Quantum World Congress Announces 2026 Platinum Sponsors
As quantum accelerates across markets, national policy, cybersecurity, and commercialization, QWC 2026 will convene the global ecosystem September 23–25 at The Hotel at the University of Maryland in College Park with Classiq, IBM, Infleqtion, IonQ, Microsoft, and Quantinuum Taking Center Stage
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Quantum World Congress today announced Classiq, IBM, Infleqtion, IonQ, Microsoft, and Quantinuum as Platinum Sponsors for Quantum World Congress 2026, taking place September 23–25 at The Hotel at the University of Maryland in College Park.
The announcement lands at a defining moment for the global quantum industry. In recent weeks alone, quantum has moved from technical milestone to market signal to national strategy: Quantinuum entered the public markets, new federal executive actions placed quantum computing and post-quantum cybersecurity squarely at the center of U.S. competitiveness, and major public- and private-sector investments have reinforced what the field already knows: quantum is no longer waiting for permission to matter.
It matters now.
That is the stage Quantum World Congress was built for.
Operated by Connected DMV as part of its Potomac Quantum Innovation Center initiative, Quantum World Congress has become the world’s premier convening for the quantum ecosystem — bringing together leaders across science, industry, government, finance, academia, and workforce development to accelerate the move from breakthrough research to real-world impact.
“Quantum World Congress was created because this region understood something early: quantum would not be built by one company, one university, one agency, or one country alone,” said George Thomas, President and CEO of Connected DMV. “It will take the full ecosystem — researchers, founders, investors, policymakers, national labs, global partners, and the companies willing to build at the edge of what is possible. This year’s Platinum Sponsors represent that full-stack future, and bringing them to College Park is exactly where this moment belongs.”
The 2026 Platinum Sponsor lineup reflects the breadth of the quantum economy now taking shape. Classiq, IBM, Infleqtion, IonQ, Microsoft, and Quantinuum span quantum hardware, software, cloud infrastructure, sensing, networking, applications, security, and commercialization — the layers required to move quantum from laboratory promise to deployed capability.
Five of the six Platinum Sponsors return after helping define the QWC 2025 main stage.
At QWC 2025, alongside Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Microsoft announced a new Quantum Research Center in Maryland’s Discovery District, strengthening the region’s position as a national hub for quantum research, commercialization, and public-private collaboration. IBM’s Jay Gambetta made the case that the field has crossed a critical threshold from quantum devices to quantum computers, with the next race focused on verifiable advantage, reliable systems, and fault tolerance. IonQ President and CEO Niccolo de Masi laid out a future spanning quantum computing, networking, and sensing — anchored by one of College Park’s defining quantum companies. Quantinuum CEO Dr. Rajeeb Hazra shared major progress on the path to fault-tolerant quantum computing and previewed the company’s next-generation Helios system. Infleqtion CEO Matthew Kinsella and CTO Pranav Gokhale showed how neutral atoms are moving from promise to product across computing, sensing, clocks, security, and real-world mission applications.
Classiq joins the Platinum Sponsor lineup for 2026, bringing a critical software perspective at a moment when the field is increasingly focused on turning quantum capability into usable applications, workflows, and enterprise-scale systems.
“Quantum World Congress is not just where people come to talk about the future,” Thomas added. “It is where the future gets organized. The breakthroughs, the partnerships, the policy conversations, the customers, the talent pipeline, the capital, and the commercialization pathways all have to meet somewhere. In 2026, they meet in College Park.”
The move to College Park is intentional.
College Park is not simply hosting Quantum World Congress 2026. It is one of the reasons QWC 2026 matters.
Anchored by the University of Maryland’s world-class quantum research ecosystem and surrounded by the Discovery District, IonQ, Microsoft’s new Quantum Research Center, DARPA’s Capital Quantum Benchmarking Hub, the Quantum Startup Foundry, federal agencies, investors, and emerging companies, College Park represents the full quantum pipeline — from theory to engineering, from lab to launch, from whiteboard to world.
It is a living quantum testbed.
It is where breakthrough research meets market demand. Where federal priorities meet commercial ambition. Where startups, global technology leaders, academic institutions, and public-sector partners are building the next generation of quantum capability in real time.
Quantum World Congress 2025 demonstrated the scale of that momentum. Held during the International Year of Quantum, QWC 2025 brought together participants from more than 30 countries and 33 U.S. states, representing more than 500 organizations. The program featured more than 130 sessions, more than 300 speakers, 11 national quantum updates from around the world, the Quantum Startup Pitch Competition, the Global Industry Challenge, and the Quantum Leadership Awards.
The 2026 program will build on that foundation with three days of mainstage keynotes, industry announcements, international programming, investor and startup engagement, policy and security conversations, workforce development, and partnership-building across the global quantum ecosystem.
Early Bird Registration for Quantum World Congress 2026 is open now.
Secure your seat at quantumworldcongress.com.
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ABOUT QUANTUM WORLD CONGRESS
Quantum World Congress is the premier global convening where leaders across science, industry, government, finance, and education come together to shape the future of quantum technology. Since 2022, QWC has served as an international platform for unveiling breakthroughs, accelerating commercialization, and forging the partnerships that move quantum from the lab into the real world. Anchored in the Greater Washington region, Quantum World Congress connects research with reality — bringing the global quantum ecosystem together at a moment when the stakes, and the opportunities, have never been higher. Learn more at quantumworldcongress.com.
ABOUT CONNECTED DMV
Connected DMV unites Greater Washington’s unmatched assets—talent, innovation, influence—to build the industries, infrastructure, and partnerships that will define the next economy. We work across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia because the future doesn’t stop at jurisdictional boundaries, and neither do we.
We bring together government, business, academia, and community leaders to launch high-impact initiatives that cut through silos, accelerate innovation, and position Greater Washington as a global leader in the markets that matter most. We don’t just respond to change—we drive it. Learn more at connecteddmv.org.