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BIRD Funds Qarakal–Quantum Elements Catalysis MVP
BIRD approved $7.4 million in conditional grants for seven U.S.-Israel R&D projects, including a quantum-chemistry MVP by Qarakal Quantum and Quantum Elements. The companies plan to use quantum computing to map complex surface-catalysis rea
Quantum.world Team · Written with AI · fact-checked ·
BIRD approved $7.4 million in conditional grants for seven U.S.-Israel research and development projects, including a quantum-computing effort to map surface-catalysis reactions. The foundation announced the awards on October 20, reporting that the projects were approved in September and are expected to attract $20 million in total investment when private-sector contributions are included.
Qarakal and Quantum Elements target surface reactions
Tel Aviv-based Qarakal Quantum and California-based Quantum Elements plan to build a minimum viable product, or MVP, that uses quantum computing to map complex surface-catalysis reactions. BIRD’s announcement describes the intended output as a product under development; it does not say that the companies have completed a system or demonstrated a result.
The announcement gives no project-specific grant amount, development schedule, target chemical reaction, hardware platform or performance benchmark. The $7.4 million figure covers all seven approved projects, so it does not establish how much funding the quantum partnership will receive.
Dr. Alon Stopel, Chairman of the Innovation Authority and Chief Scientist of Innovation at Israel’s Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, and co-chair of BIRD’s Board of Governors, said: “As the BIRD Foundation approaches its 50th anniversary, the technological partnership between Israel and the United States continues to demonstrate its strength as a driving force for breakthrough innovation.”
One project in a seven-part funding round
The other awards cover digital pathology, satellite communications, on-chip memory, cancer detection, seed sorting and hospital-based 3D printing. Among them, NovaLink Space and Ciena will develop a satellite laser-communications terminal; RAAAM Memory Technologies and GlobalFoundries will develop and qualify an on-chip memory technology; and SpotitEarly and Fox Chase Cancer Center will develop and validate an early cancer-detection technology combining AI with dogs’ sense of smell.
BIRD says the seven projects bring its record to more than 1,200 supported collaborations since its establishment in 1977. The foundation reports approximately $470 million invested in joint projects and more than $10 billion in direct and indirect revenue generated.
Grant terms leave the project’s allocation undisclosed
BIRD offers conditional grants of up to $1.5 million per project, covering up to 50% of a project budget. It takes no equity or intellectual-property rights, and funding is repaid through royalties from sales of products developed with BIRD support. The announcement does not disclose the quantum project’s budget or its share of the round’s funding.
BIRD says proposals are assessed by its staff and expert reviewers appointed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Israel Innovation Authority. For the Qarakal–Quantum Elements partnership, the public announcement leaves the technical questions open: which reactions the MVP will model, how the companies will test its accuracy, and when they expect to deliver it. BIRD’s next executive-summary deadline is November 23, 2026, with the next project approvals expected in March 2027.