Thought Leadership
Quantum computing is making steady progress, but its long-term success may depend on a factor more commonly associated with the conventional semiconductor industry: high-volume industrial manufacturing supported by the right processes, packaging, and CryoCMOS solutions.
The User-Side Challenge
In recent years, quantum computing has been defined largely by spectacular laboratory demonstrations: new qubit types, record-breaking qubit counts, and increasingly complex experimental setups. These advances are important for research and prototyping. But for IT decision-makers looking at concrete use cases, they create a new challenge: Most systems are highly customized, difficult to reproduce, and barely available at scale.
This is where the industry’s focus is now shifting. The question is no longer just how to build one-off experiments, but how to manufacture quantum processors and their control and readout electronics using established CMOS processes and 300 mm wafers. Only when QPUs, CryoCMOS ICs, and packaging solutions can be standardized and manufactured at scale will quantum computing become a predictable infrastructure proposition, comparable to other high-performance computing resources.
Business Value for Users
For enterprise users, the value of quantum computing will not come from physical performance alone. It will depend on combining that performance with the ability to manufacture systems at industrial scale. This represents a shift from “experiments” to “systems,” where reliability, scalability, and manufacturability become critical.
High-volume manufacturing can deliver three key business benefits:
- A predictable hardware roadmap: Dedicated units such as GF’s Quantum Technology Solutions are designed to provide complete hardware stacks spanning the QPU, CryoCMOS, and packaging across multiple generations.
- Economies of scale and lower costs: High-volume production on existing manufacturing lines, such as the 22FDX platform, can reduce unit costs while enabling industrial-grade quality control.
- A stronger ecosystem and supply chain: Partnerships with quantum startups and security specialists such as Quantum Motion and SEALSQ are helping build an interconnected stack spanning QPUs, control chips, and post-quantum cryptography.
From Prototype to Platform
The “Bloomsbury” chip from Quantum Motion illustrates the potential of industrial manufacturing. The chip is manufactured on GF’s 22FDX platform and integrates 1,024 quantum dots into an area of less than 0.1 mm². It can be characterized in just a few minutes, roughly two orders of magnitude faster than previously possible. The underlying message is clear: When quantum structures can be produced on established manufacturing lines, entirely new approaches to scaling and testing become possible.
At the same time, research programs such as QSolid are developing cryogenic platforms specifically designed to operate quantum hardware at extremely low temperatures. These platforms combine the advantages of FD-SOI technology, including a broad operating temperature range and energy efficiency, with quantum-specific requirements such as low noise and high-density integration. The result is not simply a collection of individual chips. Over the long term, such approaches could create scalable quantum platforms that can be integrated into conventional HPC stacks.
CryoCMOS and Packaging as Key Technologies
Another critical technology is CryoCMOS, referring to CMOS circuits designed to operate at temperatures of just a few kelvin. This electronics layer is essential because it can provide control and readout signals close to the qubits, drastically reducing the number of connections and interfaces required to room-temperature electronics. Packaging is another key consideration. Future quantum solutions will rely on 3D heterogeneous integration, including superconducting interconnects that link the QPU, CryoCMOS ICs, and potentially additional accelerator chips into a single system.
This packaging will help determine how many qubits can be practically addressed, what bandwidths are available, and how stable systems can remain during continuous operation. For users, this could lead to a new generation of “quantum systems” that behave more like conventional servers or appliances than laboratory setups.
Costs, Benefits, and Risks
One part of the equation is that quantum computing will initially create additional costs. These can include cryogenic infrastructure, specialized QPUs and control chips, and integration with existing IT environments. At the same time, these investments could pay off if quantum resources can solve clearly defined problems faster or more accurately, for example in optimization, cryptography, or simulation.
The key risk is investing in hardware stacks that never move beyond the prototype stage. GF’s current developments, including the Bloomsbury chip, the QSolid platform, and Quantum Technology Solutions, address this risk by combining industrially proven processes with long-term roadmaps and partnerships across the technology stack. Companies should therefore look beyond qubit performance when evaluating quantum partners. Manufacturing capacity, packaging strategies, and the strength of the broader ecosystem are equally important considerations.
The Outlook: Quantum Computing Becomes an Industry
The current shift should be understood as a transition from a science-driven field to an industry shaped by platforms, supply chains, and partnerships. The next phase of quantum computing will therefore be defined less by individual performance records and more by what can actually be built, delivered, and continuously developed over many years.
For IT and technology decision-makers, this means viewing quantum computing through the lens of industrialization and manufacturing. Understanding how companies develop their Quantum Technology Solutions, CryoCMOS ecosystems, and partnerships can provide a better basis for assessing when quantum resources will become a regular component of HPC strategies and security architectures.
