Quobly demos qubit gates on STMicroelectronics chip

Quobly has demonstrated qubit readout, single-qubit gates and two-qubit gates on a single silicon quantum chip manufactured at STMicroelectronics' commercial 300 mm facility in Crolles.

The French quantum computing company carried out the three operations on a chip built with its QSOI technology using an FD-SOI CMOS process. It presented the result as an early validation of its effort to move quantum device design into an industrial semiconductor manufacturing environment.

The announcement addresses a central challenge in quantum computing: not only proving that individual qubits work, but showing that the underlying devices can be produced through a repeatable manufacturing process. Quobly is pursuing silicon spin qubits, an approach that aims to draw on established semiconductor production methods rather than custom-built laboratory systems.

Its QSOI platform combines silicon spin qubits with FD-SOI transistors intended for co-integrated control electronics. The platform was designed with large-scale integration in mind and includes enriched silicon-28.

Manufacturing shift

For Quobly, the significance of the latest result lies as much in where the chip was made as in what it did. The device was fabricated on STMicroelectronics' commercial production line rather than in a purely research setting, marking a step in transferring quantum chip designs and process flows into a conventional semiconductor environment.

That transfer matters because quantum hardware companies face a long path from experimental devices to processors that can be manufactured at volume. Quobly argued that the ability to reproduce the same sequence of technological steps across a manufacturing process is critical if the industry is to reach processors with millions of qubits.

The company has also worked on combining quantum and cryogenic circuits on the same chip and has developed a cryogenic process design kit to support further integration. Those efforts complement the work on qubit operation and readout, which together form the basic functions required for a silicon spin-qubit quantum computer.

Further technical details and performance metrics are due in a scientific publication, but the disclosure makes clear that the latest work is focused on proving process compatibility and integration rather than claiming a finished commercial system.

Tristan Meunier, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of Quobly, described the significance of the result in manufacturing terms.

"Having these three basic operations demonstrated on a single QSOI chip is an important step. They were achieved on devices manufactured through the 300 mm semiconductor process we are developing with STMicroelectronics. This validates key elements of the technology transfer and gives us a solid basis for further integration and scaling," said Meunier.

Product roadmap

The result also feeds into Quobly's broader effort to move from research-led development to a defined product programme. The company is building what it calls its Alloy line of quantum computers, with an initial system named Alloy Pioneer and a longer-term goal of scaling to much larger machines.

Quobly argues that the path to larger quantum systems should follow the logic that shaped classical semiconductors, using very large-scale integration to increase computing density without requiring a proportional increase in physical infrastructure. If successful, that approach would make larger quantum systems more predictable in footprint, manufacturing and operation.

Founded in Grenoble in 2022, the company employs more than 100 people and has subsidiaries in Singapore and Canada. It has raised €115 million in Series A funding, led by Bpifrance, STMicroelectronics and SEALSQ, to support commercialisation of the Alloy family.

Quobly is also part of a wider European industrial network around semiconductor materials and production. It is working with partners including Air Liquide, Soitec and Orano to build a silicon-28 supply chain for its processors.

Maud Vinet, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Quobly, linked the latest chip result to that commercial plan.

"These results are another concrete step in executing our product roadmap. We are building QSOI and our Alloy systems to deliver high-performance, large-scale quantum computers that can integrate seamlessly into existing data-center infrastructure and provide a predictable path to scale and return on investment," said Vinet.

Daniel Loss, President of Quobly's Scientific Advisory Board, framed the issue as one of manufacturing repeatability rather than isolated laboratory success.

"When we proposed spin qubits in quantum dots in 1998, the open question was never whether one qubit could work; it was whether millions of identical ones could be made. That is a manufacturing question, and it can only be answered on a production line. Readout, single-qubit and two-qubit gates on one chip from a 300 mm FD-SOI process is the step that moves the spin qubit from the laboratory into the process flow. Reproducing it wafer after wafer is now the task, and it is the right task," said Loss.