美国向Anderon拨款10亿美元用于量子晶圆制造

Anderon, IBM’s new quantum chip foundry, announced this week that it will receive a $1 billion CHIPS Act award from the U.S. Department of Commerce to accelerate U.S. quantum wafer production. The timing of the investment comes as quantum computing transitions from lab experiments toward production scale, one analyst told EE Times.

Headquartered in Albany, New York, Anderon makes 300-mm quantum wafers for parent IBM and other customers that the company declined to identify. Late last year, IBM said it is in a dead heat with Google to win the quantum advantage race within months. IBM expects to release its Starling quantum computer to customers in 2029.

“IBM’s quantum roadmap requires a manufacturing foundation that can scale at the pace our work demands,” Jay Gambetta, director of IBM Research, said in the announcement. “Anderon’s focus on wafer fabrication gives us exactly that and strengthens our ability to execute and accelerate progress toward the next era of quantum computing.”

In the near term, quantum computing promises to aid in discoveries of advanced materials and chemicals that have been beyond the reach of existing computing power. Other quantum technologies such as sensing are gaining traction.

By RAMXEED 09.16.2026

By Analog Devices 09.15.2026

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Anderon joins companies such as SkyWater and GlobalFoundries entering the quantum foundry business. SkyWater’s quantum chip customers include IonQ, Qolab, and PsiQuantum. IonQ completed its acquisition of SkyWater in July. GlobalFoundries customers include PsiQuantum, Quantinuum, and Diraq.

Since the beginning of 2026, there have been multiple acquisitions and funding announcements involving quantum foundries with different manufacturing approaches worldwide. They include Anderon, GlobalFoundries, SkyWater, Quantum Computing, and Quantum Foundry Copenhagen, Heather West, IDC’s quantum research lead, told EE Times.

“That diversity is important because quantum chip manufacturing is not simply a matter of moving a quantum design into a conventional semiconductor fab,” West said. “Quantum devices can require specialized process flows, materials, metrology, packaging, and yield optimization that a traditional semiconductor foundry may not have developed. At the same time, quantum has long R&D cycles and relatively low volumes, which makes it difficult for any single manufacturing model to serve the entire market efficiently.”

West’s comments hint at why the top semiconductor foundries such as TSMC and Samsung have not jumped into the quantum business.

Canadian quantum chip designer Xanadu is an example of the complexities of manufacturing.

Xanadu uses Taiwanese chip foundry UMC to make thin-film lithium niobate for its quantum processing units as well as other undisclosed foundries to make III-V semiconductors that Xanadu is assembling in Canada, Xanadu COO Rafal Janik told EE Times.

Winning customers

Anderon said it is starting to attract customers.

“Anderon is actively engaging with potential customers across the quantum ecosystem, including fabless processor developers, full system builders, national laboratories and programs, and more,” newly appointed Anderon CEO Mukesh Khare told EE Times. “We believe there is strong demand for a dedicated, U.S.-based quantum wafer foundry and are excited by the interest we’ve seen across the industry.”

Mukesh Khare, GM and VP at IBM

Anderon offers specialized wafers supporting high-performance superconducting qubit arrays, quantum input/output signaling, and readout signal chain components, which support a range of quantum architectures, Khare added. The company plans to expand to other quantum chip modalities such as spin qubits, he noted.

While IBM has chosen superconducting qubits as the basis for its quantum computers, rivals are betting on alternatives such as quantum dots, carbon vacancies, or trapped ions to create qubits.

“I would characterize the award as backing the development of a U.S. quantum manufacturing capability rather than making a government bet on IBM’s particular quantum architecture,” West said. “The fact that Anderon is structured as a pure-play foundry and intends to serve the broader quantum ecosystem is important here.”

Quantum computing is reaching a point where improvements in the underlying technology increasingly depend on manufacturing scale, process control, and supply chain access, West said.

“The U.S. is trying to establish domestic capacity in strategically important semiconductor technologies,” West added. “Investing now gives the ecosystem time to develop manufacturing capabilities before demand for large-scale quantum systems becomes significant.”

Quantum chipmakers are likely to increasingly rely on external foundries as the industry moves from research prototypes toward higher-volume production, according to IDC.

“Quantum companies need confidence that their intellectual property and process know-how are protected, while also relying on the foundry for process consistency, yield, and dependable access to capacity,” West said. “As quantum systems scale, that combination of technical capability, manufacturing reliability, and trust will make foundry relationships increasingly strategic.”

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