Unitary Foundation
Unitary Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that supports the open-source quantum technology ecosystem through $4k microgrants, community programs, and original open-source software tools (Mitiq, Metriq, UCC, Clifft) for error mitigation, benchmarking, compilation, and simulation, serving researchers, developers, and quantum explorers globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersBerkeley, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Unitary Foundation does
Unitary Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2018 (originally as Unitary Fund, rebranded February 2025) and headquartered in Berkeley, California, with a European office in Tours, France. Its mission is to support the open-source quantum technology ecosystem through three pillars: a $4,000 microgrant program (100+ grants awarded across 31+ countries), original research and tool development, and community programming. The foundation's core technical products are Mitiq (a cross-platform open-source quantum error mitigation compiler supporting six SDKs and multiple error mitigation techniques such as ZNE, PEC, CDR, and DDD, with 195k+ downloads), Metriq (an open community benchmarking platform), UCC (a quantum compiler collection launched March 2025 supporting Qiskit, Cirq, and TKET frontends), and Clifft (a near-Clifford circuit simulator). Unitary Foundation generates revenue through a mix of government grants (notably a $1.5M NSF POSE award in 2023 and DOE collaboration), corporate memberships (Core Members: IBM Quantum, NVIDIA, Dora Hacks, Open Quantum Design; Supporting Members: AWS, Microsoft, Xanadu, and others), and individual donations.
The foundation serves a horizontal base of quantum technology stakeholders: individual quantum explorers, academic researchers, quantum software developers, and quantum computing educators. Its go-to-market is community-led, relying on Discord (1,000+ members), GitHub, hackathons (unitaryHACK), weekly community events (Quantum Wednesday), and an annual conference (unitaryCON) to drive tool adoption and ecosystem growth. Unitary Labs, the technical research team of 6+ members led by CTO Nathan Shammah, develops and maintains the open-source software portfolio, while a 15-member volunteer advisory board provides strategic guidance. The organization is delocalized/remote-first and has absorbed adjacent projects such as Qrack/PyQrack to consolidate ecosystem-critical tools.
Unitary Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Unitary Foundation
- Legal name
- Unitary Foundation
- Website
- https://unitary.foundation
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Unitary Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that supports the open-source quantum technology ecosystem through $4k microgrants, community programs, and original open-source software tools (Mitiq, Metriq, UCC, Clifft) for error mitigation, benchmarking, compilation, and simulation, serving researchers, developers, and quantum explorers globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Unitary Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open-Source Quantum Computing Software
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Quantum Development Frameworks & Libraries (HDAGACAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Quantum Community, Developer Relations & Ecosystem Programs (HDAGALAJ), Quantum Open-Source Ecosystems, Package Managers & Interoperability Standards (HDAGACAO), Quantum Compilation Toolkits (Frontend SDK Layer) (HDAGACAF), Quantum Workshops, Bootcamps & Events Providers (HDAGALAM)
Keywords
Where Unitary Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berkeley
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Unitary Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Corporate Memberships: Corporate membership program where companies pay to support the organization and gain association with the quantum open-source ecosystem. Members include IBM Quantum, NVIDIA, AWS, Microsoft, Xanadu, and others as Core or Supporting members.
- Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations through PayPal and other channels.
- Government Grants: Research grants from government agencies including NSF ($1.5M POSE grant) and EU (QLASS consortium grant) to grow the quantum open-source ecosystem.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | One-time | $4,000 cash microgrants for quantum technology projects |
| Other | Annual | $4,000 Wittek Quantum Prize for Open Source Software |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Unitary Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Unitary Foundation develops, distributes, and maintains open-source software tools for the quantum computing ecosystem, including Mitiq (error mitigation), Metriq (benchmarking), UCC (compiler collection), and Clifft (near-Clifford circuit simulator). It also runs a $4,000 microgrant program funding individual quantum technology projects globally, alongside community programs such as unitaryHACK hackathons and weekly Quantum Wednesday talks on Discord.
Product overview
Unitary Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to create a quantum technology ecosystem that benefits the most people. The organization develops and maintains a suite of open-source quantum computing tools: (1) Mitiq is a cross-platform compiler for quantum error mitigation supporting multiple quantum SDKs; (2) Metriq is an open community platform for sharing quantum technology benchmarks; (3) UCC (Unitary Compiler Collection) is an open-source quantum compiler collection for best-in-class circuit compilation; and (4) Clifft is an open-source simulator for fast exact simulation of near-Clifford quantum circuits. Alongside these core research tools, Unitary Foundation operates a microgrant program providing $4k cash grants to quantum tech projects globally, and runs community programs including unitaryHACK hackathons and Quantum Wednesday talks on Discord.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Mitiq Mitiq is an open-source, cross-platform Python compiler for quantum error mitigation that makes quantum programs robust to errors in quantum computers. It implements techniques including Zero-Noise Extrapolation (ZNE), Probabilistic Error Cancellation (PEC), Clifford Data Regression (CDR), Digital Dynamical Decoupling (DDD), and Readout Error Mitigation (REM), supporting Qiskit, Cirq, PyQuil, Qibo, and Braket. Intended for quantum researchers and developers needing vendor-neutral error mitigation.
- Metriq Metriq is an open community platform for sharing quantum technology benchmarks, enabling transparent and accessible benchmarks for the quantum computing community to compare against state-of-the-art and identify best-fit tools. Intended for quantum researchers, developers, and hardware vendors.
- UCC (Unitary Compiler Collection) UCC is an open-source quantum compiler collection providing best-in-class compilation across the open-source quantum computing stack. It integrates passes from existing compilers, supports Qiskit, Cirq, and TKET frontends via qBraid, and outputs OpenQASM 2.0/3.0, tket, and qasm2 formats. Targets quantum software developers needing cross-framework compilation.
- Clifft Clifft is an open-source simulator for fast exact simulation of near-Clifford quantum circuits. It accepts Stim-format circuits, extends them with non-Clifford gates, and compiles them into bytecode for high-performance simulation, preserving the compile-once, sample-many workflow used in quantum error correction studies. Intended for researchers simulating early fault-tolerant circuits.
- Unitary Foundation Microgrant Program The Microgrant Program provides $4,000 cash grants to quantum technology projects worldwide, funding open-source quantum software, education materials, workshops, and quantum sensor prototypes. Open to anyone globally regardless of organizational affiliation; applicants submit a short form and a two-minute video. Intended for independent quantum researchers, developers, and educators.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 100 microgrants awarded across 31+ countries, resulting in 420+ papers citing funded research and 40+ new libraries
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Unitary Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Unitary Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration12 records
Feature4 records
Unitary Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.
- IBM QuantumcoreIBM Quantum grants special quantum computing access to Unitary Fund community. Recipients of microgrants receive: larger share of queue on open IBM Quantum systems, access to additional non-open systems, and ability to book dedicated time on IBM Quantum hardware.
- NVIDIAcoreCore member supporting Unitary Foundation's mission to build the quantum open-source ecosystem. NVIDIA joined in 2026 with shared vision for accelerating the open-source quantum stack.
- XanadusupportingSupporting member and sponsor of unitaryHACK hackathon. Xanadu CTO Nathan Killoran provided testimonial praising Unitary Foundation's role in quantum open-source software.
- AWS (Amazon Braket)supportingSupporting member providing access to Amazon Braket quantum computing platform integrated with Mitiq.
- MicrosoftsupportingSupporting member with Microsoft Quantum team members (including Cassandra Granade) active in the community and advisory board.
- Rigetti QCSsupportingPartner providing cloud-based quantum hardware access to Unitary Fund microgrant awardees through Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services.
- Dora HackscoreCore member and sponsor of unitaryHACK hackathons, supporting open-source quantum software development.
- Open Quantum DesigncoreCore member. Unitary Foundation joined as Prestige Founding Partner of Open Quantum Design in 2025.
- Quantum MachinessupportingSupporting member providing quantum hardware control expertise and integration support.
- RiverlanesupportingSupporting member contributing to quantum error correction ecosystem development.
- SandboxAQsupportingSupporting member in the quantum technology ecosystem.
- ClassiqsupportingSupporting member joining in 2025 to strengthen the quantum software ecosystem.
- OrangeQSsupportingSupporting member that grew from microgrant recipients to formal membership in 2025.
- Mozilla FoundationsupportingSupporting member joining in 2025 to further open-source mission. Collaboration on 2026 talk series on building an open foundation.
- QC WaresupportingSupporting member providing quantum computing expertise.
- PasqalsupportingFormer supporting member; Unitary Fund provided technical advisory on Pulser package for atom-based pulse-level quantum systems.
- University of Washington AQET ProgramminorPartnership with UW's Accelerating Quantum-Enabled Technologies capstone course where students developed benchmarking pipeline and GUI using Mitiq.
- SMART Stack / DOEminorCollaborating with the SMART Stack, a DOE-funded project developing novel quantum stack design approaches that are Scalable, Modular, cross-platform Adaptable, dynamically Reconfigurable, and error-Targeted.
- QOSS Survey CommunityminorAnnual Quantum Open Source Software Survey conducted with community participation for benchmarking quantum software ecosystem.
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Unitary Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Unitary Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceUnitary Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Unitary Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Unitary Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Unitary Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Unitary Foundation
What does Unitary Foundation do?
Unitary Foundation develops, distributes, and maintains open-source software tools for the quantum computing ecosystem, including Mitiq (error mitigation), Metriq (benchmarking), UCC (compiler collection), and Clifft (near-Clifford circuit simulator). It also runs a $4,000 microgrant program funding individual quantum technology projects globally, alongside community programs such as unitaryHACK hackathons and weekly Quantum Wednesday talks on Discord.
Is Unitary Foundation a public or private company?
Unitary Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Unitary Foundation founded?
Unitary Foundation was founded in 2018.
Where is Unitary Foundation based?
Unitary Foundation is headquartered in Berkeley, United States, in the North America region.
How does Unitary Foundation make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Corporate Memberships are the primary driver. The others are donations and government Grants.
Does Unitary Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Unitary Foundation.
What industry is Unitary Foundation in?
Unitary Foundation's product category is Open-Source Quantum Computing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAGACAB, Quantum Development Frameworks & Libraries, with a secondary code of HDAGALAJ, Quantum Community, Developer Relations & Ecosystem Programs. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 7372.