Physicists developing a quantum computer that’s entirely open source

by tzuryon 3/2/26, 11:22 PMwith 33 comments
by GlibMonkeyDeathon 3/3/26, 1:04 AM

Couldn't find any cost estimate, but from https://openquantumdesign.org/the-quantum-computer (scroll down to "What's Inside") I'm guessing 100's of k$ for the bill of materials (let alone keeping the thing going.)

So the "you" in "your own" has to have pretty deep pockets...for a relatively low fidelity 30 qubit device.

by dr_dshivon 3/3/26, 3:30 AM

If you want to try quantum vibecoding, I threw up a site at https://www.haiqu.org where you can mcp with the quantum computer at TU Delft. Free, after you make an account.

by teunispeterson 3/3/26, 3:18 PM

Better to link the hosting site - https://openquantumdesign.org/ - or maybe its githubs - https://github.com/OpenQuantumDesign too.

by infinitewalkon 3/3/26, 6:02 AM

For those interested in the compiler/software stack and control hardware: https://pennylane.ai/blog/2025/12/open-source-quantum-comput...

by ion_trapperon 3/3/26, 2:13 AM

This effort is likely aimed at industrial/academic entities and not "you" as in a single person. But anyway, it needs to be emphasized that the phrase "quantum computer" is today used to mean anything ranging from

-a useless machine that produces a signal indistinguishable from noise TO -a highly sophisticated marvel of science and engineering that performs otherwise impossible calculations

Many industrial quantum computers today fall closer to the the former category than the latter. A single person or small team with minimal funding has basically no hope of building anything meaningful.

I don't know of any other device that has such a broad range of quality represented under one name. Maybe like calling ELIZA and Opus 4.6 both "AI".

by kitdon 3/3/26, 10:42 AM

> But unlike commercial ventures, the plan is to give away all the intellectual property

I would prefer the term "share". "Give away" implies a single, proprietary enterprise could acquire and control it, which isn't "open source".

by lkm0on 3/3/26, 8:50 AM

Incredibly cool initiative! Looks like they're going for a trapped-ion device, which the best you can get for now. It's not clear what kind of geometry the ions will be on, but I assume linear traps? If so, it can't be scaled beyond 10ish qubits, so that's definitely more of an educational project. That makes sense though, since the other options like racetrack or whatever are still active research.

I wonder if there's ever been any cross-pollinating between SC and trapped-ion labs when it comes to control electronics and such. This could be a good way to find out.

by ModernMechon 3/3/26, 3:11 PM

Only if you look at the license. Before that, it's in a superposition state of being closed and open sourced.

by g42gregoryon 3/3/26, 2:23 AM

Do we have an example of a real quantum computer doing some kind of a computation that is not easily accessible by the regular computer?

I keep hearing about "the promise" and "achieving quantum supremacy" (again!), but is there a real example of a quantum machine doing something useful in real life?