What Quantum Open Source Foundation does

The Quantum Open Source Foundation (QOSF) is a Canadian non-profit foundation, incorporated in Canada and headquartered in Toronto, that supports the open-source quantum computing software ecosystem. Its core programs are: (1) the Quantum Computing Mentorship Program, which pairs quantum-computing learners with academic and industry mentors across three-month cohorts — nine cohorts have been completed since March 2020, with a tenth scheduled for October 2024; (2) a monthly Quantum Software Project Evaluation service that systematically scores ~26 curated open-source projects across repository quality (issues, attention rate, response time, code coverage, cyclomatic complexity), documentation (heatmaps across source, README, changelog, user docs, tutorials), and community health (roadmap, releases, contributors, discussion channels, review processes); (3) an exhaustive curated open-source quantum software project list spanning full-stack libraries (Cirq, Qiskit, PennyLane, pyQuil, ProjectQ, OpenFermion, Strawberry Fields), simulators, compilers, algorithms, cryptography, experimental tools, and educational games; and (4) free learning resources for quantum computing at multiple skill levels. The Wittek Quantum Prize (US$4,000 annual award) and the Quantum Software Meetup (co-hosted with Unitary Fund) are both archived or inactive.

QOSF generates no commercial revenue; it is funded entirely by voluntary donations to support operations, hardware/cloud costs, and program expansion. All content on the QOSF website is released under CC0 1.0 Universal, membership is free, and there are no paid products or services. Its beneficiaries are individual developers, researchers, and students — primarily from universities (KAIST, Caltech, Cornell, Brown, MIT, Imperial College London, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, ETH Zurich) and adjacent quantum companies (Zapata Computing, Xanadu, Amazon Braket, IBM, Rigetti, D-Wave) — who participate in mentorship cohorts or consume free learning resources and project lists. The foundation operates with a core team of approximately five people (Tomas Babej, Mark Fingerhuth, Michał Stęchły, Maggie Li, and the late Peter Wittek) plus roughly 100 community contributors across GitHub and GitLab.

The go-to-market is community-led: QOSF grows through developer engagement on GitHub, GitLab, and Slack, plus social channels (Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Facebook) and a Medium blog, rather than any commercial sales motion. Its primary strategic partnership is with the Unitary Fund, which has co-hosted the meetup and served as the independent evaluation body for the Wittek Prize. There are no funding rounds, no parent organization, no acquisitions, and no disclosed financials.

Name

Quantum Open Source Foundation

Legal name

Quantum Open Source Foundation

Website

https://qosf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Quantum Open Source Foundation (QOSF) is a Canadian non-profit that supports open-source quantum computing software through a mentorship program, monthly project evaluations, a curated project list, and free learning resources, serving a global community of developers, researchers, and students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open Source Quantum Computing Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Quantum Open-Source Ecosystems, Package Managers & Interoperability Standards (HDAGACAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Quantum Education & Certification Programs (HDAGALAA), Quantum Community, Developer Relations & Ecosystem Programs (HDAGALAJ), Quantum Workshops, Bootcamps & Events Providers (HDAGALAM)

Keywords

• Open source quantum
• Quantum software mentorship
• Quantum computing education
• Quantum project evaluation
• Open source foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: QOSF is a not-for-profit charity that accepts one-time and recurring donations from supporters. Donations are used to cover operational and administrative expenses, hardware and cloud computing costs, support core initiatives, and expand activities. No membership dues are required — membership is free and open to anyone interested in open source quantum computing.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

QOSF is a not-for-profit charity that supports open-source quantum computing through community-driven programs: a Quantum Computing Mentorship Program that pairs enthusiasts with mentors on 3-month open-source projects, monthly evaluations of curated open quantum software projects using quantitative metrics, the Wittek Quantum Prize (US$4,000 annual award) for outstanding contributors, virtual meetups, a comprehensive curated list of open quantum software projects, and free learning resources. The foundation does not sell commercial products; its deliverables are programs, curated content, and community coordination.

Product overview

The Quantum Open Source Foundation (QOSF) operates as a community organization offering a portfolio of programs and resources to support open source quantum computing software development. The core offerings include: the Quantum Computing Mentorship Program that pairs enthusiasts with mentors across 10-week cohorts to complete open-source projects; the Quantum Software Project Evaluation service that analyzes and ranks open quantum software projects on quality metrics; the Wittek Quantum Prize awarding US$4000 annually to outstanding open source contributors; the Quantum Software Meetup for monthly virtual community gatherings; a comprehensive Project List cataloging open quantum software across multiple categories; and curated Learning Resources for quantum computing education. These services work together to foster collaboration, standardize quality, and grow the quantum open source community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Quantum Computing Mentorship Program Structured cohort-based program connecting quantum computing enthusiasts with academic and industry mentors to complete open-source quantum computing projects over approximately 3 months. Each cohort produces open-source deliverables presented by mentees.
• Quantum Software Project Evaluation Monthly evaluation of curated open quantum software projects analyzing quantitative metrics including attention rate, response time, code coverage, cyclomatic complexity, contributor counts, and documentation heatmap scores. Covers 26 projects including Cirq, Qiskit Terra, pyQuil, OpenFermion, Strawberry Fields, ProjectQ.
• Wittek Quantum Prize for Open Source Software Annual US$4,000 award to an individual contributor/maintainer of open source quantum software, selected by the Unitary Fund advisory board from crowd-sourced nominations. Awarded to Roger Luo (2020) for Yao.jl work and Victory Omole (2021) for Cirq contributions. The initiative is now archived.
• Quantum Software Meetup Monthly virtual quantum developer meetup co-hosted with the Unitary Fund, featuring short talks and social time to connect quantum software developers, researchers, and users globally. Hosted on Gather to facilitate a global audience.
• Open Quantum Software Project List Comprehensive curated catalog of open source quantum software projects spanning full-stack libraries (Cirq, Qiskit, PennyLane), simulators, compilers, algorithms, cryptography tools, experimental tools, quantum annealers, and quantum games. Maintained as an open GitHub repository.
• Quantum Computing Learning Resources Curated free learning resources for quantum computing covering documentation, courses, books, blogs, papers, and community forums for newcomers, academics, and experts. All content released under CC0 1.0 Universal license.

Quantifiable outcome

• 24 projects completed in Cohort 9 (March–June 2024)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Unitary FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQOSF partners with the Unitary Fund as co-host of the Quantum Software Meetup, a monthly virtual quantum developer meetup held on Gather. The meetup features short talks and social time to connect quantum software developers, researchers, and users globally. Additionally, QOSF and Unitary Fund collaborate on the Wittek Quantum Prize for Open Source Software — a US$4000 annual award to recognize outstanding contributors to open source quantum software, with the Unitary Fund's advisory board serving as the independent evaluation committee. Note: The Quantum Software Meetup is currently not active.
• ProteinQureminorOthersMark Fingerhuth, a core team member of QOSF, is also the CEO of ProteinQure — a company focused on demonstrating useful applications of quantum/classical hybrid computation in pharmaceutical drug discovery. This is a personal connection through a team member rather than an organizational partnership.
• Zapata ComputingminorOthersMichał Stęchły, a core team member of QOSF, works professionally as a Quantum Software Engineer at Zapata Computing. This is a personal professional affiliation of a team member rather than an organizational partnership between QOSF and Zapata Computing.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Creative Destruction Lab: Creative Destruction Lab is a startup accelerator that runs a Quantum Stream (formerly led by QOSF co-founder Peter Wittek). It is an adjacent, ecosystem-enabling program rather than a direct competitor, but it shapes the same quantum founder/talent pipeline.

Emerging players

• Open Quantum Initiative: The Open Quantum Initiative is a vendor-neutral effort to make quantum computing more accessible through open educational resources and community programs. It pursues a closely adjacent mission to QOSF's learning and mentorship activities.
• Cirq (Google Quantum AI): Cirq is Google's open source quantum SDK and the basis for the 2021 Wittek Prize awarded to Victory Omole. Comparable to QOSF's role as an open source community convener, but backed by a single large commercial vendor.
• Qiskit (IBM Quantum): Qiskit is IBM's open source quantum SDK and community. It overlaps with QOSF's project list and mentorship ecosystem because many QOSF mentees contribute to Qiskit, but Qiskit is a vendor-run community rather than a vendor-neutral foundation.
• PennyLane (Xanadu): PennyLane is Xanadu's open source quantum machine learning framework. It is a vendor-led open source quantum project that frequently appears in QOSF's project list and has benefited from QOSF mentorship alumni (e.g., Maggie Li).

Direct peers

• Unitary Fund: Unitary Fund is a US-based nonprofit supporting quantum computing open source projects and ecosystem programs. It directly partners with QOSF on the Wittek Quantum Prize and the (now inactive) Quantum Software Meetup, making it the closest direct peer in mission, structure, and target audience.
• NumFOCUS: NumFOCUS is a nonprofit that sustains and promotes open source scientific computing. Like QOSF, it funds and stewards open source projects, runs community programs, and relies on donations and sponsorships, providing a structural and operational template for QOSF's model.

Broad incumbents

• Apache Software Foundation: The Apache Software Foundation stewards open source projects through community governance, mentorship (Apache Mentorship), and project evaluation. Its structured mentorship and contributor recognition programs are directly comparable to QOSF's Quantum Computing Mentorship Program and Wittek Prize.
• Python Software Foundation: The PSF is a nonprofit that stewards the Python ecosystem through grants, community programs, and educational outreach. It is comparable as a foundation sustaining an open source language ecosystem relevant to QOSF's quantum software community.
• Linux Foundation: The Linux Foundation is the largest open source foundation, hosting projects and training programs across many technology areas. It is comparable to QOSF as a community-stewardship model for open source software, though at vastly greater scale and across a much broader technology portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/qosfoundation
• GitHubgithub.com/qosf
• Facebookfacebook.com/quantumOSfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/qosf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Quantum Open Source Foundation