Breakthrough 3D wiring architecture enables 10,000-qubit quantum processors

Scientists say they've developed a breakthrough 3D wiring solution that allows a 100-fold increase in the number of quantum bits (qubits) a quantum computing chip can support.

Typical quantum computing processors (QPUs) are built with two-dimensional, horizontal wiring, just like the central processing units (CPUs) in our classical devices. But this traditional wiring limits the number of qubits scientists can cram onto a given processor. Currently available chips from Google and IBM, for example, contain approximately 105 qubits and 120 qubits, respectively.

The new architecture, called VIO-40K, overcomes this limitation by using three-dimensional, vertical wiring, according to representatives of QuantWare, which developed the technology. The VIO-40K architecture supports 40,000 input-output (I/O) lines and is made up of fully integrated chiplet modules connected via "ultra-high-fidelity chip-to-chip connections," QuantWare representatives said in a statement.

This adds up to a single QPU capable of supporting 10,000 simultaneous qubits — a 100-times increase over the current state of the art in superconducting quantum computers — on a smaller chip. This is the first time such a qubit count has been achieved on a single quantum processor, according to QuantWare.

"For years, people have heard about quantum computing's potential to transform fields from chemistry to materials to energy, but the industry has been stuck at 100-qubit QPUs, forcing the field to theorize about interesting but far-off technologies," Matt Rijlaarsdam, CEO of QuantWare, said in the statement. "QuantWare's VIO finally removes this scaling barrier, paving the way for economically relevant quantum computers. With VIO-40K, we're giving the entire ecosystem access to the most powerful, hyper-scaled quantum processor architecture ever."

Vertical integration meets quantum democratization

QuantWare representatives say they expect to start shipping the first VIO-40K units in 2028. To support this target, the firm says it will build an industrial-scale QPU fabrication factory in Delft, Netherlands, which is scheduled to open in 2026. This will be "one of the world's largest quantum fabs" and the first dedicated fab for quantum open architecture (QOA) devices.

To put this timeline into perspective, IBM's current quantum computing development roadmap puts the arrival of 2,000-qubit QPUs at 2033 or beyond, with no time frame set for chips capable of supporting 10,000 qubits.

The bottleneck, for most firms working on superconducting quantum computers, lies in the way quantum processors are built. Because fabricators can only squeeze so many wires onto a single wafer, physicists have to chain multiple processors together. While the connections between the qubits on each chip are high-fidelity, the connections between the chips themselves are often low-fidelity, causing a bottleneck for data transmission.

QuantWare's VIO series uses vertical wiring that purportedly allows as many as 10,000 qubits to fit on a chip that is smaller than today's 100-qubit wafer-style chips. This is accomplished through the use of "chiplet" technology that involves stitching together individually fabricated modules to form complete chips.

Instead of relying on low-fidelity chip-to-chip connections as current quantum processors do, chiplets are fabricated separately and then sealed together to create a system-on-a-chip environment capable of functioning as a single QPU.

A quantum brain in a box

QuantWare's timeline is relatively ambitious compared with its peers', but representatives say one factor working in the company's favor is its adoption of QOA.

Unlike Google and IBM, QuantWare isn't developing an end-to-end quantum computing solution. Its QPUs are built to work with components from other firms, such as Qblox controllers and Nvidia software.

This means the VIO-40K will essentially be plug-and-play with Nvidia NVQLINK — an architecture designed to allow QPUs to connect with GPUs in a hybrid classical-quantum system — thus allowing it to interface with existing supercomputers. This will also let it connect with Nvidia CUDA — a parallel computing platform and programming model — to enable developers to seamlessly integrate entire quantum workloads into the hybrid systems.

Ultimately, this puts QuantWare in the position to potentially act as an Intel-like hardware provider for quantum computing systems, working with other quantum computing entities in the process.