PsiQuantum broke ground today on its new site at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP) in Chicago, where it plans to build and deploy America’s first million-qubit, fault-tolerant quantum computer. Company executives joined Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, and other leaders at a ceremony held on the former U.S. Steel South Works site. The IQMP campus, branded as Quantum Shore, is designed to serve as a hub for quantum and microelectronics innovation with PsiQuantum as its anchor tenant.
The initial construction phase will include development of PsiQuantum’s largest intermediate-scale test system, to be validated by DARPA through the final stage of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. Future phases will expand the site to accommodate the deployment of the company’s million-qubit quantum computer. The groundbreaking follows PsiQuantum’s July 2024 agreement with state and local leaders to locate its first U.S.-based system at the IQMP, and comes weeks after the company closed a $1 billion Series E funding round to support both the Chicago project and a utility-scale site in Brisbane, Australia.
PsiQuantum is working with Related Midwest, CRG, Clayco, and Lamar Johnson Collaborative on site development, with financing led by Blue Owl Capital funds. The company’s photonic quantum computing approach relies on semiconductor manufacturing techniques and conventional fiber networking to address manufacturability, cooling, and scalability challenges faced by other architectures.
• PsiQuantum broke ground at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP) in Chicago’s South Side.
• The site will house America’s first million-qubit, fault-tolerant quantum computer.
• Initial construction includes an intermediate-scale test system evaluated under DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.
• Project partners include Related Midwest, CRG, Clayco, Lamar Johnson Collaborative, Croke Fairchild, and Blue Owl Capital.
• PsiQuantum raised over $1B in Series E funding earlier this month to advance U.S. and Australian quantum deployments.
“Breaking ground on the largest quantum computing project in America is the result of hard work, close partnership, and a shared commitment to unlock the full potential of quantum computing,” said Prof. Jeremy O’Brien, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of PsiQuantum.
🌐 Analysis: PsiQuantum’s expansion into Chicago underscores its dual-track strategy of building large-scale facilities in both the U.S. and Australia, supported by more than $1 billion in fresh capital. By anchoring IQMP, PsiQuantum positions Illinois as a national center for quantum innovation, complementing federal initiatives at National Labs such as Argonne and Fermilab. Competitors including Quantinuum, IBM, and Atom Computing are also scaling fault-tolerant systems, but PsiQuantum’s photonic approach offers a distinct path focused on manufacturability and telecom-style networking.
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