Alice & Bob joins Europe’s first doctoral network for quantum error correction

Alice & Bob is joining QuBriC, Europe’s first Marie Skłodowska-Curie doctoral network focused on quantum error correction, as part of a 48-month effort backed by €4.6 million to train 15 PhD researchers. The program aims to close a skills gap in the field by spanning theory, algorithms and hardware implementation.

Why it matters: - Quantum error correction is a core requirement for scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computers. - QuBriC is designed to train researchers across the full stack, addressing a workforce gap in a field where expertise is often split between classical coding theory and quantum physics. - Alice & Bob gains access to specialized talent and an academic network aligned with fault-tolerant quantum computing.

What happened: - Alice & Bob is contributing cat-qubit error-correction expertise to QuBriC, Europe’s first Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network dedicated to quantum error correction. - QuBriC will recruit and train 15 doctoral researchers across Europe. - The network includes 16 universities and seven quantum companies, including ETH Zürich, TU Delft, UCL, INRIA, Riverlane and IQM. - Horizon Europe’s MSCA programme is funding the network with €4.6 million over 48 months.

The details: - QuBriC stands for Bridging Quantum and Classical Error Correction for Scalable Fault-tolerant Quantum Computing. - The network will train researchers in theory, algorithms and hardware implementation. - Alice & Bob will help shape the network’s research and training as an industry partner. - Alice & Bob specializes in cat qubits, a technology developed by the company’s founders. - The company says its cat architecture can reduce hardware requirements for a useful large-scale quantum computer by up to 200 times versus competing approaches. - Alice & Bob is based in Paris and Boston, was founded in 2020, has raised €180 million and employs more than 250 people. - The MSCA programme has supported more than 150,000 researchers, including 23 Nobel Prize winners, over the past 30 years. - MSCA Doctoral Networks fund international consortia of universities, research organizations and industry partners to jointly recruit, train and supervise PhD researchers.

Between the lines: - The partnership reflects how quantum computing progress now depends as much on talent pipelines as on hardware advances. - By putting universities and companies in the same training network, QuBriC is trying to move PhD research closer to real-world fault-tolerant systems. - Alice & Bob’s role suggests the company wants to influence the broader ecosystem around cat-qubit-based error correction, not just its own product roadmap.

What’s next: - The doctoral network will run for 48 months while partners recruit and train the 15 researchers. - Doctoral candidates will work across academic and industrial environments and gain technical and transferable skills for quantum computing challenges. - QuBriC is expected to help build a new cohort of researchers who can work across the quantum error correction stack.