EIC Venture Building and SuperGate: DSQM’s bid to commercialise a superconducting switch

The EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme exists to help projects funded by the European Innovation Council move from research to market. One such project, SuperGate, used the programme to spin off a company called DSQM in 2024. DSQM is led by Claudio Puglia, a former researcher at the Italian National Research Council who has become CEO of the new spin-off. The company says it is commercialising superconducting electronics developed in the SuperGate and SPECTRUM projects to address scalability and energy efficiency challenges in both quantum and classical high performance computing.

DSQM, its mission and the core technology

DSQM positions itself as a bridge between laboratory superconducting research and commercial computing systems. The company describes its mission as improving performance and energy efficiency in classical and quantum computing by building ultra-fast superconducting components. That ambition draws on EU-funded research outputs from SuperGate and SPECTRUM and targets two distinct but related markets. In the near term DSQM is addressing practical bottlenecks in quantum processors. Over the longer term the company projects that superconducting digital logic could enable much higher clock frequencies for classical CPUs.

A short technical primer helps to assess these claims. Superconducting electronics operate with negligible electrical resistance at cryogenic temperatures and can implement logic using Josephson junctions and related devices. They offer low switching energy and potentially very high clock rates. That potential makes them attractive both for interfacing to superconducting quantum processors and for novel classical processors. But there are major technical challenges. Fabrication of superconducting circuits requires specialised process flows. Integration with room temperature CMOS and cryogenic memory remains difficult. Cryogenic refrigeration and system level design also impose cost and complexity that customers in data centres and quantum labs treat cautiously.

What the EIC Venture Building Programme provided

SuperGate joined the EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme in March 2024. The programme guided the project through three main phases. These were Tech Demo Days, an Opportunities Exploration phase, and a Venture Support Services phase. According to DSQM’s CEO, the support combined technical feedback from experts with help on business and legal preparations that academic teams often lack.

Claims on impact and a cautious assessment

DSQM makes two headline claims. The first is an approximately 90 percent reduction in cabling and building costs for quantum systems that adopt QUEST. The second is a potential 100-fold increase in clock frequency for classical electronics if fully superconducting CPUs become practical. Both claims point to real opportunities but also require qualification.

Beyond the technical questions, there are commercial hurdles. Quantum and HPC customers have long procurement cycles. Adoption will depend on demonstrator systems, reliability data and integration with existing toolchains. Supply chain readiness for superconducting materials and cryogenic packaging will also matter. DSQM’s next steps therefore hinge on strong pilot partners and demonstrable performance metrics.

Concrete milestones, timeline and next steps

During the programme DSQM completed legal foundations and prepared for product development. The company told the EIC that its plan is to finish the first product by the end of 2024, run pilots in early 2025 and aim for a market launch by the end of 2025. Those timelines are aggressive for hardware deep tech, but not impossible if the first product is a narrowly defined module for a well chosen partner.

DSQM credits the EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme with being Insightful, transformative and empowering. The company singled out IP and legal affairs support and market intelligence as the most valuable resources it received. From the perspective of the EU innovation ecosystem, such nontechnical support is often decisive in moving a technology beyond the lab.

Risks, recommendations and what to watch

DSQM’s technical and commercial ambitions are aligned with strategic EU priorities on sovereign capabilities in quantum and next generation computing. That alignment is helpful for attracting public and private support. Still, observers and potential customers should watch three areas closely. First, technical validation on relevant system level metrics such as signal fidelity, thermal load and reliability. Second, integration and interoperability with existing quantum control stacks and HPC data centre environments. Third, supply chain and manufacturing readiness that can scale beyond lab runs.

Finally, a note on the programme that supported DSQM. The EIC Tech to Market offerings can fill gaps in business and legal knowledge for research teams. The Venture Building strand is intended to provide market feedback, team building and advisory services. The EIC website notes that the Tech to Market programme was paused and expected to resume in 2026. Continuity of these services matters for other research teams aiming to follow a similar path.

Conclusion

DSQM’s trajectory from SuperGate research to a spin-off illustrates both the opportunities and the caveats of moving superconducting devices to market. The company benefits from strong technical heritage and from structured business support under the EIC Venture Building Programme. The technical claims are promising but ambitious. The next 12 to 18 months of product delivery and pilot results will provide the evidence needed to move these claims from research promise to commercial impact.