Rolling · Rolling
The Quantum Startup Foundry (QSF) is the University of Maryland’s (UMD) incubator and accelerator dedicated exclusively to early-stage quantum and quantum-adjacent startups. Launched in 2021 with an initial $25 million investment from UMD’s Discovery Fund and a further $10 million for quantum facilities, QSF sits in UMD’s Discovery District in College Park, backed by 30+ years of UMD quantum research, the Mid-Atlantic Quantum Alliance, and founding corporate member EY. QSF runs two tracks: Pre-TraQtion, which helps earlier-stage startups pursue SBIR/STTR grant funding, and TraQtion, a market accelerator connecting companies with government contractors and customers for technology validation. QSF itself takes no equity and makes no direct investment; instead it connects startups to non-dilutive grants such as SBIR/STTR, Maryland Industrial Partnerships, and Build Our Future, plus UMD’s separate Discovery Fund, which has an ongoing budget of up to $1 million a year. Office space and select lab facilities are available for an added fee. Since 2021, QSF has worked with more than 40 quantum ventures, including IonQ, now publicly traded on the NYSE, and NanoQT, which has raised over $23 million.
Frequency
Rolling
Duration
Ongoing engagement, no fixed program length
Investment
None
Equity
None
Program fees
Undisclosed
Where
USA
Sectors
Quantum
Stages
Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A
Eligibility
• Pre-TraQtion: earlier-stage companies seeking SBIR/STTR grant funding
• TraQtion: companies ready for market validation and government-contractor introductions, including international startups seeking a US presence
• Discovery Fund eligibility (for capital, not QSF membership itself) requires being located or willing to relocate to Prince George’s County, Maryland
Selection process
• No fixed application deadline or cohort structure described; engagement is ongoing
Benefits
• Pre-TraQtion: help navigating SBIR/STTR grant applications, quantum-specific I-Corps customer discovery, and matchmaking with research/corporate partners — taps into $4 billion in annual federal SBIR/STTR funding across 11 agencies, with quantum-related awards growing 19% a year and 60-80 quantum projects funded annually, mainly by DoD, NSF, NASA, and DoE
• Pre-TraQtion also offers office space (additional fee, can be contingent on award) and access to select campus facilities such as 3D printing and the NanoCenter cleanroom (additional fees may apply)
• TraQtion: partner matchmaking with large government contractors, plus education on contracting, insurance, and IP considerations for working with big companies
• Introductions to capital sources including the UMD Discovery Fund, TEDCO, Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS), and Build Our Future grants
• Global Gateway soft-landing support for international quantum startups entering the US market
• Access to UMD’s quantum centers, 200+ quantum researchers, and events like the Quantum Investment Summit
Notable alumni
Network
Piotr Kulczakowicz, Director; Anntoinette Barbour, team member; Julie Lenzer, founding director (2021) and UMD Chief Innovation Officer; Advisory Board members including John Joaquin (EY), Denise Ruffner (VP/Chief Business Officer, Atom Computing), Gloria Jacobovitz (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab), Denis Mandich (CTO, Qrypt), Fangyu Cao (George Mason University), Ilya Safro (University of Delaware), and Sydney Ulvick (Lockheed Martin); Mid-Atlantic Quantum Alliance (MQA); UMD Quantum Technology Center; Joint Quantum Institute; Capital of Quantum initiative; EY, founding corporate member; IonQ, founding technology partner; Maryland Department of Commerce; TEDCO; Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation; Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation
Portfolio
40+ quantum and quantum-adjacent ventures since 2021, including 14 current participants in the QSF ecosystem
Funds raised
No aggregate figure exists for QSF startups as a group; individual alumni such as NanoQT have raised $23M+, and IonQ is now publicly traded (NYSE: IONQ)
🕐 Sep 2026
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