Scaling Quantum Hardware Like Semiconductors with Matthijs Rijlaarsdam

Scaling Quantum Hardware Like Semiconductors with Matthijs Rijlaarsdam

The quantum computing industry has been stuck at roughly 100 qubits for years — not because of physics, but because of wiring. Matthijs Rijlaarsdam, co-founder and CEO of QuantWare, explains how his company's 3D vertical chip architecture (VIO) could break through that ceiling to 10,000 qubits by 2028, and why the quantum industry needs to start thinking like the semiconductor industry if it wants to actually deliver on its promises.

Episode Summary

This conversation is for anyone trying to understand why quantum computers haven't scaled as fast as promised — and what it would take to change that. Matthijs brings an unusual perspective as a computer scientist (not a physicist) who co-founded QuantWare out of TU Delft's QuTech to become the world's first commercial supplier of superconducting quantum processors.

Rather than building a full quantum computer, QuantWare sells QPUs as components — the "TSMC of quantum." In this episode, Matthijs walks through the VIO architecture that routes signals vertically through stacked chiplets instead of along chip edges, why specialization and volume economics are the only realistic path to useful quantum computing, and how the Dutch quantum ecosystem punches far above its weight thanks to consistent long-term investment.

What You'll Learn

• Why the quantum industry is stuck at ~100 qubits — and how 90% of current chip area is consumed by signal routing, not qubits, creating a fundamental scaling wall
• How VIO's 3D chiplet architecture breaks the wiring bottleneck by routing signals vertically through stacked silicon modules, enabling 10,000-qubit processors that are physically smaller than today's 100-qubit chips
• Why quantum computing will be heterogeneous — different platforms (superconducting, trapped ions, neutral atoms) have different trade-offs analogous to CPUs vs. memory vs. storage in classical computing
• The economics that make specialization inevitable — why cable costs need to drop from EUR 1,500 per line to cents, and why volume manufacturing is the only way to get there
• How QuantWare's three business models mirror the semiconductor industry — selling packaged QPUs (Intel model), foundry services (TSMC model), and packaging services for third-party chips
• Why the Dutch quantum ecosystem succeeds — consistent decade-plus government investment in QuTech, EUR 600M+ to Quantum Delta NL, and the WENEC report recommending EUR 9.4 billion for quantum infrastructure
• What "Quantum Open Architecture" means in practice — how making QPUs commercially available lowers barriers for the entire industry, similar to how standardized PC components enabled the computing revolution
• QuantWare's roadmap: VIO-40K shipping in 2028 with up to 10,000 qubits, and a path to 1 million qubits using arrays of chiplet modules

Resources & Links

Company

• QuantWare — world's first and largest commercial supplier of superconducting quantum processors
• VIO Technology — QuantWare's 3D vertical integration and optimization architecture
• VIO-40K announcement — press release on the 10,000-qubit scaling breakthrough

Coverage & Analysis

• PostQuantum: QuantWare's 10,000-qubit chip — a real scaling bet — the most balanced independent analysis of VIO-40K's claims and limitations
• TechCrunch: Dutch startup QuantWare seeks to fast-track quantum computing — Series A coverage
• NextBigFuture: QuantWare 10K qubits in 2028 and 1 million in 2029 — Q2B keynote reporting

Partnerships Mentioned

• Quantum Utility Block (QUB) with Q-CTRL and Qblox — turnkey quantum computer kit
• Elevate Quantum Q-PAC in Colorado — first US Quantum Open Architecture system

Ecosystem & Policy

• QuantWare 2026 industry predictions — QuantWare's view on entering the kiloqubit era
• QuTech — TU Delft quantum research institute where both QuantWare co-founders did their graduate work
• Quantum Delta NL — Dutch national quantum technology program (EUR 600M+)
• DARPA HARK program — Heterogeneous Accelerated Roadmap using Quantum Solutions; referenced by Matthijs as validation of the heterogeneous quantum computing thesis

Key Insights

"There is no path towards useful quantum computing without specialization. That is a total fantasy." — Matthijs Rijlaarsdam on why volume economics and the semiconductor model are inevitable for quantum

"The difference between EUR 1,500 and 10 cents per cable line — that's all volumes and yields." — on how manufacturing scale, not physics breakthroughs, will drive the next phase of quantum cost reduction

"If you look at it on a cost-per-qubit basis, VIO-40K at EUR 50 million is actually a 10x reduction from where we are today. Anyone claiming they'll do it for less is just not telling something realistic." — on the real economics of scaling quantum hardware

"Imagine if you were a company today and you wanted to do interesting stuff in AI, but you first had to develop a three nanometer process to make the chips. It would be completely ridiculous. And in quantum, that's what everyone is doing." — on why vertical integration won't survive at scale

"Good companies will get funded. We have in general not been restricted by access to capital ourselves." — on navigating European deep-tech venture capital

Related Episodes

• Ep 41: Dual-rail superconducting qubits with Rob Schoelkopf — deep dive into superconducting qubit architectures and scaling approaches
• Ep 48: Qolab Emerges from Stealth Mode with John Martinis — another vision for scaling superconducting qubits to millions, from a different architectural angle
• Ep 59: Silicon Spin Qubits with Andrew Dzurak from D...