Delft, The Netherlands, October 08 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.