April 9–11 -- TQCEBT 2026 -- Hosted at CHRIST University’s Pune Lavasa Campus in India, this interdisciplinary event explores quantum computing advancements alongside emerging business technology applications, bringing together researchers, practitioners, and business leaders.

Apr 22–23 -- Mathematics & Physics Frontiers 2026 in Frankfurt, Germany is an international forum uniting mathematicians, physicists, engineers, data scientists, and technology innovators from across the globe to explore groundbreaking advances at the intersection of theory and application.

April 27-30 -- The Quantum Matter International Conference & Expo (QUANTUMatter2026) will take place at the Barceló Sants Hotel in Barcelona. The conference to foster the incubation of new ideas & collaborations at the forefront of quantum technologies, emerging quantum materials and novel generations of quantum communication protocols, quantum sensing and quantum simulation.

June 4-5 -- Q2B Tokyo 2026 will be held exclusively in-person and presented in Japanese and English, with real-time interpretation.

June 16 -- France Quantum -- the premier event showcasing the French Quantum ecosystem to the world.

June 22-24 -- IQT Nordics: Oslo, Norway

June 24-26 -- Quantum. Tech World: Boston, Mass

June 25-26 -- Quantum.Tech World -- Empowering Quantum, AI & HPC at Enterprise -- Scale, co-located with Quantum.Tech World will be held at Encore Boston Harbor in Boston, United States.

June 25-26 -- Quantum.Tech World -- Empowering Quantum, AI & HPC at Enterprise -- Scale, co-located with Quantum.Tech World will be held at Encore Boston Harbor in Boston, United States.

July 1-3 -- The 2026 IEEE International Conference on Quantum Control, Computing, and Learning (IEEE qCCL 2026) will take place from Wednesday to Friday, July 1-3, 2026