Recent Quantum Computing Breakthroughs from Amazon, Microsoft, and Google Intensifying the Race for Quantum Supremacy
Helium-3 Purchase from U.S. Department of Energy Isotope Program Also Announced Today
SEATTLE, May 7, 2025 -- Interlune, a natural resources company, today announced its first commercial customer. Maybell Quantum, the quantum infrastructure company, has agreed to purchase thousands of liters of helium-3 for yearly delivery from 2029 to 2035. The helium-3 will be used in Maybell's state-of-the-art dilution refrigerators, which cool quantum devices to near-absolute zero temperatures. Interlune also announced a purchase agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy Isotope Program.
"Helium-3 will fuel a fundamental transformation in computing," said Corban Tillemann-Dick, founder and CEO of Maybell Quantum. "In the coming years, we'll go from a few hundred quantum computers worldwide to thousands, then tens of thousands, and they all need to get cold. To get cold, they need dilution refrigeration running on helium-3."
Quantum Computing Advancements Accelerating
With recent and continued advancements in hardware, error correction, and applications, quantum computing is transitioning from research to practical breakthroughs across multiple industries. To create, maintain, and manipulate the fragile quantum states necessary for quantum computing, 'qubits,' the fundamental unit of information in a quantum computer, must be cooled to temperatures hundreds of times colder than outer space. Current dilution refrigerators each use a few dozen liters of helium-3 for their operation. As quantum computing systems scale, individual systems will grow, needing hundreds or even thousands of liters of helium-3.
Maybell Innovation
"Maybell's innovation in cryogenic refrigeration is ahead of its time, making it possible for its quantum computing customers to innovate in turn," said Rob Meyerson, Interlune co-founder and CEO. "We are thrilled and honored to book our first commercial order with a company delivering real-world breakthroughs on the ground every day while simultaneously planning for a radically expanded quantum future that's right around the corner."
Maybell Quantum refrigeration systems revolutionized quantum cryogenics by supporting three times the qubits in one-tenth of the space compared to competing systems, making it easier for quantum computing companies to scale. Maybell dilution refrigerators increase computing performance, experimentation capacity, and reliability by reaching temperatures below 10 millikelvins (mK).
The Interlune Harvesting System
Interlune is pioneering new approaches to separate helium-3 from helium supplies on Earth and to harvest helium-3 on the Moon. The Interlune harvesting system includes novel technologies for excavating, sorting, extracting, and separating lunar soil or regolith to produce industrial quantities of helium-3 and other resources. Its harvester is smaller, lighter, and requires less power than other industry concepts, making it less expensive to transport to the Moon and operate once it's there. The company is also developing novel technologies to separate helium-3 from domestic helium supplies using extremely cold temperatures, funded in part by a research grant from the Department of Energy Isotope Program (DOE IP).
The company has raised $18 million in venture capital seed funding. In addition to the DOE IP research grant, Interlune has received a NASA TechFlights grant and a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award. The company is planning several missions to the Moon this decade.
About Interlune
Interlune is a privately funded natural resources company committed to sustainable and responsible harvesting of natural resources from space to benefit humanity. Based in Seattle, Interlune was founded in 2020 by a team of highly experienced government and industry experts. Aiming to be the first U.S. company to commercialize resources from space, Interlune has developed patent-pending technology that harvests materials from the lunar soil, or regolith, using the smallest, most energy-efficient machinery of its kind. Ultimately, Interlune will offer these valuable resources to commercial and government customers on Earth and establish an in-space economy using the resources on the Moon and beyond. Follow Interlune on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram.
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