Super.tech Awarded Innovation Grant from the National Science Foundation
CHICAGO, IL, JULY 26TH, 2021—SUPER.TECH LABS INC. has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $256,000 to conduct research and development (R&D) on enabling the next generation of quantum computers for commercial use.
The quantum computing industry is entering an exciting phase of growth and has the potential to solve problems that are currently too large or complex even for supercomputers. Super.tech accelerates that growth, providing the societal and industry benefits sooner than otherwise possible. A pragmatic, interdisciplinary team with strong academic roots, Super.tech takes a unique approach to solving the big problems facing quantum computing.
"NSF is proud to support the technology of the future by thinking beyond incremental developments and funding the most creative, impactful ideas across all markets and areas of science and engineering," said Andrea Belz, Division Director of the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships at NSF. "With the support of our research funds, any deep technology startup or small business can guide basic science into meaningful solutions that address tremendous needs."
"Super.tech is grateful for NSF support," said Pranav Gokhale, Co-founder and CEO of Super.tech. "We are excited for the future of quantum computing, and the NSF SBIR grant will enable us to play a role in accelerating the applications of this technology."
The NSF SBIR grant comes shortly after Duality, the first quantum startup accelerator, announced Super.tech as one of six companies in its initial cohort. Duality provides $50,000 in funding, plus mentorship from other top quantum experts. Gokhale was also recently recognized for devising the top-ranked solution to IBM's SWAP gate challenge. The challenge was one of two problems presented for IBM's Quantum Open Science Prize.
About the National Science Foundation's Small Business Programs: America's Seed Fund powered by NSF awards $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Startups working across almost all areas of science and technology can receive up to $2 million to support research and development (R&D), helping de-risk technology for commercial success. America's Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $8.5 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.
Provided by University of Chicago