Google has acquired Atlantic Quantum, a MIT spin-off, in a strategic move to advance its ambitious quantum computing roadmap. The Atlantic Quantum team will join Google Quantum AI, bringing specialized hardware expertise to tackle one of the field’s biggest challenges: scaling from today’s hundred-qubit processors to the million-qubit machines required for fault-tolerant quantum computing.

Founded by MIT researchers, Atlantic Quantum develops modular, highly integrated quantum computing hardware. Its core innovation, a modular chip stack combining qubits and superconducting control electronics within the cryogenic stage; moves complex control wiring directly onto the chip. This integration reduces system complexity, noise, and failure points, addressing the notorious “wiring nightmare” associated with controlling thousands of qubits.

The acquisition reflects Google’s bet on modular hardware architecture to overcome system-level engineering challenges. With a public six-milestone roadmap, Google aims to scale from 10² physical qubits to 10⁶, a ten-thousand-fold increase. Atlantic Quantum’s technology is expected to make this leap feasible, enabling the design of large-scale, coherent quantum processors.

This move highlights the growing importance of systems engineering and hardware integration in the quantum race, signaling a maturation in efforts to build quantum computers capable of solving problems beyond classical capabilities.