Quobly, Absolut System Partner on Cryogenic Quantum Hardware
By Sead Fadilpašić
Quobly and Absolut System have signed an Industrial Partnership Declaration to develop cryogenic hardware for Quobly’s silicon spin-qubit processors. The two French companies have achieved a preliminary milestone on a cooling platform named QCube 100-Class 3.
Details of the Agreement
Indeed, the announcement came out via a press release on September 9. Both firms are located in the Grenoble region of France. Quobly, established in 2022 (formerly Siquance), focuses on building silicon spin-qubit chips using FD-SOI semiconductor manufacturing, in collaboration with CEA-Leti, CNRS, and STMicroelectronics. Absolut System specializes in designing cryogenic and thermal systems, operating at temperatures between approximately -180°C and -271°C, for clients in space, superconductivity, and research sectors.
The highlighted milestone, QCube 100-Class 3, is described as providing 100 mW of cooling power at 500 mK. According to the companies, it integrates the necessary thermal, mechanical, electrical, and RF interfaces to support Quobly’s processors. This platform was developed as part of the French Cryonext program. The Industrial Partnership Declaration signifies a long-term collaboration spanning multiple generations of Alloy, Quobly’s quantum computer product line. It is a statement of shared intent, not a delivered system or a finalized procurement contract.
Roadmap Projections
The cooperation is structured into four phases. Phase 1 involves qualifying the current platform. Phase 2 aims to industrialize it, doubling its thermal dissipation capacity. Meanwhile, Phase 3 focuses on developing a next generation of cryogenic platforms. Finally, Phase 4 addresses volume production for scalability.
The companies state that this plan aligns with Quobly’s Alloy roadmap, which projects up to 100,000 physical qubits between 2027 and 2029, followed by further scaling from 2030 towards one million qubits and fault-tolerant operation. None of these figures represent currently existing hardware. The press release does not specify Quobly’s current qubit count, leaving the gap between present capabilities and the 100,000-qubit target undisclosed. Achieving fault-tolerant quantum computing at such a large scale remains an industry-wide objective, not yet a demonstrated reality.
Julien Tanchon, CEO of Absolut System, plainly articulated the significance of this initial step:
“QCube® 100-Class 3 is a first concrete step in a cooperation that we intend to develop over the long term.”
Cryogenics presents a significant engineering challenge as spin-qubit systems incorporate more control electronics and qubits. Maintaining thousands of channels at extremely low temperatures in an integrated manner is a complex task that typically requires iterative development. This partnership represents a supplier relationship in its early stages. The four-phase roadmap should eventually answer the question of whether the cooling technology can scale effectively with increasing chip complexity.