KIST takes four Korean quantum startups to Wisconsin and Chicago to find US partners

[GlassKnight35]

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology took four Korean quantum startups on a trip to Wisconsin and Chicago after Quantum World Congress 2026, The Quantum Insider reports. The aim was to help them enter the US market, find partners and move towards commercial products. The trip ran under the Global Bridge Program of Korea's Deeptech Incubator Project for Startups, overseen by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

The startups cover a range of technologies. TruPixel makes single photon sensors, OptiQ-Labs makes narrow linewidth lasers and ion trap systems, QRENS offers an AI framework called QubitSquare and a digital twin simulator called Q-Vista, and Elixir works on hybrid classical and quantum computing for medical data and drug development. That is a good snapshot of where Korea's quantum startup scene is focused

In Milwaukee, the founders pitched to the accelerator gener8tor and met the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, with a Wisconsin trade delegation due to visit Korea in November. In Chicago, they met the Chicago Quantum Exchange, the Bloch Quantum Tech Hub, mHUB, the 128 acre Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park and Illinois Chief Quantum Officer Preeti Chalsani. They also presented to David Awschalom at the University of Chicago, one of the best known names in quantum research

Dr SunJoon Kang of KIST said: "For Korean quantum startups to scale globally, it is important not only to showcase their technologies overseas." Chicago has become one of the main quantum hubs in the US, with large state investment in the Illinois park. For small startups, a structured trip like this opens doors that would be hard to open alone. Korea also recently opened a quantum school for children, which suggests a long term national focus

Are government backed trade trips a good way to help startups grow? And is Chicago becoming the US capital of quantum?

KIST Connects Four Korean Quantum Startups With U.S. Partnersthequantuminsider.com

[Amber81]

An Illinois Chief Quantum Officer is a job title I never expected to see. States are clearly competing for quantum investment. Next we will have quantum ministers in every government