Cleveland Clinic Catalyzer Program Awards $250K to Quantum Startups
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Cleveland Clinic will distribute up to $250,000, with an in-kind match from Cleveland Clinic, across three startups applying quantum computing to challenges in healthcare and life sciences, the institution announced. The competitive Quantum Innovation Catalyzer Program selected companies focused on diverse research goals, including predicting cardiovascular risk in real time, an unexpected application of the technology, and accelerating the discovery of treatments for rare genetic diseases. Selected companies will gain access to the IBM Quantum System One at Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, the first quantum computer dedicated specifically to healthcare research, alongside expert guidance from Cleveland Clinic researchers. “This program helps us connect with companies that have the potential to shape the future of healthcare through advanced computational methods,” said Lara Jehi, M.D., Cleveland Clinic’s Chief Research Information Officer and the Sondra J.
Hardis Endowed Chair for Research and Technology.
Quantum Network Medicine for Rare Disease Discovery A concentrated investment of up to $250,000 from K5 Tokyo Black Fund, with an in-kind match from Cleveland Clinic, is fueling advancements in quantum computing applications within healthcare. Cleveland Clinic’s Quantum Innovation Catalyzer Program awarded funding to three startups tackling complex biomedical challenges. This year’s cohort includes EntangleBio, a company integrating network medicine with quantum computing to understand and treat rare genetic diseases. EntangleBio intends to unravel the causes of these conditions by investigating how genetic variants interact to trigger illness, with the ultimate goal of identifying new therapeutic targets and repurposing existing drugs. Access to resources is critical, allowing startups to collaborate with Cleveland Clinic researchers and leverage a growing quantum ecosystem facilitated by the Cleveland Clinic-IBM Discovery Accelerator, a decade-long partnership. EntangleBio’s project focuses on “quantum network medicine for rare genetic disease diagnosis and treatment,” a strategy to pinpoint the root causes of illness through complex genetic interactions. The program’s success builds on the accomplishments of its inaugural class, including Algorithmiq’s work on photon-activated cancer drugs and Qradle’s demonstration of accurate protein folding prediction on quantum hardware, which surpassed the performance of AlphaFold 3. Keenan Rice, General Partner at K5 Global, emphasized the ambition of these ventures, stating, “These companies represent innovation that can unlock meaningful advances in healthcare.” Polaris Quantum Biotech’s Drug Toxicity Prediction Suite Polaris Quantum Biotech is addressing a longstanding challenge in pharmaceutical development: accurately predicting how a drug will behave within the human body, specifically regarding potential toxicity, remains a significant hurdle that extends development timelines and increases costs. Current methods rely heavily on laboratory testing and computational models, yet often fail to anticipate adverse effects until late-stage clinical trials.
Polaris Quantum Biotech aims to circumvent these limitations by leveraging quantum machine learning.
The North Carolina-based company built the first drug-discovery platform using quantum computers and is now applying this technology through the Cleveland Clinic Quantum Innovation Catalyzer Program. Their project focuses on developing a “Quantum Machine Learning suite to significantly enhance AI models for predicting Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicity properties,” a critical bottleneck in modern drug discovery, according to company materials. This suite isn’t intended to replace existing AI, but rather to refine its predictive capabilities, potentially identifying toxicological risks earlier in the development process. This advancement is noteworthy given the investment of up to $250,000 from K5 Tokyo Black Fund, with an in-kind match from Cleveland Clinic, across three startups, including Polaris Quantum Biotech, highlighting the concentrated financial support for quantum-driven healthcare solutions. We are proud to work alongside Cleveland Clinic to help accelerate the next generation of quantum-enabled healthcare solutions. Keenan Rice, General Partner at K5 Global Real-time Cardiovascular Risk via Quantum Simulations Singularity Quantum Inc. is developing a novel approach to cardiovascular care, leveraging quantum-enhanced biomechanical modeling to predict risk directly from patient imaging data. This project focuses on creating quantum-enhanced simulations that will predict cardiovascular risk, aiming to deliver non-invasive coronary insights and establish a platform for personalized medicine; the same framework could potentially extend to precision oncology by modeling tumor microcirculation and drug delivery. The program’s investment of up to $250,000 from K5 Tokyo Black Fund, with an in-kind match from Cleveland Clinic, underscores the concentrated financial support for these early-stage quantum ventures. This focus on real-time cardiovascular risk prediction distinguishes the program’s goals from broader explorations of quantum computing in healthcare; it represents a specific application of advanced computation to a critical medical challenge. These companies represent the kind of ambitious, forward-looking innovation that can unlock meaningful advances in healthcare, and we are excited to support them through the Quantum Innovation Catalyzer Program. Keenan Rice, General Partner at K5 Global Source: https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/2026/04/09/cleveland-clinic-quantum-innovation-catalyzer-program-awardees-announced Tags: