Quantum Catalyzer (Q-Cat) launches in Maryland to bring promising quantum technologies to the real world
(EurekaAlert) A new company in the heart of Maryland’s research corridor, Quantum Catalyzer (Q-Cat), is on a mission — to create and grow successful quantum technology start-ups. IQT-News shares the announcement,
“Today, there is no easy path to transition quantum technologies from academic labs into the real world. Q-Cat will change that by lowering the barriers to company formation and progress — catalyzing a new generation of high-impact quantum companies,” says founder Dr. Ronald Walsworth, a serial entrepreneur in quantum technology. “Our model is unique. We create early-stage quantum companies and help them grow through expert guidance and key resources.”
Walsworth, a former Harvard University faculty member recruited by the University of Maryland to lead its Quantum Technology Center, is a professor in UMD’s Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering departments.
With headquarters in College Park, Q-Cat joins IonQ and other companies fueling the area’s reputation as a world leader in quantum commercialization. Q-Cat investors include venture capital firms Quantonation, based in Paris and Boston, Ma, and TDF Ventures, based in Chevy Chase, Md.
Q-Cat and its companies leverage quantum technologies, exploiting the special properties of quantum physics for transformational capabilities across many sectors. Examples include enabling efficient green energy generation at scale, more reliable navigation, next-generation microelectronics, and lower cost healthcare imaging.
Q-Cat differs from traditional tech accelerators and incubators in that it creates new start-ups from scratch and then helps them grow fast and smart. Key Q-Cat resources include:
Company conceptualization and formation
Early-stage proof-of-principle tech development using Q-Cat’s top technical talent
IP guidance, generation, and promotion
Business & strategic partnership development
Low-cost office and lab space
Scientific equipment
Identification of technical and business talent for growth
Connections through Q-Cat’s well-established network
Over time, Q-Cat companies become independent entities, with Q-Cat retaining partial ownership.
“The time has never been better for a concept like Q-Cat,” says Dr. Christophe Jurczak, founder and partner at Quantonation, the pioneer VC fund dedicated to quantum technologies. “We need more companies created in this sector and more quantum entrepreneurs.”
Sandra K. Helsel, Ph.D. has been researching and reporting on frontier technologies since 1990. She has her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.
