Atlantic Quantum has received a contract from the US Air Force to develop a quantum computer based on fluxonium qubits.

The company has been given a $1.8 million Phase II STTR grant from AFWERX, the innovation arm of the US Department of the Air Force (DAF).

In collaboration with Professor Kevin P. O’Brien from MIT, the quantum startup will use the funding to develop scalable superconducting quantum computers for DAF to enhance US national defense capabilities.

The project will see Quantum Atlantic work with Professor O’Brien’s Quantum Coherent Electronics group at MIT, the latter of which will contribute innovations in quantum components, including quantum-limited amplifiers, to improve quantum processor readout.

This is the second time the startup has been awarded a contract from AFWERX.

In October 2024, Quantum Atlantic received $1.25m in funding to develop fluxonium-based quantum computing hardware.

Fluxonium qubits can reportedly outperform the most widely used superconducting qubits, meaning some researchers consider them to be a promising alternative and provide a path to fault-tolerant universal quantum computing.

“This award reflects the strong collaboration between Atlantic Quantum and MIT, where our foundational research began and continues to advance,” said Bharath Kannan, co-founder and CEO of Atlantic Quantum.

“Our partnership with AFRL allows us to push the boundaries of scalable quantum computing, providing innovative solutions for critical national security applications. We’re excited to deepen this relationship with AFRL and contribute to the future of secure, high-performance quantum technologies for national competitiveness.”

Spun out of MIT Professor William D. Oliver’s lab in 2022, Atlantic Quantum aims to develop scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computers. The startup claims its approach is “the only solution that will allow commercial and national security end-users to experience quantum compute without compromising on clock speed, errors, or scalability.”

In July 2022, Atlantic Quantum closed a $9m funding round.