Quantum Corridor, an Indiana-based network technology company working to speed the business adoption of quantum computing, sensing, and communications discoveries, joined the Chicago Quantum Exchange as a corporate partner in April.

The coherent optical network company, which was created in 2021 as a public-private partnership to advance quantum technology innovation in Illinois and Indiana, runs a secure, high-speed fiber network linking data centers with research and commercialization in Indiana and Chicago. Coherent optics refers to a transmission technique that enables faster, more flexible networking.

Quantum Corridor is a member of the CQE-led  Bloch Quantum Tech Hub, a multisector coalition that builds quantum technology solutions for pressing societal problems by equipping entire industry sectors with the partnerships, specialized infrastructure, and workforce they need.

“Quantum Corridor and the CQE both aim to establish the Midwest as the central driver of US leadership in quantum technologies, including those aimed at expanding and improving quantum networking,” said David Awschalom, the Liew Family Professor of Molecular Engineering and Physics in the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and the director of the CQE. “We are excited to have Quantum Corridor as a CQE corporate partner, and we look forward to continuing our work together on The Bloch.”

As a part of The Bloch, Quantum Corridor is a key contributor to a project aimed at building the nation’s first publicly usable, commercial grade quantum network testbed. The testbed will help companies develop quantum hardware, software, and other applications. The Bloch, which is projected to generate $60 billion in economic impact for the region by 2035, is a US Economic Development Administration-designated Tech Hub that covers the Chicago area, including Northwest Indiana.

"The Chicago Quantum Exchange is the most important and one of the largest  collaborative teams working on quantum information science in the United States. Drawing Indiana into the CQE has been our goal, and we're thrilled to be a partner,” said Quantum Corridor CEO Tom Dakich. “The CQE's lineup of leading research and development institutions is world class, and Quantum Corridor looks forward linking with these partners on the fastest quantum-ready network in the Western Hemisphere as we work together to commercialize a quantum-enabled world."

Quantum Corridor is the CQE’s first corporate partner from Indiana and one of several Bloch contributors representing the state. Others include Ivy Tech Community College, Northwest Indiana Forum, Purdue Northwest, NIPSCO, Northwestern Indiana Building & Construction Trades Council, and Urschel Laboratories.

The CQE is based at the University of Chicago and anchored by Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Northwestern University, and includes more than 40 corporate, international, nonprofit, and regional partners.