Credit: Zapata Zapata Quantum, a Boston quantum software company, has joined the IBM Quantum Network, it said on Tuesday. It will use IBM’s machines to build software for its clients. Zapata does not make quantum hardware. Instead, it helps organisations figure out which problems quantum computers can solve, then creates the software to do that.
It says hardware is improving faster than the software that uses it. “The rapid progress IBM is making on the path to fault-tolerant quantum computing brings the quantum application gap into sharper focus,” said Sumit Kapur, Zapata’s chief executive. IBM aims to deliver its first fault-tolerant quantum computer, one that can correct its own errors, by 2029. Jonny Olson, Zapata’s co-founder and vice-president of strategy, said IBM’s superconducting machines appeal to customers because they run fast. “Joining the IBM Quantum Network lets us better identify valuable opportunities for organizations that need the fastest systems, and then prepare those organizations for the precise moment that quantum gives them real ROI,” said Jonny Olson. The two companies have worked together before.
In a 2025 Nature Biotechnology study, Zapata ran part of its work on IBM hardware and found possible drug candidates aimed at KRAS, a protein linked to several cancers. Scientists from both firms also co-wrote a paper on using a quantum chip to factor numbers. What Zapata learns will feed into Quantum Pilot, a tool that helps firms pick and build the right projects. It is built to run on any maker’s hardware.
The deal comes a year after Zapata’s comeback. The firm, which spun out of Harvard in 2017, re-emerged in September 2025 after a bankruptcy restructuring and now trades on the OTCQB market in the US. Also tagged with
Leave a Reply