What MonArk Quantum Foundry does

MonArk Quantum Foundry is an NSF-funded research consortium jointly led by Montana State University and the University of Arkansas, with the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology as supplemental partners. Established in September 2021 under the NSF Q-AMASE-i program (Award No. DMR-1906383) with approximately $20 million in initial funding, the foundry's mission is to accelerate two-dimensional (2D) materials research for quantum technologies in the United States. It is not a commercial entity; there is no public pricing, no commerce-enabled website, and no revenue model beyond federal grants and collaborative research agreements.

The foundry's core technical offering is the 2D Quantum Materials Pipeline (2D-QMaP), an automated system that unites three stages of 2D materials research: robotic exfoliation, flake hunting, and stacking; glovebox-integrated device fabrication and packaging using thermal scanning probe lithography at sub-20nm resolution; and integrated quantum device characterization spanning micro-photoluminescence, micro-Raman, magneto-optical probes, nano-optical spectroscopy, magnetometry, and magneto-transport. Supporting capabilities include cryogenic systems down to 10 mK (dilution refrigerator), NanoFrazor patterning, MBE/CVD synthesis, and an automated roll-to-roll tape exfoliator. Research programs are organized around 2D Qubits, 2D Ferroelectrics, and 2D Magnetism, with applications in quantum photonics, quantum computing hardware, and topological quantum information.

The go-to-market is a sales-led, academic-outreach model: prospective collaborators submit user/collaborator interest forms, and site coordinators (Dharmraj Kotekar Patil at Arkansas, Amir Hasani at Montana) follow up. The foundry serves academic researchers, national labs, industry partners in quantum/photonics/semiconductors, and K-12/undergraduate educators through workforce development programs (REU, RET, graduate curriculum, foundry fellowships). Industry partnerships with Montana Instruments, HighRI Optics, and the Montana Photonics Industry Alliance support workforce development and translational research. Marketing channels are predominantly academic: website, Google Scholar, Supergroup.Seminars, and conference participation (e.g., EP2DS).

Name

MonArk Quantum Foundry

Legal name

MonArk NSF Quantum Foundry

Website

https://monarkfoundry.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MonArk Quantum Foundry is an NSF-funded research consortium, jointly led by Montana State University and the University of Arkansas, that operates an automated 2D Quantum Materials Pipeline (2D-QMaP) for sample preparation, fabrication, and characterization of 2D materials targeting quantum technologies. It serves academic researchers, industry partners, and quantum-workforce trainees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Quantum Materials Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713)

akta.pro primary industry

Quantum Standards, Testbeds & Open Research Infrastructure (HDAGAMAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Quantum Education, Workforce Development & Academic Centers (HDAGAMAM), Quantum Control, Cryogenics & Measurement Research (HDAGAMAC)

Keywords

• Quantum materials research
• 2D materials fabrication
• Quantum device characterization
• Nanofabrication services
• Cryogenic measurement systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Bozeman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. NSF Research Funding: Primary funding from the National Science Foundation Q-AMASE-i program under NSF award No. DMR-1906383. The foundry was established with approximately $20 million in NSF grant funding to accelerate two-dimensional materials research for quantum technologies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

MonArk Quantum Foundry operates an integrated research infrastructure for two-dimensional (2D) quantum materials, providing automated sample preparation, device fabrication, and characterization capabilities through its proprietary 2D Quantum Materials Pipeline (2D-QMaP) system. It offers shared access to cryogenic, nanofabrication, and spectroscopy equipment for academic researchers, industry partners, and educators working on quantum technologies, with operations split across Montana State University and the University of Arkansas.

Product overview

MonArk Quantum Foundry is an NSF-funded research center jointly led by Montana State University and University of Arkansas (with partner institutions UAPB and SDSMT) that operates as a platform of interconnected services for 2D quantum materials research. The core offering is the 2D-QMaP (2D Quantum Materials Pipeline) system, which provides automated sample preparation, device fabrication, and characterization capabilities for 2D materials research. The foundry offers specialized services across three main capability areas: Materials Preparation (2D-QMaP Exfoliator, CVD, MBE, Stacker), Device Fabrication (NanoFrazor, µMLA, AJA deposition, RIE, Wire Bonder), and Characterization (Optical Cryostat, PPMS, MPMS/SQUID, Dilution Refrigerator, AFM, Streak Camera). These are complemented by three research programs focused on 2D Qubits, 2D Ferroelectrics, and 2D Magnetism. The foundry also provides educational and workforce development programs including REU, RET, graduate curriculum, and industry training modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 2D Quantum Materials Pipeline (2D-QMaP) Automated pipeline that unites robotic exfoliation/flake hunting/stacking, glovebox-integrated device fabrication, and characterization for 2D quantum materials, enabling systematic exploration of large parameter spaces while preserving air-sensitive materials.
• Characterization Services Low-temperature and variable-temperature/field characterization capabilities including optical cryostat (1.9K, 7T), PPMS (1.9-400K, 9T), SQUID/MPMS magnetometer, dilution refrigerator (10mK), AFM, ultrafast laser & spectrometer, Optical Cataloger with ML-based flake detection, and Streak Camera (<1ps resolution).
• Device Fabrication Services Nanopatterning and device fabrication tools including NanoFrazor thermal scanning probe lithography (50nm resolution), µMLA photolithography (600nm, 10mm²/min), Xactix dry etching, AJA thin film deposition (sputtering and e-beam), RIE-1C reactive ion etching, and wire bonder.
• Materials Preparation Services 2D material synthesis and preparation including the automated 2D-QMaP Exfoliator with roll-to-roll tape handling, CVD for thin-film synthesis, MBE for high-precision III-V and 2D material growth, and Stacker for deterministic heterostructure assembly.
• 2D Magnetism Research Program Research program investigating intrinsic and localized magnetic phenomena in 2D quantum materials, focused on quantum spin liquids, strain-engineering of magnetic systems, and diamond-based nanoscale magnetic imaging using NV centers.
• 2D Ferroelectrics Research Program Research on ultrathin layered ferroelectrics such as SnS for nonlinear optics and topological defects, integrating 2D ferroelectrics into waveguides for polarization-entangled photon generation and studying BKT transitions mediated by vortex/anti-vortex pairs.
• 2D Qubits Research Program Research on 2D materials for quantum photonics and light-based qubits, including single-photon emission, valley qubits in TMDs, quantum emitters, and heterostructure engineering for quantum photonic phenomena in transition metal dichalcogenide semiconductors.
• Quantum Workforce Development Programs Educational programs including a graduate quantum materials science curriculum, 1-2 week industry-informed training modules, Research Experience for Teachers (RET), K-12 teaching modules, Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), foundry fellowship program, and visiting R&D scientist/engineer program.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Montana Photonics Industry AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Montana Photonics Industry Alliance partners with MonArk for workforce and economic development for photonics and quantum technology in Montana. This is a key partnership for translating research into economic impact in the state.
• University of Arkansas Pine BluffcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Arkansas Pine Bluff joined the MonArk Quantum Foundry through an NSF EPSCoR supplemental support award, expanding the foundry's network to include an HBCU partner.
• South Dakota School of Mines and TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouth Dakota School of Mines and Technology joined the MonArk Quantum Foundry through an NSF EPSCoR supplemental support award, adding expertise in materials science and engineering.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) at Brookhaven National Laboratory: DOE-funded user facility at Brookhaven National Lab providing nanofabrication and characterization tools for nanomaterials research, with the closest comparable shared user-facility model to MonArk's 2D-QMaPs. Both serve as shared infrastructure for academic and industry users, with similar glovebox-integrated fabrication and quantum-relevant characterization capabilities.
• Harvard Quantum Initiative: Academic quantum research consortium at Harvard with comparable research portfolio in quantum materials, quantum information science, and 2D materials-based quantum device research. Similar HQP training and shared infrastructure mission aligned with MonArk's workforce development programs.
• Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory: DOE-funded user facility at Argonne providing nanofabrication, synthesis, and characterization tools for nanoscale materials research, with directly overlapping capabilities in MBE growth, e-beam lithography, and 2D device fabrication similar to MonArk's Materials Preparation and Device Fabrication services.
• Caltech IQIM (Institute for Quantum Information and Matter): NSF-funded Physics Frontiers Center at Caltech focused on quantum information science and quantum matter, with the same NSF Center funding structure as MonArk's Q-AMASE-i award and similar multi-investigator research model spanning physics, materials science, and device engineering.
• Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C): Consortium managed by SRI International that brings together industry, academic, and government stakeholders to grow the quantum industry, with similar consortium structure connecting research institutions with industry partners for quantum technology commercialization and workforce development.
• Chicago Quantum Exchange: Multi-institutional quantum research consortium led by University of Chicago with Argonne National Lab and Fermilab, with a similar consortium model connecting universities and national labs for quantum technology development and workforce training comparable to MonArk's multi-university partnership structure.
• Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: DOE-funded user facility at LBNL focused on nanoscience research including 2D materials synthesis and characterization, with overlapping capabilities in thin-film deposition, nanofabrication, and quantum materials research. The user-facility model with external researcher access directly parallels MonArk's operational approach.
• NIST Quantum Information Program: Federal agency program providing quantum measurement standards, testbeds, and reference implementations, with a similar national infrastructure role for quantum technology research. NIST's standards-setting and reference measurement focus parallels MonArk's role as an open research infrastructure for the quantum materials community.

Broad incumbents

• Microsoft Quantum: Major commercial quantum computing research program with focus on topological qubits and quantum materials research, representing an established quantum player with significantly larger research infrastructure and resources than MonArk, and an example of commercial-scale quantum materials research investment.
• IBM Quantum: Established commercial quantum computing platform with broad quantum hardware, software, and research portfolio including superconducting qubit research. Represents the broader incumbent commercial quantum ecosystem that MonArk's 2D materials research may eventually feed into through technology transfer and workforce pipelines.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/monark-quantum-foundry

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about MonArk Quantum Foundry