Infleqtion’s new quantum computer to be housed in Chicago

LOUISVILLE — Infleqtion Inc. (NYSE: INFQ) intends to deploy its latest fault-tolerant, neutral-atom quantum computer next year in Chicago rather than in its Boulder County homebase. 

“This is a landmark moment for quantum computing in Chicago,” Infleqtion CEO Matthew Kinsella said in a recent news release. “We’re bringing one of the most advanced neutral-atom systems in the world directly to the city’s researchers and industry partners. Chicago is rapidly becoming one of the most important quantum ecosystems in the world, where quantum computing moves from theoretical promise to practical reality.”

Infleqtion, whose new computer will be housed at the Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park, also recently opened its Chicago Quantum Innovation Center “and continues to grow its Illinois workforce and investment,” according to the release. 

Infleqtion, which went public in February through a special purpose acquisition company merger, uses neutral-atom technology to build quantum computers, quantum clocks, RF receivers and inertial sensors. 

Because neutral atoms don’t have a positive or negative charge, the company claims, they can be bundled together more densely than charged particles and arranged in ways that make Infleqtion’s quantum hardware more scalable than existing supercomputer technology.

Quantum theory attempts to explain the behavior of matter at atomic and subatomic levels. Because quantum computers take advantage of special properties of quantum systems such as superposition, their computing power and speed are exponentially greater than a traditional computer.

The Boulder Valley — with the University of Colorado Boulder physics department, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and JILA (formerly known as the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics) — has become one the world’s epicenters of quantum research over the past few decades.

Chicago has emerged as one of Boulder Valley’s main competitors for quantum talent and capital. Colorado and Illinois went head to head in 2023 to win a coveted quantum Tech Hub designation from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Centennial State ultimately prevailed, giving local companies and researchers access to hundreds of millions of federal economic-development dollars.

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