Conductor Quantum Automates Quantum Hardware Control with AI Models

Conductor Quantum builds AI software to automate and scale quantum hardware operation. Founded in 2024 and backed by Y Combinator's S24 batch, the San Francisco-based startup develops software that sits directly above quantum processors, serving as a bootloader layer to tune, calibrate, and control devices without manual intervention.

In April 2026, Conductor demonstrated a proof of concept for an autonomous quantum lab alongside hardware developer EeroQ and NVIDIA, as reported by Yahoo Finance. Using NVIDIA Ising models and Conductor's AI toolkit, the setup executed a Sommer-Tanner electron detection protocol on an EeroQ test chip. An automated agent responded to natural-language prompts to iterate across parameters, track real-time single-electron movements, and record experimental results directly on physical hardware.

The demonstration followed an international hardware integration in late 2025. As reported by The Quantum Insider, Conductor partnered with Finnish manufacturer SemiQon to deploy its AI control stack on multiplexed silicon spin-qubit array chips produced in commercial semiconductor fabs.

Software for Multi-Modality Quantum Chips

Operating quantum hardware traditionally requires engineers to manually fine-tune voltages and evaluate signal feedback for individual qubits. Conductor's software replaces manual tuning by executing calibration and control workflows automatically. The system operates close to the hardware layer to handle real-time voltage adjustments across high-density qubit arrays.

While the company focuses heavily on silicon spin qubits due to their compatibility with standard semiconductor fabrication, its software stack extends to alternative hardware architectures. Conductor's AI models have been integrated across spin, superconducting, ion trap, neutral atom, and electron-on-helium systems.

Founded by Oxford Quantum Researchers

Conductor was co-founded by CEO Brandon Severin and CTO Joel Pendleton, who met while completing doctorates at the University of Oxford. Severin conducted research on semiconductor quantum device control across four international quantum institutes—including IST Austria, Basel, UNSW, and Diraq—and published four papers on the subject, including research in Nature.

Pendleton left his DPhil program in Engineering Science at Oxford to launch Conductor, bringing prior experience across carbon nanotube research and superconducting transmon qubits. The company has raised $500,000 in seed funding from Y Combinator, Pioneer Fund, Oxonian Ventures, Outbound Capital, and Mergus Ventures.

Hiring Across Quantum Architectures

Conductor Quantum is recruiting engineers to build and deploy hardware control tools across multiple modalities. The team is hiring an AI Systems Engineer in San Francisco to optimize low-latency control software, alongside hardware specialists including a Quantum Engineer (Spin) and a Quantum Engineer (Superconducting).

The company is also expanding field operations beyond its headquarters, hiring an AI Systems Engineer (NM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Open Roles at Conductor Quantum

See all open roles at Conductor Quantum