Microsoft: Why Partnership Is Key to Growing the Quantum Ecosystem
At Quantum World Congress 2025, Microsoft’s Jason Zander (EVP, Strategic Missions & Technologies) and Dr. Charles Tahan (Partner, Microsoft Quantum) announced a major milestone: the launch of a new Quantum Research Center in Maryland’s Discovery District. The center is a collaboration between Microsoft, the State of Maryland, and the University of Maryland Enterprise Corporation (UMEC), aligning with Governor Wes Moore’s Capital of Quantum Initiative to position Maryland as the global epicenter of quantum innovation.
A hub for breakthrough science and public-private collaboration
Click here to read more about the collaboration from Microsoft.
The center will house one of the first prototypes of Microsoft’s topological quantum computer, providing direct access to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and its world-class test and evaluation team. As part of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), Microsoft is one of only two companies selected for the final phase of its US2QC program, tasked with building a fault-tolerant prototype based on topological qubits.
Zander underscored that partnerships are essential for scaling: “No one company can do this alone.” The new facility will be a working lab for Microsoft engineers while also serving as a Partner Integration Center for applied research, co-development, and integration with government, academia, and industry partners.
Accelerating toward fault tolerance
Over the past nine months, Microsoft has unveiled major advances:
The “Majorana One” qubit, translating 1930s theory into working hardware designed to be fast, small, and scalable.
A 4D geometric error-correction code and the roadmap to the world’s largest logical-qubit machine (≥50 logical qubits on ~1,200 physical qubits).
Collaborative demonstrations with Atom Computing, showing Microsoft’s error-correction platform works across modalities, including neutral-atom qubits.
Together, these advances highlight Microsoft’s push toward fault-tolerant, utility-scale quantum computing—and Maryland’s role as the proving ground.
Building a platform for all modalities
Microsoft emphasized its platform ethos: integrating CPUs, GPUs, AI, and quantum in hybrid workflows, while welcoming diverse qubit modalities into its cloud-based stack. This approach ensures that the best ideas from across the ecosystem can scale, accelerating real-world applications in chemistry, materials science, and drug discovery.
By situating this new lab in Maryland’s Discovery District, Microsoft is strengthening a public-private template where state leadership, federal agencies, startups, and academia converge to turn breakthroughs into deployment.
