Quantum Chip Foundries and Materials: GlobalFoundries, SkyWater, Silicon-28 and Diamond

Updated 2026-10-11 | 4 min read | QUANTUM (QNT) community

From lab bench to fab

Early quantum processors were hand-built in university cleanrooms. That does not scale. The industry is now moving into commercial semiconductor fabs, which is a quiet but major shift: it is the same step that took classical computing from lab curiosity to everywhere. For why manufacturability decides winners, see why quantum manufacturability matters.

GlobalFoundries launches a quantum unit

On May 21, 2026, GlobalFoundries (GF) announced Quantum Technology Solutions, a business aimed at scaling manufacturing for what it calls utility-scale quantum computing. According to the release, it covers quantum processors across several qubit types (superconducting, trapped ion, photonic, topological and spin), plus cryogenic readout and control chips, advanced packaging and superconducting interconnects. It highlights GF's FDX silicon-on-insulator platform for cryogenic control electronics.

The release says the US Department of Commerce signed a letter of intent to award GF 375 million dollars and would take a strategic equity stake of about 1 percent. A letter of intent is not a completed award. The named customers and partners are Diraq, Equal1, Google Quantum AI, Microsoft Quantum, NVIDIA, PsiQuantum, Quantinuum, and Quantum Motion. That list comes from GF's own press release, so the depth of each relationship is not independently confirmed. The release does not name a specific fab for the quantum work.

SkyWater and the "quantum foundry" idea

SkyWater Technology, which runs a US 200 millimeter foundry, says it fabricates D-Wave's Advantage2 prototype processors, and offers niobium-based superconducting process integrations, photonics structures and a technology-as-a-service model. D-Wave and SkyWater reported in March 2025 that SkyWater-fabricated qubits powered a result published in Science; the supremacy-style claim is D-Wave's and has been debated. A SkyWater executive wrote the company page we read, so treat its statements as self-reported. Reports differ on where PsiQuantum's main production sits today, so we make no claim on that point.

Isotopically pure silicon-28

Natural silicon contains silicon-29, whose nuclear spin disturbs a spin qubit. Silicon-28 has no spin, so qubit chips built on it can hold their quantum states better. ASP Isotopes announced on March 27, 2025 that it had started commercial production of enriched silicon-28 at a facility in Pretoria, South Africa, and reported two supply agreements with US customers, a semiconductor company and an industrial gas company. We did not find a verified production volume in the primary page. Secondary coverage cited a capacity of over 10 kilograms a year at 99.995 percent enrichment, which we could not confirm, so treat it as unverified.

A report in June 2026 said a Tianjin lab under China National Nuclear Corporation announced first independent large-scale production of silicon-28 above 99.99 percent abundance. The source relies on CNNC's own account and Chinese state media, with no independent verification and no volume figure. Before that, the same report says high-purity silicon-28 came mainly from Russian, European and US-linked suppliers. See silicon spin qubits for how the chips use it.

Quantum-grade diamond

Diamond with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers is the heart of many quantum sensors (see NV diamond magnetometers). Element Six, a De Beers Group company, sells CVD-grown DNV series diamond; its DNV-B14 grade, launched in September 2021, was reported to have more than ten times the NV density of its first grade, DNV-B1. We found no current public data on lead times, volumes or prices, so diamond supply depth is a real data gap.

What this tells us

Good news: established foundries are putting money and engineers behind quantum, which lowers cost and raises yield over time.
Caution: most statements here are company or press-release claims, government money is in letter-of-intent form, and rare-material suppliers appear to be few.
Data gap: volumes, yields and prices for quantum wafers are largely not public.

Related reading: quantum picks and shovels and the silicon spin makers compared. This is education, not financial advice. Naming a company here is not a view on any asset, and the QNT memecoin is independent of Quantinuum Ltd, GlobalFoundries, SkyWater and all other firms named.

Sources and further reading

Reported as of 2026-10-09. Supply deals, prices and rules change often, so check the primary documents. Nothing here is financial advice. The QNT memecoin is independent of Quantinuum Ltd, the real company, and of every supplier, lab and government named on this page.

Frequently asked questions

Who makes quantum chips?

A mix of university labs, in-house fabs and commercial foundries. GlobalFoundries launched a quantum business unit on May 21, 2026, and SkyWater says it fabricates D-Wave's Advantage2 prototype processors.

Why do spin qubits need silicon-28?

Natural silicon includes silicon-29, whose nuclear spin disturbs qubits. Silicon-28 has no spin, so it protects quantum states better.

Is the 375 million dollar GlobalFoundries award final?

The release says the US Department of Commerce signed a letter of intent. That is not a completed award, so check for updates.

Keep reading

Why Manufacturability Could Decide the Quantum Race
Why building quantum chips in real factories matters as much as clever physics, with examples from photonic, silicon and other platforms.
Silicon Spin Qubits Explained: Quantum Computing on Chip Factory Lines
How a single electron in silicon becomes a qubit, why that fits existing chip factories, and the main challenges, in plain English.
Quantum's Picks and Shovels: The Companies Behind the Machines
Every quantum computer needs control electronics, cold rooms, error correction and software. Meet the enabling-tech layer that many quantum builders rely on.

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