UbiQD Secures $200,000 New Mexico Award for Single-Photon Source

Grant Award: UbiQD receives $200,000 from New Mexico Quantum Technologies Award for fiber-coupled single-photon light source.Technical Focus: Development of room-temperature, safe-material quantum-dot single-photon source for quantum computing and communication.IP Position: Company owns or licenses 17 US and 23 international patents plus 27 pending applications.UbiQD, Inc., a Los Alamos-based quantum dot manufacturer, received a $200,000 (€179,600) grant through New Mexico’s Quantum Technologies Award from the Economic Development Department via its Technology and Innovation Office on October 28, 2026. The non-dilutive award funds development of a specialized light source connected directly to a fiber optic cable that emits single photons on demand for quantum computers and ultra-secure quantum communication networks.The grant supports optical equipment and device prototyping at UbiQD’s Los Alamos headquarters.

The team will first measure how reliably its proprietary I-III-VI semiconductor quantum dots produce single photons, then refine the materials to meet industry performance targets. These cadmium-, lead-, and mercury-free dots operate at room temperature and offer tunable emission with fiber-optic coupling. The work builds on a 2024-2025 partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory under the Technology Readiness Gross Receipts Initiative that produced detailed measurements of the same material class. Nikolay Makarov, Senior Vice President of R&D and principal investigator, co-authored a 2017 Los Alamos study showing copper indium disulfide quantum dots can emit single photons at room temperature.UbiQD owns or exclusively licenses 17 granted U.S. patents and 23 granted international patents, with 27 applications pending. The portfolio covers three layers: foundational patents on the quantum-dot material itself, conversion into usable forms such as films and concentrates, and specific end uses including security inks, agriculture, and solar. Some foundational patents trace to founder and CEO Hunter McDaniel’s original research at Los Alamos National Laboratory and licensed technology from M.I.T. and the University of Washington. US patent 12,085,443, “Fiber-coupled Broadband Light Source,” also granted in Korea, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, and France, covers applications in high-speed server connections inside AI data centers and quantum hardware. McDaniel previously worked as an undergraduate researcher in Nobel laureate John Martinis’ group at UC Santa Barbara.UbiQD will prototype a room-temperature fiber-coupled single-photon source from its cadmium-free quantum dots under the state grant.Find out more here.—Further articles, reports, and the latest quantum computing news may be found at The Qubit Report.The Qubit Report for October 28, 2026 lands with live hybrid QKD-PQC links spanning continents, annealing systems locking first-place drug design wins, and optical switches NIST published final IR 8547 on October 27, 2026 detailing the Transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards. The report maps quantum-vulnerable algorithms to FIPS 203, 204, The World Quantum Cannes Festival has detailed its Investor Day Program for the November 17-18, 2026 inaugural edition in Cannes. Supervised by Honorary Committee members Sign up to receive our newsletter and other reports.We keep your data private and share your data only with third parties that make this service possible. Read our privacy policy for more info.Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. Our MissionContact UsPrivacy PolicyWebsite Terms of UseCopyright 2017-2026 | The Qubit Report | All Rights Reserved