The first four strategic industry allies to join the CUbit Innovation Partners program of the University of Colorado Boulder’s (CU Boulder) CUbit Quantum Initiative have been formally introduced. Atom Computing, ColdQuanta, Meadowlark Optics, and SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, comprise the foursome. They will support the program, itself part of the initiative’s vision, and a key component of CUbit’s plan to cultivate mutually beneficial collaborations with quantum-intensive enterprises.

The CUbit Quantum Initiative formed in 2019 as an interdisciplinary hub that reinforces Colorado’s prominence in quantum information science and technology; partners with regional universities and laboratories; links closely with quantum-intensive companies; and serves a spectrum of local, regional, and national interests, including workforce development. Its strategic partnerships will serve to expand and accelerate CU Boulder’s quantum efforts, providing  insights in research and training, collaboration on workforce development programs, and providing opportunities for CU Boulder students, postdocs, and researchers.

The partners, aside from Washington, D.C.-based SPIE, are constituents of the quantum Front Range, Colorado’s quantum industrial and academic ecosystem, which includes outfits at CU Boulder, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and JILA, a joint institute of CU Boulder and NIST. It also includes larger entities like Lockheed Martin and Boeing, as well as a variety of small and midsize companies and startups.