CO.LAB Selects Four Startups for Inaugural CO.LAB Q Commercialization Studio in Chattanooga

Introduction

The Company Lab (CO.LAB) has opened its inaugural CO.LAB Q Commercialization Studio, a 12‑month program designed to move quantum technologies from proof‑of‑concept to market‑ready solutions. Starting in November 2026, the studio brings together four carefully selected startups, a network of technical partners, and the unique quantum infrastructure of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Inaugural Cohort and Their Focus Areas

| Startup | Core Technical Specialization | Commercial Workstream | |---|---|---| | RidgeQuantum | Continuous‑Variable Quantum Key Distribution (CV‑QKD) hardware licensed from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) | Deploy CV‑QKD over EPB’s municipal fiber network to secure critical‑infrastructure communications | | Superquantum | Fault‑tolerant compilation and orchestration tools for quantum processors | Provide resource‑estimation, optimization, and execution tooling for hardware developers and system operators | | esoteriq | Quantum data‑encoding and workload feasibility analysis (project Rune) | Estimate computational cost of loading classical datasets onto QPUs for enterprise customers | | Kottackal Business Solutions | Quantum electromagnetic sensing and data‑fusion for infrastructure monitoring | Pilot asset‑monitoring solutions with regional energy and battery operators |

Each company receives a commercialization readiness assessment, regular advisory‑board reviews, and access to a structured roadmap that aligns technical milestones with market validation.

Leveraging Chattanooga’s Quantum Ecosystem

Chattanooga offers a dense concentration of quantum resources that the studio taps into:

• EPB Quantum Center – hosts an on‑premises IonQ Forte Enterprise trapped‑ion system, providing a testbed for hardware‑centric projects.
• Municipal Quantum Communications Network – a city‑wide fiber backbone that enables real‑world trials of secure communications (e.g., RidgeQuantum’s CV‑QKD).
• Academic and Research Partners – the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and other local institutions contribute expertise and facilities.

The program’s founding partners—EPB, Quantinuum, Davidson Technologies, Middle Tennessee Electric, Quantum Machines, Classiq, and others—supply both technical mentorship and potential early‑customer pipelines.

Expected Impact and Next Steps

By addressing distinct pain points across the quantum stack, the cohort aims to demonstrate tangible value:

• RidgeQuantum will validate secure telecom‑grade QKD in a utility setting, paving the way for broader adoption in critical‑infrastructure sectors.
• Superquantum and esoteriq target software‑level bottlenecks, offering tools that reduce the time and cost of moving algorithms from simulation to hardware.
• Kottackal seeks to prove that quantum‑enhanced sensing can improve asset‑monitoring accuracy for energy providers, a use case with immediate commercial relevance.

The studio’s progress will be tracked through quarterly milestones, with public updates expected as each startup reaches key deployment phases. Stakeholders—including investors, regional utilities, and the broader quantum community—will gain insight into how early‑stage quantum innovations can be scaled in real‑world environments.

--- CO.LAB’s inaugural studio illustrates how regional ecosystems can accelerate quantum commercialization, turning laboratory breakthroughs into deployable solutions that address pressing industry challenges.