# Fire Opal by Q-CTRL

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/quantum/fire-opal
Frontier: [Quantum](https://technooptimist.io/quantum.md) · Field: Fridges, control & fabs · Company: [Q-CTRL](https://technooptimist.io/companies/q-ctrl.md)
Stage: Deploy (4 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling)
Updated: last update 2026-09-24, facts checked 2026-10-11
Goal: Get useful answers from today's noisy quantum computers before full error correction arrives, by suppressing errors at run time so users need no hardware expertise to reach a machine's best performance.
Status: Runs on IBM's cloud and on-site systems; Sept 2026 added IBM Nighthawk support with 12x faster runs.

## Milestones

| Status | Milestone | Date | Slip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Done | Native integration in IBM Quantum pay-as-you-go plan | Dec 2023 |   |
| Done | Offered as IBM Qiskit Functions (156-qubit optimisation solver) | 16 Sep 2024 |   |
| Done | First on-premises HPC deployment: RIKEN's IBM System Two | 12 Nov 2025 |   |
| Done | Claimed 3,000x speedup on a 120-qubit materials simulation | 6 May 2026 |   |
| Done | Support for IBM Nighthawk processors | 24 Sep 2026 |   |

## Most important updates

- **24 Sep 2026**: Q-CTRL's Fire Opal adds IBM Nighthawk support, running a 60-qubit benchmark 12x faster than on Heron R3. Fire Opal now supports IBM's Nighthawk processors. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/q-ctrl-s-fire-opal-adds-ibm-nighthawk-support-running-a-60-qubit-39900aee.md) · [original source](https://q-ctrl.com/blog/q-ctrl-sets-the-standard-for-quantum-execution-speed-with-ibm-quantum-nighthawk))
- **6 May 2026**: Q-CTRL reports a 3,000x speedup over classical tools on a 120-qubit materials simulation on IBM hardware. Q-CTRL used its error-suppression software on an IBM quantum computer to simulate interacting electrons in a material (a Fermi–Hubbard model), finishing in about two minutes; the best classical tool it tested needed over 3,000 times longer. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/q-ctrl-reports-a-3-000x-speedup-over-classical-tools-on-a-120-qubit-2b9bc62d.md) · [original source](https://q-ctrl.com/blog/q-ctrl-delivers-3-000x-speedup-in-materials-discovery-for-the-energy-sector-with-quantum-computing-and-demonstrates-evidence-of-practical-quantum-advantage))
- **12 Nov 2025**: Q-CTRL installs Fire Opal on RIKEN's IBM Quantum System Two beside the Fugaku supercomputer. Fire Opal was integrated with the IBM Quantum System Two at RIKEN in Kobe, which sits next to Japan's Fugaku supercomputer. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/q-ctrl-installs-fire-opal-on-riken-s-ibm-quantum-system-two-beside-the-30c1c70a.md) · [original source](https://q-ctrl.com/blog/q-ctrl-integrates-fire-opal-with-rikens-ibm-quantum-system-two-to-unlock-maximum-performance-for-hybrid-quantum-classical-computing))
- **16 Sep 2024**: Q-CTRL's Fire Opal becomes one of the first IBM Qiskit Functions, with an optimisation solver up to 156 qubits. IBM added two Q-CTRL services to its Qiskit Functions catalogue: Performance Management, which applies automatic error suppression so larger circuits run, and an Optimization Solver that solves problems up to 156 qubits without users… ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/q-ctrl-s-fire-opal-becomes-one-of-the-first-ibm-qiskit-functions-with-674edbfb.md) · [original source](https://q-ctrl.com/blog/q-ctrls-fire-opal-among-first-qiskit-functions-delivering-utility-scale-performance-to-the-global-quantum-developer-community))

## Current obstacles

- **Advantage claims are contested**: The 3,000x result is against today's best tensor-network code; Q-CTRL notes better classical algorithms or GPUs could narrow the gap.
- **Bounded by the hardware**: Suppression lets a device run more before noise wins, but not past its physical error rates; long algorithms still need full error correction.

## Physics limits

- **Noise without correction**: Without error correction every gate adds a little error, so results degrade as circuits grow; suppression slows that decay but cannot stop it.

## How it works

### Input: Ordinary circuits in

Users send uncompiled circuits through Qiskit; Fire Opal handles compilation and hardware tuning with no set-up.

### Suppression: Prevent errors instead of averaging them out

AI-driven gate- and circuit-level optimisations suppress errors and crosstalk at run time, avoiding the extra shots mitigation needs.

### Solvers: Problem in, answer out

Packaged solvers for optimisation and materials simulation let users submit a problem rather than a quantum circuit.

## Spec sheet

| Spec | Fire Opal | Provenance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Optimisation solver size | up to 156 qubits | reported |
| Materials benchmark circuit | 120 qubits, 10,000+ two-qubit gates | reported |
| Speedup vs best classical (claim) | 3,000x | reported |
| Runtime, Nighthawk R2 vs Heron R3 | 12x faster | reported |

Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure.

## About Q-CTRL

Q-CTRL provides quantum control software to stabilize quantum computers and enable quantum sensing for GPS-free navigation. Founded 2017 by physicist Michael Biercuk.

- Sydney-based with offices in LA, Berlin, Oxford. Raised $128M total across Series A-B-2 (2019–2024).
- Ironstone Opal won TIME Best Invention 2025; passed DO-160 testing (Jul 2026); maritime navigation.
- Also builds Fire Opal (error suppression), Boulder Opal (hardware design), and Black Opal (learning).

- Founded: 2017
- Headquarters: AU
- Status: private
- Valuation: $1.5B (private valuation, estimate, 2025-01)
- Raised: $99M
- Last round: Series B-2 Expansion $59M, Oct 2024, led by GP Bullhound, Lockheed Martin Ventures, NTT Finance
- Website: https://q-ctrl.com
- People: Michael J. Biercuk (Founder and CEO)
- Partners, customers, investors: Lockheed Martin Ventures (investor); IBM (partner); IonQ (partner); Google Quantum AI (partner)

Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/q-ctrl.md

## Related programs

More from Q-CTRL:

- [Ironstone Opal](https://technooptimist.io/quantum/ironstone-opal.md) (Deploy)

Everything in Quantum: https://technooptimist.io/quantum.md

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