Quantum Control Systems: Quantum Machines and Zurich Instruments

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

The orchestra conductor of a quantum computer

Imagine a qubit as a tiny instrument that must be played with split second timing. Superconducting qubits, for instance, are driven by microwave pulses lasting nanoseconds. Something has to create those pulses, send them down cables into the cold, listen to the faint reply and decide what to do next, all fast enough that the qubit has not lost its state. That something is the control system. It is the conductor, and it sits between your software and the physics.

Control gets harder as machines grow. A few qubits can be run from lab instruments. Thousands of qubits need compact, fast, programmable electronics, plus the ability to react in real time, which is essential for error correction. Our page on how a program runs shows where control sits in the chain.

Quantum Machines

Quantum Machines, an Israeli company, sells control systems it calls a quantum orchestration platform. Its reported funding history: a 17.5 million dollar Series A on March 19, 2020, a 50 million dollar Series B in September 2021, and a 170 million dollar Series C announced around February 25, 2025.

The Series C was reported to be led by PSG Equity, with Intel Capital, Red Dot Capital Partners and existing investors, and total funding of about 280 million dollars. The company described the round as oversubscribed, did not disclose its valuation, and said it would use the money toward machines with tens of thousands of qubits. Its announcement headline said its customer base exceeds half of the companies developing quantum computers. That is the company's own claim.

The product to know is the OPX1000, launched in August 2023 and described by the company as an ultra high speed quantum controller built for large systems, with design aims beyond 1,000 qubits. Its core idea is a pulse processing unit that brings classical logic and control flow right into the control loop, so decisions are made in real time rather than waiting for a distant computer. A microwave module is sold as a front end add on.

Zurich Instruments

Zurich Instruments is a Swiss maker of precision test and measurement equipment that has moved into quantum control. Its Quantum Computing Control System (QCCS) is built from modules. The SHFQC+ is a single instrument that combines a signal generator and a readout analyzer for superconducting qubits, with up to six signal generator channels depending on version and one readout channel.

According to the product page, it can control up to six superconducting qubits, and it also supports spin qubit systems paired with superconducting resonators. It reads out up to 8 qubits in parallel, extendable to 16 with an option. It is programmed through LabOne Q, a Python based framework, and a GUI. Inside a larger QCCS, the company says it enables fast local and global feedback for error correction protocols at 100 qubits and beyond.

When the SHF+ line was announced in 2024, the company reported a 10 dB improvement in signal to noise ratio, which it links to fewer thermal errors. That is a vendor figure, and no independent benchmarks turned up in our research.

Why control is a strategic layer

• It is hardware specific but not qubit loyal. One control company can serve superconducting, spin, neutral atom and other labs, so its market is wide.
• It is a wiring and cost problem. Today's setups use many cables per qubit. Denser electronics help lower cost and heat. See cryogenics for why cable count matters.
• It enables real time error correction. Decoders, like those in the Riverlane guide, need to plug into the control loop.

Honest caveats

Both firms are private, and the figures above come from company announcements and trade press. Control system choices are sticky: once a lab builds its software around one platform, switching costs time. Competition also exists from in house designs at the large players, and from other control specialists. Open questions remain about how much of this layer will be bought versus built as machines scale.

For a wider view, read the picks and shovels overview. This is education, not financial advice, and neither company is linked to the QNT memecoin.

Sources and further reading

• The Quantum Insider: Quantum Machines raises 170 million dollars (Feb 25, 2025)
• Quantum Machines: 17.5 million dollar Series A
• Quantum Machines: 50 million dollar Series B
• Zurich Instruments: SHFQC+ product page
• In Compliance: Zurich Instruments SHF+ line

Reported as of 2026-10-09. Funding figures and performance numbers are company statements or press coverage, not audited facts. Educational overview only, not financial advice. The QNT memecoin is an independent community project and is not connected to any company named here, including Quantinuum Ltd.

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• Quantum's Picks and Shovels: The Companies Behind the Machines
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• Superconducting Qubits Explained in Depth
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• Quantum Error Correction Explained
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