Four Quantum Startups Join Chattanooga's CO.LAB Q
The yearlong cohort starts the week of November 2, 2026, with projects in communications security, error-corrected computing software and sensing that remain in early testing.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Quantum Computing
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CO.LAB has selected four startups for the first cohort of its CO.LAB Q program, a yearlong effort to draw quantum computing teams to Chattanooga. The cohort starts the week of November 2, 2026. The program and its companies are at an early, pre-commercial stage, with the selected companies pursuing planned work rather than delivering shipped products.
Why it matters
The program was launched in August 2026 with the stated aim of building a quantum computing cluster in Chattanooga. Quantum computing is expected to bring advances in commercial, security and medical applications, and local partnerships such as EPB's fiber and quantum network give the selected teams a testbed to work from.
The cohort is a yearlong program, and its four companies are each pursuing defined technical projects rather than shipped products. Ridge Quantum is testing communications-security technology licensed from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, while Superquantum builds planning software for error-corrected quantum computers. No benchmark or performance figures were reported.
The players
CO.LAB
A Chattanooga-based innovation organization that runs the CO.LAB Q program to bring quantum computing teams to the city.
EPB
The Chattanooga utility whose fiber and quantum network Ridge Quantum plans to test its security technology on.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
A U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory whose technology is licensed to Ridge Quantum.
Ridge Quantum
A cohort startup developing communications-security technology licensed from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Superquantum
A cohort startup building software for planning and running tasks on error-corrected quantum computers.
The details
Ridge Quantum is developing communications-security technology licensed from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and plans to test deployment on EPB's fiber and quantum network. Superquantum is building software that helps plan and run tasks on error-corrected quantum computers, where error correction means redundant encoding that detects and fixes computing mistakes. esoteriq is developing Rune, software that estimates the resources needed to prepare data for quantum computing, while Kottackal is building a system that combines quantum and conventional sensors, secure networking and AI to monitor equipment or infrastructure.
Timeline
August 2026: CO.LAB Q program launched.
October 2026: EPB spoke at the Quantum in Business conference in Chattanooga.
November 2, 2026: CO.LAB Q cohort starts this week.
The Tech Race
The CO.LAB Q cohort places Chattanooga among the local efforts seeking a role in quantum computing development. Its four companies span communications security, error-corrected computing software, data preparation tools and sensing systems, which reflects the range of early commercial applications the field is pursuing.
Chattanooga residents will see the cohort's work through local demonstrations and partnerships rather than through consumer products, and the source reports no availability or pricing for any of the companies' technologies. The near-term effect is that quantum teams are working in the city on projects tied to utility networks and regional industry.
The takeaway
Watch whether Ridge Quantum identifies a concrete security application from its EPB network testing as the cohort progresses through its yearlong run. The announced companies and their planned projects will show whether Chattanooga's quantum cluster produces deployable technology.
What happens next
The CO.LAB Q cohort begins the week of November 2, 2026, and runs for one year. Ridge Quantum plans to identify a security application through its testing on EPB's network.
Further reading
For more on the field behind the cohort, see the Quantum Computing section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Timesfreepress.
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