Contralto-A Crowned ‘Best Quantum Hardware’, Provides the Industry’s Largest Accessible Platform for Advanced Quantum Error Correction Protocols.
Delft, The Netherlands - October 8, 2025 - QuantWare, the world’s highest-volume supplier of commercial quantum processing units (QPUs), has won the Quantum Computing Hardware category of the Quantum Effects Award 2025 for Contralto-A, the largest commercially available processor designed for quantum error correction. The award was received yesterday at the Quantum Effects conference in Stuttgart and recognizes QuantWare’s global leadership in advancing quantum hardware and driving the availability of application-ready quantum processors. This news follows the announcement that QuantWare’s 64-qubit QPU, Tenor, is powering Italy’s largest Quantum Computer.
Mastering quantum error correction (QEC) is the key to unlocking fault-tolerant quantum systems that massively expand the application space of quantum computers. Contralto-A features 17 qubits, more than twice the size of competing solutions. This industry-leading qubit count makes the development of advanced QEC capabilities accessible to research teams and computer scientists worldwide, accelerating the industry’s progress toward utility-scale quantum computing.
The processor also impressed the esteemed Quantum Effects Jury with its state-of-the-art components, including flux- tunable couplers and individual Purcell filters. The QEC-optimized layout, designed together with leading quantum error correction experts, provides the high-fidelity operations required for demonstrating advanced error-correction protocols including a Distance-3 surface code.
The Jury stated: “QuantWare impressed with their Contralto-A – the largest commercially available QPU specifically designed for quantum error correction. With its architecture, the system enables practical surface code implementations and forms an important building block for fault-tolerant quantum computers.”
Contralto-A's success at the Quantum Effects Award underscores the importance of this work, powerfully laying the groundwork for the scalable, fault-tolerant systems of tomorrow capable of solving humanity’s most pressing challenges.
“Contralto-A represents a critical step forward in making practical quantum error correction a reality,.” said Matthijs Rijlaarsdam, CEO of QuantWare. “We give the industry the reliable, high-performance, open-architecture processor it needs, to accelerate the shift from proof-of-concept experiments to true application-ready quantum systems. We’re proud to see the impact of this work recognized with the Quantum Effects Award.”
Contralto-A is currently in Early Access with a select number of customers, ahead of its General Access launch planned for the first half of 2026. To learn more or inquire about a pre-order, contact the QuantWare commercial team directly at sales@quantware.com or visit the Contralto-A product page.
Editors Notes
About QuantWare
QuantWare is building the world’s most powerful quantum processors, and is today the highest-volume supplier of quantum processor units (QPUs) worldwide, with customers in more than 20 countries. Its unique VIO 3D scaling architecture is the only technology that unlocks MegaQubit-scale, ultra-high-speed quantum processors, delivering exponentially more performance per Watt per dollar invested. VIO paves the way for the hyper-scale quantum computers that will solve humanity's greatest challenges. The company was founded in 2021 by quantum computing experts Matt Rijlaarsdam and Alessandro Bruno as a spin-out from QuTech, a globally-leading quantum computing research institute, part of TU Delft in the Netherlands. The company has won multiple awards, including the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Rising Star award in 2024.
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Image Credit: Messe Stuttgart
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