DARPA Taps Quantinuum for Stage B of Quantum Benchmarking Program

by Prathik Jayaprakash

Quantinuum, the world leader in quantum computing, announced it has been selected as a contractor for Stage B of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI).

DARPA is utilizing the QBI to assess the technical feasibility of a utility-scale quantum computer being available by 2033. This multi-stage program follows a six-month Stage A, during which Quantinuum developed and delivered a detailed concept design for a utility-scale system named "Lumos."

Quantinuum recently released its public roadmap through 2029, which includes the launch of "Apollo," a universal, fully fault-tolerant quantum computer. "Lumos" is a new addition to this plan, extending the company’s roadmap into the 2030s.

“This selection recognizes the strength and maturity of our roadmap and the work our teams have already delivered,” said Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, President and CEO of Quantinuum. “Lumos extends our roadmap into the next decade and gives DARPA a concrete, de-risked path for achieving utility-scale quantum computing by 2033. We look forward to partnering with DARPA and our ecosystem partners to advance this important national objective.”

Stage B of the initiative will be a year-long, performance-based evaluation. During this stage, Quantinuum will develop a detailed R&D roadmap for Lumos to validate its technical assumptions, verification methods, and scaling plans necessary to meet the 2033 goal.

This announcement follows the successful deployment of Quantinuum's latest generation system, "Helios," which was delivered on schedule. Helios features the highest fidelity physical and logical qubits of any commercial system and is designed to accelerate the adoption of quantum computing. The system has already been used to simulate high-temperature superconductivity and magnetism at unprecedented scales—two applications with critical industrial utility.