SEOUL, South Korea.July 31, 2026 -- Open Quantum Design (OQD), the Canadian-based non-profit building the world's first fully open-source, full-stack trapped-ion quantum computer, today announced that SDT Inc., a leading Korean quantum design-and-manufacturing (QDM) company, has joined OQD as a member. In a parallel agreement, SDT also joins the Preferred Vendor Program of LightFlow, the cloud-based CAD-to-machining platform for free-space optical systems. OQD co-founder and CEO Greg Dick and SDT inc. founder and CEO Jiwon Yune signed the OQD membership agreement in a live ceremony at Quantum Korea 2026 in Seoul, during the Canadian delegation to Korea. 

The agreements connect two national quantum ecosystems that are deliberately complementary. SDT is among the most established commercial quantum manufacturers in Asia, with end-to-end capabilities spanning measurement-and-control electronics, cryogenic systems, precision machining and optical modularization. OQD develops its trapped-ion hardware and software entirely in the open, under an Apache 2.0 licence, so that any nation, institution, or company can build on it. By joining as a member and a preferred vendor, SDT pairs its manufacturing strength with OQD's open architecture — a model in which open and commercial reinforce one another rather than compete. 

"When a manufacturer of SDT's calibre chooses to build with an open stack, it tells you open isn't a compromise — it's the advantage," said Greg Dick, Co-Founder and CEO of Open Quantum Design. "Canada and Korea are showing what's possible when two sovereign quantum programmes connect through open, interoperable standards. We're proud to welcome SDT inc. to the community." 

"Scaling a quantum computer isn't about one more breakthrough experiment; it is a systems engineering problem, solved at the level of ion traps, optical integration, control electronics, and manufacturing, all at once. That's exactly where SDT has built its QDM capability,," said Jiwon Yune, founder and CEO of SDT Inc. "Working with OQD's open architecture lets us apply our full-stack design and manufacturing expertise to a platform the whole community can build on, and to help shape a global quantum supply chain alongside our partners in Canada."  

Under the LightFlow Preferred Vendor Program, SDT becomes a qualified manufacturing partner for free-space optical assemblies designed on the LightFlow platform, shortening the path from optical-system design to precision-machined hardware. The two agreements together position SDT to contribute across the optical and ion-trap hardware that underpin OQD's systems.

 The signing took place at Quantum Korea 2026, one of Asia's principal quantum gatherings, and during the Canadian delegation to Korea — underscoring the deepening Canada–Korea collaboration in quantum technology.