Quantum Circuits
AcquiredMadison, US · Founded 2015 · Delaware corporation · 8 known investors
Quantum Circuits develops superconducting quantum computers using dual-rail qubits with built-in error detection, designed to accelerate the path to fault-tolerant quantum computing. The company targets enterprises and institutions seeking reliable, scalable quantum computing solutions.
Also known as QCI · Quantum Circuits, Inc.
Founders & leadership
Quantum Circuits was founded in 2015 by Rob Schoelkopf and Luigi Frunzio.
Investors · 8
Also in the syndicate · 1
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$26.6M disclosed across 1 of 6 rounds · 2016–2026
- Undisclosed amountSeries CJun 2026Source ↗
▶$26.6MraisedMay 2024 · 15 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Robert SchoelkopfDirector
- Stephen KnightDirector
- Brendan DickinsonDirector
- Corey RitterDirector
- William CoughranDirector
- Martin MengwallExecutive Officer
- Ray SmetsExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $27M
- Amount sold
- $26.6M
- First sale
- Feb 2024
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶Undisclosed amountofferedSep 2017 · ComputersRule 506(b)
- Brian W PuschExecutive Officer, Director
- Robert J SchoelkopfDirector
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶Undisclosed amountofferedMar 2016 · ManufacturingRule 506(b)
- Brian W PuschExecutive Officer, Director
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Quantum Circuits, Inc. is a quantum computing hardware and software company founded in 2015 by scientists from Yale University, including Sterling Professor Rob Schoelkopf. It develops full-stack superconducting quantum computing systems built around a proprietary Dual-Rail Cavity Qubit that embeds error detection at the qubit level, an approach the company describes as "correct first, then scale" rather than maximizing raw qubit counts. The stated goal is to accelerate the path from noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) hardware to fault-tolerant, commercially viable systems that produce consistent, repeatable results.
The product line centers on Aqumen Seeker, described as the industry's first Dual-Rail Cavity Qubit quantum computing system, offering a universal gate-based QPU with single- and two-qubit gates (sqrt(X), Z, CZ). Around it the company offers the Aqumen Cloud Service, a Quantum-as-a-Service platform for compiling, simulating and executing quantum programs with job monitoring via the Aqumen Cloud Portal; the Aqumen SDK, a set of Python libraries; and the AquSim simulator, offered in noiseless and dual-rail-qubit (DRQ) variants, the latter modeling erasure noise, error detection and handling. Programs can be written in the native QCDL language, in Qiskit via a provider (without real-time control or error-handling features), or with NVIDIA's CUDA-Q, which the company describes as the first integration of dual-rail qubit systems with CUDA-Q.
Three feature sets define the platform: Quantum Error Detection (QED) built into the qubit hardware; Real-Time Control Flow (RTCF), covering measurement-based feedback, conditional branching, real-time qubit reset, arithmetic, dynamic gate parameterization and run-time looping; and Error Detection Handling (EDH), which includes mid-circuit erasure detection, end-of-line measurement per qubit and user-controlled post-selection. As of January 2026, the company's website states that Quantum Circuits is now part of D-Wave.
Founding story
Quantum Circuits was founded in 2015 by quantum physicists from Yale University, including Sterling Professor of Applied Physics and Physics Rob Schoelkopf, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a pioneer of superconducting quantum computing, together with co-founder Luigi Frunzio, a senior research scientist at Yale and director of its Cleanroom Quantum Foundry. One source describes the company as a Yale spin-out founded by two scientists from the university. The founders' work in circuit quantum electrodynamics underpins the company's architecture and is cited as the basis for hundreds of academic papers.
Business model
Quantum Circuits sells access to its own quantum computing hardware and software stack. Its Quantum-as-a-Service model gives users cloud access to QPUs and simulators through the Aqumen Cloud Service and Portal, with an SDK for building applications and simulating them before running on production hardware. Early access has been distributed through customer engagement programs (an Alpha Program and the Strategic Quantum Release, or SQR, program), with the software platform initially made available to select customers ahead of hardware delivery.
Sources describe a Quantum-as-a-Service offering with cloud access to QPUs and simulators, plus reservation-based system usage; no pricing, contract terms or revenue figures are disclosed in the available sources.
Traction
Sources report approximately 50 employees as of August 2024, availability of the software platform to select customers, and customer engagement via the Alpha and SQR programs. The website references partners but does not name them, and no customer counts, revenue or usage metrics are disclosed.
Latest developments
In January 2026 D-Wave announced an agreement to acquire Quantum Circuits, followed by a post on January 16, 2026 stating the two companies had officially joined forces; the Quantum Circuits website now displays "Quantum Circuits Now Part of D-Wave" and in places refers to the full-stack dual-rail system as a D-Wave system. Recent technical content includes a December 2025 post on efficiently leveraging error data with dual-rail qubits.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Quantum Circuits positions itself as the first vendor to offer a dual-rail qubit with built-in error detection combined with real-time control flow and error detection handling, contrasting its "correct first, then scale" strategy with competitors it characterizes as pursuing qubit-count-driven, scale-first approaches. Its scientific lineage is a claimed differentiator: co-founder Rob Schoelkopf is described as one of the founders of the superconducting quantum computing field, with former students at Google, IBM and Amazon and other quantum companies. Sources do not provide independent market share or benchmark comparisons.
The company states that no other quantum system combines a dual-rail qubit with built-in hardware-level error detection, real-time control flow, and error detection handling, and that it offers the world's first integration of dual-rail qubit systems with NVIDIA CUDA-Q. It also emphasizes an error-aware simulator that lets developers manage quantum errors directly without rewriting programs.
Technology
The core technology is a superconducting Dual-Rail Cavity Qubit architecture in which error detection is intrinsic to the qubit, allowing dominant error channels to be detected, tagged and processed as erasures in real time. The company states this reduces the number of physical qubits needed for useful computation; its materials cite correction of detected errors with an overhead of only five dual-rail qubits and QPU execution speeds exceeding trapped-ion and neutral-atom clock rates by 100x-1000x. The software stack comprises the QCDL programming language, the Aqumen SDK (Python), a Qiskit provider, CUDA-Q integration, the AquSim error-aware simulator (noiseless and DRQ noise-model versions), and the Aqumen Cloud Service and Portal.
Go-to-market
The company markets directly to enterprises and institutions through customer partnership programs, notably the Strategic Quantum Release (SQR) program and an Alpha Program, which allow prospective users to plan roadmaps around error-detecting QPUs, prototype algorithms on simulators, and execute applications on Aqumen Seeker systems. It also releases technical reports, data sheets, blog posts and press releases, and supports familiar programming entry points such as Qiskit and NVIDIA CUDA-Q to lower adoption friction. The company notes it deliberately maintained a low public profile for years before beginning to publicize its approach.
Quantum algorithm and application developers, and enterprises and research institutions exploring near-term quantum applications in areas cited by the company such as drug and materials design, finance, optimization, cryptography, chemistry simulation, machine learning and operations research.
Geography
Sources describe the company as a Yale spin-out based in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. No other offices or international operations are described.
History
Founded in 2015 as a Yale spin-out, the company spent its early years developing technology without significant public communication. Ray Smets was appointed president and CEO in 2024. In May 2024 it announced a $26.6 million extended funding round; in June 2024 it launched a cloud-based quantum simulation platform; in August 2024 it announced an integrated error-aware quantum software platform and closed a Series B of more than $60 million led by Arch Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital, Sequoia Capital and Hither Creek Ventures. In November 2024 it introduced the Aqumen Seeker system. In January 2026, D-Wave announced an agreement to acquire Quantum Circuits, and the two companies subsequently announced they had officially joined forces.
Risks & controversies
The available sources contain largely company-authored claims about performance and industry firsts that are not independently verified. The company's product materials indicate the software platform was delivered ahead of hardware systems and made available only to select customers, implying early commercial maturity. Following the D-Wave acquisition, the future of the Quantum Circuits brand and roadmap as an independent entity is uncertain based on the sources. Note that Oxford Quantum Circuits, a separate UK-based superconducting quantum hardware company, is a distinct entity and its financing is not attributable to Quantum Circuits.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 6
by search overlap
Companies competing with Quantum Circuits for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline · 7
launches, deals, and filingsCompany post titled 'A New Chapter for Quantum Computing: Quantum Circuits & D-Wave Officially Join Forces'; the company website now carries the notice 'Quantum Circuits Now Part of D-Wave'.
D-Wave announced an agreement to acquire Quantum Circuits, described in the company's posting as establishing the world's leading quantum computing company.
Company blog post introducing the Aqumen Seeker system, described as the industry's first Dual-Rail Cavity Qubit quantum computing system.
Announced an error-aware integrated quantum software platform available to select customers, comprising an SDK (with Qiskit provider), cloud portal, and error-aware simulator that models the company's Dual-Rail Qubit hardware, enabling real-time management of qubit error detection within algorithms.
Series B led by Arch Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital, Sequoia Capital and Hither Creek Ventures, following a $26.6 million extended funding round announced in May 2024.
$60M source ↗
Quantum Circuits launched a cloud-based simulation platform for quantum applications with built-in error detection, positioned to accelerate commercialization of high-fidelity quantum computing.
Co-founder Rob Schoelkopf and colleague Michel Devoret received the 2024 Comstock Award in Physics; the company also lists Shruti Puri's 2024 APS Rolf Landauer & Charles H. Bennett Award and Harvey Moseley's 2022 James Craig Watson Medal among its achievements.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structureIn the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Quantum Circuitsquantumcircuits.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Quantum Circuits do?
- Yale-founded developer of superconducting dual-rail cavity qubit quantum computers with built-in error detection; now part of D-Wave.
- Who founded Quantum Circuits?
- Quantum Circuits was founded by Rob Schoelkopf, Luigi Frunzio in 2015.
- Who are Quantum Circuits's investors?
- Quantum Circuits's investors include ARCH Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, Connecticut Innovations, F-Prime Capital, OUP (Osage University Partners), Tribeca Venture Partners, Fitz Gate Ventures.
- How much funding has Quantum Circuits raised?
- Quantum Circuits has disclosed $26.6M raised across 1 of its 6 known rounds.
- Where is Quantum Circuits headquartered?
- Quantum Circuits is headquartered in Madison, US.