quantum computing industry

Thales, Bull and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) are joining forces to develop software for quantum computers intended for the French military. The announcement, reported by Clubic, ties France's defence ambitions to its homegrown quantum computing industry, and observers are highlighting the strategic and industrial significance of the partnership for French sovereignty in advanced technology.

Quantum computing is entering a new phase, with analysts saying the field has moved past pure physics experiments and into an era where supply chains and manufacturing capability will determine which companies succeed. Discussion is focusing on how firms scale production of quantum hardware and secure the components and industrial capacity needed to turn laboratory breakthroughs into commercial products.

The US government has taken equity stakes in four quantum computing startups, extending Washington's recent pattern of direct investments in strategic technology companies. The move signals federal interest in securing a foothold in quantum computing, a field seen as critical to national security and economic competitiveness, and is drawing attention to how far the government will go in backing private tech firms.

Researchers are working on ways to protect Bitcoin from future quantum computers, which could theoretically break the cryptography that secures wallets and transactions. Three main approaches are being explored, including quantum-resistant signature schemes and protocol changes. The debate highlights growing concern in the crypto industry about preparing Bitcoin's code for a post-quantum era before it becomes a real security threat.

French photonic quantum computing company Quandela is looking to partner with Korean firms to manufacture its photonic quantum chips. The move would tie Quandela's quantum photonics technology to South Korea's semiconductor manufacturing base, potentially speeding up production of its quantum processors. Details on specific partners, timelines, or investment amounts were not disclosed, leaving the scope of the collaboration uncertain.

Cloudflare announced on Tuesday that it plans to issue quantum-proof TLS certificates, positioning itself among the first certificate authorities to use cryptography widely believed to withstand attacks from quantum computers. The move anticipates a future in which quantum machines could break today's encryption, and it puts the web infrastructure company ahead of much of the industry in securing internet traffic against that threat.

Charles Black is leading research at the Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage (C2QA) focused on building scalable quantum computing systems. The effort is part of a US national quantum initiative aimed at overcoming hardware barriers that currently limit the size and reliability of quantum computers. Further details of the research's findings and timeline have not been disclosed.

A technology feature examines how quantum computing is structured, from its underlying architecture to the ways developers can access quantum systems, with attention to open source tools lowering the barrier to entry. The piece reflects growing interest in making quantum development more widely available outside large corporate and academic labs.

Researchers have proposed a new definition for scalable logical qubits, the error-corrected building blocks needed for practical quantum computers. A clearer standard for what counts as a scalable logical qubit could help labs and companies measure progress toward fault-tolerant machines and compare results across different quantum computing platforms.

Cloudflare has announced plans to issue quantum-safe TLS certificates as part of a major overhaul of the website authentication ecosystem. The move is aimed at protecting encrypted web traffic against future attacks by quantum computers, which could eventually break today's widely used cryptographic algorithms. Security watchers are highlighting it as a significant step toward post-quantum encryption across the web.

The NSA is highlighting that today's cryptographic solutions offer limited protection compared with new quantum-resistant algorithms, which are being developed to withstand attacks from future quantum computers. The message underscores ongoing efforts to migrate government and industry systems to post-quantum encryption before quantum capabilities mature.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has opened a new 100,000-square-foot research facility aimed at advancing quantum computing and battery technology. The building expands the Tennessee lab's capacity for work on next-generation energy storage and quantum systems, areas seen as critical to US scientific and industrial competitiveness.