Quantum News Nexus

Atom Computing has become Cisco Systems’ latest quantum networking partner, having signed Memorandum of Understanding with telecom networking giant to work on linking neutral-atom quantum computers together in distributed quantum computing architectures.

Cisco has been ramping up quantum networking and quantum-safe security activities over the last couple of years. It also has a big quantum network collaboration with Big Blue that was announced last November, and it invested in and is working with quantum networking start-up Qunnect.

According to Atom Computing’s press release, areas of collaboration under the MOU include:

• Software and Algorithms: Extending Cisco’s network-aware distributed quantum computing compiler to support distributed workloads across neutral-atom systems.
• Transduction and Hardware Integration: Jointly investigating technologies required to interface neutral-atom quantum processing units (QPUs) with Cisco’s quantum networking systems, aligned with Cisco’s broader quantum networking roadmap.

For Boulder, Colorado-based Atom Computing, this announcement comes just after the company said it had integrated Nvidia’s NVQLink into its control stack to support the linking of QPUs with GPUs and other processors.

Numerous quantum firms and traditional telecom companies have been working for a while on how to join quantum computers via quantum networks into distributed architectures that will massively scale computing potential. Though great progress is being made, such architectures are unlikely to become widely deployed until the next decade, with expectations that they will really take off in the fault-tolerant quantum commuting era. Cisco’s work with IBM, for example, targets 2030 and beyond for key milestones.

But, as many have noted, neutral-atom quantum computers have a shorter path to utility, with some already being deployed alongside classical supercomputers in hybrid architectures.

“Neutral‑atom quantum computers are uniquely suited for modularity and scaling,” said Dr. Ben Bloom, CEO and Founder of Atom Computing. “By integrating them into advanced quantum networks, we can begin to realize architectures capable of supporting the next era of quantum applications.”

“Scaling quantum computing to its full potential is a challenge the entire industry must tackle together,” said Ramana Kompella, VP & Head of Cisco Research. “At Cisco, we believe the future of quantum lies in distributed systems that connect many smaller processors, instead of relying solely on a single massive machine. This collaboration with Atom Computing allows us to explore how advanced networking technologies can help turn that vision into reality.”

Atom and Cisco did not announce a timeline for collaboration milestones.

Image source: Atom Computing

Quantum News Nexus is a site from freelance writer and editor Dan O’Shea that covers quantum computing, quantum sensing, quantum networking, quantum-safe security, and more. You can find him on X @QuantumNewsGuy and doshea14@gmail.com.