Alice & Bob (company)
| Company type | Privately Held Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Quantum computing |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Théau Peronnin, CEO; Raphaël Lescanne, CTO |
Number of employees | 110 |
| Website | www |
Alice & Bob is a quantum computing company based in Paris and Boston.[1][2] The company is known for its cat qubit quantum architecture and its work in quantum error correction.[1][3]
History
Alice & Bob was spun out of a federation of French research labs by Théau Peronnin and Raphaël Lescanne.[4] While pursuing his PhD in physics, Peronnin was part of the quantum-electronics group at École normale supérieure, building the academic foundations for quantum computers. Meanwhile, Lescanne published a paper on exponential suppression of bit-flips in a qubit encoded in an oscillator.[5] Together, Peronnin and Lescanne co-founded Alice & Bob in 2020 to continue this work.[6][7]
Since then, the company has raised more than $134 million in funding to develop fault-tolerant quantum computers based on cat qubits.[1][8]
In 2023, Alice & Bob opened a subsidiary in Boston to facilitate the company's expansion.[9]
The following year, the company was selected for France's $548 million PROQCIMA initiative, a key component of the nation’s National Strategy for Quantum.[10]
In 2025, Alice & Bob announced plans to build a $50 million advanced quantum computing laboratory in Paris to support product development and testing.[11]
Later that year, DARPA selected the company to join its Quantum Benchmarking initiative, a project focused on identifying which approaches can deliver an industrially useful quantum computer. [12]
Technology
Alice & Bob's architecture is based on cat qubits, named after Schrödinger's cat thought experiment.[13]
Cat qubits are designed to exponentially reduce bit-flip errors, thereby reducing the resources required for error correction.[3][13]
Alice & Bob uses a two-photon injection scheme to maintain the system energy level and protect against decoherence. This results in exponential protection against bit flips and a reduction in chip area required for implementation.[14]
By improving hardware efficiency with built-in error correction, Alice & Bob plans to develop a 100 logical qubit device by 2030 using this cat qubit approach.[13][15]
References
- ^ a b c Lunden, Ingrid (28 Jan 2025). "Alice & Bob raises $104M, says quantum computers based on cat qubits will be ready by 2030". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Paleja, Ameya (12 Mar 2025). "Alice & Bob's quantum cat gets a squeeze as errors shrink 160x without a meow". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ a b Allison, Peter Ray (21 Apr 2025). "Schrödinger's cat-inspired quantum computing now 160 times more reliable thanks to new discovery". Live Science. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Corvin, Ann-Marie (30 Mar 2022). "Quantum of Alice (and Bob)". TechInformed. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Lescanne, Raphaël (16 Mar 2020). "Exponential suppression of bit-flips in a qubit encoded in an oscillator". Nature Physics. 16: 509–513. arXiv:1907.11729. doi:10.1038/s41567-020-0824-x. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Soller, Henning (29 Feb 2024). "Blocking out the noise: An interview with a quantum computing expert". McKinsey. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Leprince-Ringuet, Daphné (28 Jan 2025). "Quantum computing startup Alice & Bob raises €100m Series B to double down on R&D and open new production site". Sifted. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Lunden, Ingrid (9 Mar 2022). "Alice&Bob, a quantum computing startup, raises $30M to launch its first fault-tolerant 'cat qubit' computers in 2023". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Leprince-Ringuet, Daphné (28 Jan 2025). "Tech sovereignty is bad for exits - Alice & Bob's founder on quantum, IPOs and competing with big tech". Sifted. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Riley, Duncan (13 Mar 2024). "Alice & Bob selected for France's PROQCIMA $548M quantum computing initiative". SiliconANGLE. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Scheer, Steven (8 May 2025). "Alice & Bob to build Paris lab for quantum computing". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Luckenbaugh, Josh (28 May 2025). "DARPA Investigating Which Quantum Computers Can Go the Distance". National Defense. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ a b c Allison, Peter Ray (3 Jan 2025). "Qubits inspired by 'Schrödinger's cat' thought experiment could usher in powerful quantum computers by 2030". Live Science. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Russell, John (1 Aug 2023). "What is a Cat Qubit and Why Should You Care? Ask Alice & Bob". HPCwire. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Roundy, Jacob (28 Mar 2025). "12 companies building quantum computers". Tech Target. Retrieved 2025-08-05.