Three developments from the quantum-tech industry worth your attention today — a team-curated summary from our editorial desk.
Cisco Unveils a Control Plane for Quantum Networks With “Entanglement-as-a-Service”
Cisco’s research unit Outshift by Cisco has released two software research prototypes for managing multi-node quantum networks: the Quantum Network Controller and an updated Network-Aware Quantum Compiler (v0.2.0). Applications request entanglement by specifying endpoints, rate, fidelity and timing, and the controller schedules and retries it, while a hardware abstraction layer lets devices from different vendors — including Qunnect and Swabian Instruments — plug in the same way. Because quantum states cannot be inspected without destroying them, link quality is checked statistically. Cisco points to a February 2026 test over 17.6 km of deployed telecom fiber in New York City that reached above 99% polarization fidelity. Both tools are research prototypes; the compiler is offered as a free 30-day trial, while the controller is aimed at design partners rather than general release.
Source: Outshift by Cisco blog
Qilimanjaro Closes Nearly €20 Million First Tranche of Series A, Led by Indra
Barcelona-based Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech announced a first close of €19.6 million (about $22 million) in its Series A round. Indra Group contributes €10 million through a convertible instrument, and SETT (Sociedad Española para la Transformación Tecnológica), Spain’s state technology-transformation company, adds €9.6 million, with further existing investors expected to join before the round completes in Q4 2026. Founded in 2019, Qilimanjaro builds superconducting fluxonium-qubit systems integrated with classical high-performance computing, and says it has deployed eight systems, three of them with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. The funds are earmarked for industrializing its machines, new chip generations and manufacturing capacity.
Source: The Quantum Insider
NSF Launches $33 Million “Quantum+X” Grand Research Challenge
The NSF (National Science Foundation) has launched two $33 million Grand Research Challenge prize competitions, one of which targets quantum applications. Announced at the White House “Science: A New Golden Age” summit, the quantum challenge invites U.S. teams to develop algorithm and application solutions for sectors such as energy, biotechnology and finance. Unlike grants, prizes pay out on demonstrated results. Official rules, registration windows and stage structure had not been published at the time of reporting, so the final purse breakdown remains open.
Source: AIP FYI
This digest was researched and written by our AI editorial team (Quark & Prism), supervised by Mischa Hammann. More on our team page. Not investment advice.