Easily Control Quantum Experiments Using Software

The startup Atomiq One aims to boost the development of quantum technologies. Christian Hölzl, a postdoc at the University of Stuttgart, and his co-founders from the Universities of Kaiserslautern and Hamburg are developing user-friendly software that makes it easier to operate complex quantum systems without in-depth IT expertise.

Quantum technologies are considered one of the key technologies of the future. Before they can be used in communications technologies, high-performance computers, medicine, energy, or mobility, they must go through many stages of development, such as experiments. However, a lack of expertise and setups that are often user-unfriendly make getting started with quantum experiments extremely difficult.

This is exactly where the startup Atomiq One comes in. “Quantum experiments are becoming increasingly complex to set up, operate, and maintain. We wanted to create a solution that would give research and development teams more time for the actual science or innovation and less on technical details,” explains Dr. Christian Hölzl of the University of Stuttgart, one of the three founders.

User-friendly software simplifies complex quantum experimentsTogether with his research colleagues Suthep Pomjaksilp and Thomas Niederprüm from the Universities of Kaiserslautern and Hamburg, Christian Hölzl founded the start-up Atomiq One in April 2026. The idea: software that allows complex quantum experiments to be controlled without in-depth IT expertise. This makes it significantly easier to collect and process measurement data and to carry out complex steps, such as manipulating qubits. The software provides interfaces through which software programs or other external applications for analysis, automation, or control can be easily integrated.

Software supports interdisciplinary teams
The software clearly separates the technical hardware configuration from the actual experimental logic. This allows even less specialized users to become productive more quickly and, in particular, to benefit from the improved scalability and reproducibility of experiments. This opens up new possibilities, especially in interdisciplinary research teams—such as those at the intersection of physics, computer science, and engineering.

The start-up is part of a growing quantum ecosystem in Germany and Europe. “Europe has enormous potential in the field of quantum technology. Atomiq One is helping to translate this potential into concrete applications more quickly,” says Tilman Pfau, director of the 5th Institute of Physics at the University of Stuttgart and doctoral supervisor to founder Hölzl.

The core software is already available and has been set up as an open-source project, allowing it to be continuously developed and adapted to new requirements. Looking ahead to the coming months, the founders plan to further expand their user community and develop complementary hardware solutions. At the same time, they aim to pursue collaborations with research groups and companies to test and optimize technical solutions in practice and to secure funding. Atomiq One received valuable support with networking and organizational advice on building a business from the Technology Transfer Initiative (TTI GmbH) [de] at the University of Stuttgart as well as from NXTGN, the Startup Factory in Baden-Württemberg.

About Atomiq One
Atomiq One is a spin-off from the Universities of Stuttgart, Kaiserslautern, and Hamburg that focuses on software solutions for quantum experiments. The company’s goal is to simplify the control of complex quantum hardware, thereby accelerating research and development in the field of quantum computing and technology.

Atomiq One builds on the founders’ research conducted as part of several projects funded by the Federal Ministry of Education, Technology, and Space (BMFTR): “The Quantum Länd” at the University of Stuttgart, which includes the projects “Rydberg Quantum Computer Demonstrator” ( QRydDemo) and “Circular Rydberg Atom Quantum Simulator” ( CiRQus ), as well as the project “Quantum Optimizer ,” in which the University of Hamburg and the RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau, among others, are participating.