Calgary, Alberta, February 23, 2026 -- SuperQ Quantum Computing Inc.("SuperQ Quantum", "SuperQ", or the "Company"), the leader in one-click quantum optimization, today announced a transformative strategic partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM ("Fraunhofer ITWM"), a member of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft - Europe's largest and most prestigious applied research organization. The collaboration is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focused on joint technical evaluation and research-oriented cooperation in the area of quantum and hybrid optimization.

This partnership marks SuperQ's official entry into the European quantum ecosystem. By aligning with Fraunhofer, the MoU represents a de-risking of SuperQ's commercial roadmap and opens new market opportunities with Europe's industrial "Mittelstand" and Fortune 500 giants. SuperQ transitions from a North American innovator to a global peer.

Engineering the "Quantum Utility" Era

Under the MoU, the collaboration will focus on technical exchange and exploratory activities, including:

• - Independent Technical Assessment: Fraunhofer ITWM will conduct a structured technical evaluation of SuperQ's platform in selected application scenarios. The assessment is intended to identify capabilities and limitations and may catalyze enterprise adoption and provide a competitive moat.
• - Joint Research & Funding Opportunities: The partners plan to explore participation in European and international publicly funded research programs. Such projects, if pursued, would support research and development activities with non-dilutive capital in areas such as energy systems, logistics, and ML.
• - The "Hybrid" Advantage: Unlike pure-play hardware firms, this collaboration focuses on SuperQ's differentiated strategy, which is backed by Fraunhofer ITWM: integrating gate-based quantum, quantum annealing, and classical HPC into a single, seamless workflow.

"This is not just a geographic expansion; it is a validation of our 'One-Click' philosophy by the most respected names in industrial mathematics," said Dr. Muhammad Khan, CEO and Board Chair of SuperQ. "Investors should recognize that we are moving beyond the 'quantum lab' phase. Working with Fraunhofer ITWM allows us to engage with one of Europe's leading applied mathematics institutes in a rigorous and practice-oriented setting turning complex math into executive-ready ROI."

Strategic Integration & Market Impact

Within this collaboration, Fraunhofer ITWM will evaluate the Super platform in terms of performance, scalability, and potential integration into its HPC infrastructure for industry-scale simulation and algorithm acceleration. This ensures that as quantum hardware matures, SuperQ's software remains the indispensable "operating system" for industrial-scale simulation. Together, they aim to develop and evaluate hybrid quantum-classical computing workflows that combine gate-based quantum computing, quantum annealing, and classical high-performance computing to enhance modelling, simulation, and optimization, while jointly identifying application areas - such as logistics, energy, manufacturing, finance, defense-related optimization, or resource exploration.

"Fraunhofer ITWM is dedicated to bringing cutting-edge innovation into industrial practice," stated Dr. Pascal Halffmann, Research Coordinator Quantum Computing at Fraunhofer ITWM. "By coupling our expertise in quantum algorithms and HPC with SuperQ's orchestration technologies, we aim to advance next-generation computing for industrial use cases."