K1 Semiconductor, a deep tech startup founded by students from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Booth School of Business, has joined the Chicago Quantum Exchange as a corporate partner.
The company is developing a revolutionary wafer-splitting technique that could improve the cost-efficiency and scalability of semiconductor manufacturing, which could help drive advances in quantum and other deep tech innovations catering to the rising global demand for next-generation chips. The company won second place in the UChicago Polsky New Venture Challenge in June and took second place in the inaugural University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Grainger Engineering Tech Startup Challenge in July.
“K1 Semiconductor’s work highlights two critical strengths of the Illinois-Wisconsin-Indiana quantum ecosystem: the role of Midwest-grown startups in developing key components of a domestic quantum supply chain and the important role of academia in driving the commercialization of the quantum technology sector,” said David Awschalom, the Liew Family Professor of Molecular Engineering and Physics at UChicago Pritzker Molecular Engineering and the founding director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange. “We are delighted to welcome K1 Semiconductor to the CQE and look forward to working with them.”
K1 pioneered a semiconductor wafer-splitting process for two materials – diamond and silicon carbide – that are of particular interest to quantum technologists. The process, which also works across a range of high-performance semiconductor materials, including lithium niobate and gallium nitride, enables up to 20x wafer reuse and is critical to developing a manufacturing supply chain that powers the most advanced deep tech innovations.
"We joined the Chicago Quantum Exchange to help bridge cutting-edge semiconductor materials research with scalable, US-based manufacturing,” said Connor Horn, K1’s co-founder and CEO. “As we commercialize our wafer-reuse technology, we're excited to collaborate with CQE partners working at the forefront of quantum devices, photonics, and advanced packaging. Chicago’s quantum ecosystem is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation and we’re proud to be part of it."
K1 will engage with the CQE via the Founder Platform to identify lab facilities, hire talent, and explore commercial collaborations with other CQE partners focused on materials fabrication and quantum sensing. The company is already working with CQE corporate partner Great Lakes Crystal Technologies, which manufactures diamond substrates for quantum sensing and other applications.
“Building a sustainable, scalable quantum supply chain will require the integration of highly specialized suppliers and manufacturers,” said Kate Timmerman, CEO of the Chicago Quantum Exchange. “K1’s collaboration with Great Lakes Crystal Technologies is an encouraging indicator of the nascent, but important, steps our region is taking to build the innovation pipeline needed to power US leadership in the growing quantum technology sector.”
—Article originally appeared on the Chicago Quantum Exchange website
2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology
The United Nations declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum to mark a century of progress in quantum science and engineering. The University of Chicago and its partners join the celebration of the groundbreaking fields that continue to positively impact lives around the world.