Microsoft, in partnership with the State of Maryland and the University of Maryland Enterprise Corporation (UMEC), today announced the opening of a new quantum research center at the University of Maryland’s Discovery District. The initiative aligns with Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s “Capital of Quantum” program and aims to accelerate advances in scalable quantum computing through collaborative innovation among industry, academia, and government.
Microsoft will bring its advanced quantum capabilities to the new center, which is designed as a space for shared research and development of both hardware and software. The center will feature one of the first prototypes of Microsoft’s topological quantum computer and provide access for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and its test and evaluation teams. It will balance proprietary work with cross-industry engagements, reflecting Microsoft’s platform model. The facility will promote joint research, outreach, and ecosystem building at multiple layers of the computing stack.
The state of Maryland has long been recognized as a national hub for quantum research, hosting leading physics programs and federal institutions such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Joint Quantum Institute. Governor Moore’s leadership in launching the “Capital of Quantum” Initiative further reinforces Maryland’s role in quantum innovation. Microsoft will collaborate closely with government agencies, academic institutions, and other quantum technology companies as part of this ecosystem.
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Over the past year, Microsoft has achieved key technical milestones in quantum error correction and qubit design. In partnership with Atom Computing, Microsoft validated essential principles of quantum error correction for both memory and logical computation. The company also demonstrated physics validating a topological qubit design (Majorana 1), a breakthrough that could enable scaling to hundreds of thousands of qubits. Microsoft was selected by DARPA as one of two companies advancing to the final phase of the Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing (US2QC) benchmarking program, where it will build a fault-tolerant prototype based on topological qubits.
“Microsoft’s newest quantum research lab in Maryland’s Discovery District will be a unique, cutting-edge space. It will support collaborative hardware and software development as we work alongside government agencies, academic institutions, and other quantum companies,” said Dr. Charles Tahan, Partner, Microsoft Quantum.
“We are excited and grateful to collaborate with the State of Maryland on this groundbreaking quantum research center. This partnership exemplifies what is possible when state and federal leaders, academia, and industry unite to accelerate U.S. leadership in science and innovation. At Microsoft, we are committed to empowering our partners to build the future so that we can succeed together,” Dr. Tahan added.
The Microsoft Quantum Compute Platform, which can detect and correct errors during computation across multiple types of quantum hardware, will play a central role in this collaboration. By integrating high-performance computing, AI, and quantum technologies, Microsoft aims to provide its partners and customers with ever more capable quantum machines. The new center is expected to further foster environments where innovation scales rapidly.