QuEra Computing

QuEra Computing Inc. is a quantum computing company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company focuses on building large-scale quantum computers using neutral-atom technology, based on research developed at Harvard University and MIT. QuEra was founded in 2018 by Mikhail Lukin, Vladan Vuleti, Markus Greiner, Dirk Englund, Nathan Gemelke, and John Peña, all leading scientists in atomic physics and quantum information science.

Before the company was formed, research into controlling neutral atoms began in 2015 at Harvard and MIT. This work led to the creation of a 51-qubit machine in 2017 and later a 256-qubit system, which became the technical foundation of QuEra’s platform. In November 2022, QuEra launched Aquila, a 256-qubit neutral-atom quantum computer, making it the first generally accessible neutral-atom system available to users worldwide through Amazon Braket.

QuEra’s technology uses Rubidium atoms trapped and controlled by lasers. The atoms are cooled close to absolute zero and manipulated using optical tweezers. The system supports both analog and digital quantum computing modes, allowing users to choose the most suitable approach for their problems. The analog mode uses the Rydberg blockade effect to generate entanglement and solve optimisation and physics problems, including combinatorial optimisation, graph problems, and Hamiltonian simulations. QuEra is developing hybrid analog-digital systems and fully gate-based machines, including its Gemini system, delivered in 2025 as the company’s first commercial gate-based quantum computer.

QuEra is a recognised leader in quantum error correction. In partnership with Harvard, MIT, Yale, and other institutions, the company has achieved major milestones, including the first logical-level magic state distillation on a neutral-atom quantum computer and demonstrations of fault-tolerant logical processors with up to 48 logical qubits.

In 2024, QuEra was selected by DARPA for both Stage A and Stage B of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, aimed at evaluating paths toward practical quantum computers by 2030–2033. In 2025, QuEra raised over $230 million in Series B funding, backed by Google, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Valor Equity Partners, and NVIDIA’s NVentures. The company also partners with governments, HPC centres, enterprises, and national research programmes worldwide, including projects in Japan, Europe, and the United States.

QuEra Computing Inc. was founded in 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Mikhail Lukin, Vladan Vuletic, Markus Greiner, Dirk Englund, Nathan Gemelke, and John Peña. All founders were senior researchers and professors at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Their goal was to build practical and scalable quantum computers based on neutral-atom technology, using more than a decade of academic research in atomic physics and quantum information science.

The scientific roots of QuEra began earlier, in 2015, when research groups at Harvard and MIT started developing techniques to trap, arrange, and control neutral atoms with lasers. In 2017, these efforts produced the world’s largest programmable quantum simulator at the time, containing 51 qubits. Continued research led to a major breakthrough in 2021, when the Harvard-led team demonstrated a 256-qubit programmable neutral-atom system. This result showed that neutral atoms could be controlled at large scale with high stability and precision and formed the technical foundation of QuEra’s commercial platform.

After its formation, QuEra remained in close collaboration with Harvard and MIT while building its engineering and commercial teams. In 2021, the company came out of stealth with 17 million US dollars in seed funding and publicly revealed its 256-qubit system. In November 2022, QuEra launched Aquila, a 256-qubit neutral-atom quantum computer, making it the first publicly accessible neutral-atom quantum system in the world through Amazon Braket. This allowed researchers, companies, and government organisations worldwide to begin testing real applications on QuEra’s hardware.

Between 2023 and 2024, QuEra and its academic partners made major advances in quantum error correction. In December 2023, a Harvard-MIT-QuEra team demonstrated complex error-corrected quantum algorithms running on 48 logical qubits, marking a significant step towards fault-tolerant quantum computing. This work was later recognised as one of the leading physics breakthroughs of 2024. In April 2024, QuEra was awarded a major contract by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology to deliver an on-premises neutral-atom quantum processor integrated with the NVIDIA-powered ABCI-Q supercomputer.

In 2024, QuEra was selected by the United States Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency for Stage A of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative and later advanced to Stage B in November 2025, placing the company among a small group of firms being evaluated for building practical quantum computers within the next decade. In October 2024, QuEra also became a partner in the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center’s 16 million dollar expansion to establish a quantum computing complex.

In 2025, QuEra delivered Gemini, its first commercially available gate-based neutral-atom quantum computer, to Japan. In February 2025, the company closed over 230 million US dollars in Series B funding backed by Google, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Valor Equity Partners, and others, with NVIDIA’s NVentures later expanding the round. Throughout 2025, QuEra and its research partners achieved further milestones, including the first experimental demonstration of logical magic state distillation on a neutral-atom quantum computer and major advances in algorithmic fault tolerance, reducing logical computation overhead by ten to one hundred times.

As of the present, QuEra continues to operate from Boston with global partnerships across government, industry, and academia. The company is expanding its commercial deployments, advancing its hybrid analog-digital architecture, strengthening its quantum error correction programme, and building the engineering and operational capacity required to deliver large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computers.

QuEra’s mission is to advance neutral-atom quantum computing from today’s research tools into reliable, large-scale, error-corrected systems that can solve real problems in science, industry, and society. The company focuses on building stable and scalable quantum computers while delivering value at every stage of development. QuEra works closely with universities, research centres, governments, and enterprises to explore practical applications of quantum computing. Its mission also includes developing strong foundations in quantum error correction, hardware control, and software systems so that future quantum computers can operate with high accuracy and reliability. The goal is to make quantum computing useful, accessible, and ready for real-world deployment.

QuEra’s vision is a future where quantum computing is a trusted and essential tool for solving high-value problems across science, industry, and society. The company aims to make quantum technology reliable, scalable, and widely usable. QuEra believes quantum computing should deliver practical benefits, not just scientific results. Its long-term vision is to build powerful error-corrected quantum systems that can handle problems beyond the reach of classical computers. By combining strong scientific research with careful engineering and long-term planning, QuEra works toward a world where quantum computers support advances in medicine, materials science, energy, security, and many other critical fields.

QuEra has received wide recognition for its leadership in quantum computing. Its work with Harvard and MIT has produced major scientific breakthroughs, including the first publicly accessible neutral-atom quantum computer, Aquila, launched on Amazon Braket in 2022. In 2023, QuEra’s error-corrected quantum computing results were named one of the leading physics breakthroughs of 2024. The company was selected by DARPA for both Stage A and Stage B of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, placing it among the world’s most advanced quantum developers. In 2025, QuEra raised over 230 million US dollars from major investors including Google, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and NVIDIA’s NVentures, confirming strong global confidence in its technology.

QuEra Computing develops advanced quantum computing systems and provides a full range of services that support research, commercial development, and real-world problem solving. Its main products are based on neutral-atom quantum technology, which uses Rubidium atoms trapped and controlled by lasers to perform quantum computations. This approach allows high scalability, flexible system design, and strong performance for both research and industrial use.

The company’s flagship system is Aquila, a 256-qubit neutral-atom quantum computer that became the world’s first publicly accessible neutral-atom system when it was launched on Amazon Braket in November 2022. Through the Amazon Braket cloud service, users from universities, research centres, enterprises, and government organisations can access Aquila remotely to run experiments and develop quantum applications. Aquila supports analog quantum computing, which is well suited for solving complex physics problems, optimisation tasks, and machine learning models that are difficult for classical computers.

In 2025, QuEra delivered Gemini, its first commercial gate-based quantum computer, marking a major step in its transition from research platforms to practical computing systems. Gemini supports digital quantum operations, enabling universal quantum algorithms and preparing the foundation for full fault-tolerant quantum computing. QuEra’s long-term product roadmap combines analog and digital modes, allowing customers to benefit from early quantum advantage while preparing for future large-scale quantum systems.

QuEra also offers quantum error correction platforms. Its systems are designed with flexible two-dimensional atom arrays and reconfigurable connectivity, which are ideal for building logical qubits and implementing advanced error correction methods. Through collaboration with Harvard, MIT, Yale, and other institutions, QuEra has demonstrated major error-correction achievements, including logical magic state distillation, fault-tolerant logical processors, and new methods that significantly reduce the cost and time of quantum error correction. These technologies are essential for building reliable industrial-scale quantum computers.

Beyond hardware, QuEra provides a strong software and application development environment. The company develops tools for programming, controlling, and optimising quantum systems. It also supports simulation software for Rydberg atom systems, allowing researchers to test algorithms and models before running them on real hardware. QuEra’s software supports applications in combinatorial optimisation, graph theory, machine learning, and Hamiltonian simulation, enabling users to tackle problems in materials science, logistics, finance, chemistry, and physics.

QuEra’s services include application co-design, where its scientists and engineers work directly with customers to develop quantum solutions tailored to specific business or research challenges. The company also supports collaborative research programmes with universities, national laboratories, and technology partners worldwide. In addition, QuEra works closely with high-performance computing (HPC) centres, governments, and public sector organisations to integrate quantum computing with existing supercomputing infrastructure, as seen in major projects in Japan, Europe, and the United States.

Through its Quantum Innovation Platform, QuEra brings together hardware, software, research, and customer engagement into a single environment that helps organisations explore, test, and deploy quantum solutions. This complete offering allows customers to move from early experiments to real applications while preparing for the future of large-scale quantum computing.