
The Quantum Control Stack with Niels Bultink
From The New Quantum Era - innovation in quantum computing, science and technology by Sebastian Hassinger
May 11, 2026 · 37 min · Episode 92
About this episode
Niels Bultink discusses the importance of the quantum control stack in scaling quantum hardware and the efforts of Qblox in the field.
Every quantum computer — superconducting, spin, trapped ion, or neutral atom — depends on a layer most people never see: the precisely timed electronics that play qubits like a microwave-frequency piano and read the answers back. Niels Bultink, co-founder and CEO of Qblox, joins Sebastian to explain why the quantum control stack has become a strategic bottleneck for scaling quantum hardware, and how a Delft spinout is building the picks-and-shovels of fault-tolerant quantum computing while expanding into the U.S. through a Boston headquarters, U.S. manufacturing in Massachusetts, and a partnership with Fermilab on the open-source QICK platform.
People in this episode
Host: Sebastian Hassinger
Guest: Niels Bultink
Topics covered
- quantum computing
- quantum control stack
- scaling quantum hardware
- fault-tolerant quantum computing
- electronics in quantum computers
Keywords
- quantum control stack
- quantum computing
- Qblox
- fault-tolerant
- electronics
- scaling
- Delft
- Boston
- Fermilab
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Qblox, Fermilab
Products: QICK
Places: Delft, Boston, Massachusetts
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