SuperQ Secures Strategic European Foothold via Landmark Partnership with Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM; Positions for Global Dominance in Hybrid Quantum

Calgary, Alberta–(Newsfile Corp. – February 23, 2026) – SuperQ Quantum Computing Inc. (CSE: QBTQ) (OTCQB: QBTQF) (FSE: 25X) (“SuperQ Quantum“, “SuperQ“, or the “Company“), the leader in one-click quantum optimization, today announced a transformative strategic partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM (“Fraunhofer ITWM”), a member of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft – Europe’s largest and most prestigious applied research organization. The collaboration is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focused on joint technical evaluation and research-oriented cooperation in the area of quantum and hybrid optimization.

This partnership marks SuperQ’s official entry into the European quantum ecosystem. By aligning with Fraunhofer, the MoU represents a de-risking of SuperQ’s commercial roadmap and opens new market opportunities with Europe’s industrial “Mittelstand” and Fortune 500 giants. SuperQ transitions from a North American innovator to a global peer.

Engineering the “Quantum Utility” Era

Under the MoU, the collaboration will focus on technical exchange and exploratory activities, including:

– Independent Technical Assessment: Fraunhofer ITWM will conduct a structured technical evaluation of SuperQ’s platform in selected application scenarios. The assessment is intended to identify capabilities and limitations and may catalyze enterprise adoption and provide a competitive moat.

– Joint Research & Funding Opportunities: The partners plan to explore participation in European and international publicly funded research programs. Such projects, if pursued, would support research and development activities with non-dilutive capital in areas such as energy systems, logistics, and ML.

– The “Hybrid” Advantage: Unlike pure-play hardware firms, this collaboration focuses on SuperQ’s differentiated strategy, which is backed by Fraunhofer ITWM: integrating gate-based quantum, quantum annealing, and classical HPC into a single, seamless workflow.

“This is not just a geographic expansion; it is a validation of our ‘One-Click’ philosophy by the most respected names in industrial mathematics,” said Dr. Muhammad Khan, CEO and Board Chair of SuperQ. “Investors should recognize that we are moving beyond the ‘quantum lab’ phase. Working with Fraunhofer ITWM allows us to engage with one of Europe’s leading applied mathematics institutes in a rigorous and practice-oriented setting turning complex math into executive-ready ROI.”

Strategic Integration & Market Impact

Within this collaboration, Fraunhofer ITWM will evaluate the Super™ platform in terms of performance, scalability, and potential integration into its HPC infrastructure for industry-scale simulation and algorithm acceleration. This ensures that as quantum hardware matures, SuperQ’s software remains the indispensable “operating system” for industrial-scale simulation. Together, they aim to develop and evaluate hybrid quantum-classical computing workflows that combine gate-based quantum computing, quantum annealing, and classical high-performance computing to enhance modelling, simulation, and optimization, while jointly identifying application areas – such as logistics, energy, manufacturing, finance, defense-related optimization, or resource exploration.

“Fraunhofer ITWM is dedicated to bringing cutting-edge innovation into industrial practice,” stated Dr. Pascal Halffmann, Research Coordinator Quantum Computing at Fraunhofer ITWM. “By coupling our expertise in quantum algorithms and HPC with SuperQ’s orchestration technologies, we aim to advance next-generation computing for industrial use cases.”

About the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM

The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern is one of the largest research institutes for industrial mathematics worldwide. We see our task in further developing mathematics as a key technology and providing innovative impetus. Our focus is on the implementation of mathematical methods and technology in application projects and their further development in research projects. The close cooperation with partners from industry guarantees the high practical relevance of our work.

Our integral components are consulting, implementation and support in the application of high-performance computer technology and the provision of tailor-made software solutions. Our various competencies address a wide range of customers: automotive industry, mechanical engineering, chemical industry, energy and finance. This also benefits from our network such as the Fraunhofer Competence Network Quantum Computing and the “Simulation- and software-based innovation” high-performance center.

About the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, headquartered in Germany, is one of the world’s leading organizations for applied research. It plays a major role in innovation by prioritizing research on cutting-edge technologies and the transfer of results to industry to strengthen Germany’s industrial base and for the benefit of society as a whole. Since its founding as a nonprofit organization in 1949, Fraunhofer has held a unique position in the German research and innovation ecosystem.

With nearly 32,000 employees across 75 institutes and independent research units in Germany, Fraunhofer operates with an annual budget of €3.6 billion, €3.1 billion of which is generated by contract research – Fraunhofer’s core business model. Unlike other public research organizations, base funding from the German federal and state governments is merely the foundation for the annual research budget. This serves as the basis for groundbreaking precompetitive research that will become important for the private sector and society in the years ahead. Fraunhofer’s distinctive feature is its large share of industry revenue, guaranteeing close collaboration with the private sector and industry, and the consistent focus of Fraunhofer’s research on the market. In 2024, industry revenue accounted for €867 million of its budget. Fraunhofer’s research portfolio is augmented by competitively acquired public-sector funding, pursuing the right balance between public-sector and industry revenue.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information generally refers to information about an issuer’s business, capital, or operations that is prospective in nature. Any statements that are contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often identified by terms such as “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “would”, “will”, “estimates”, “believes”, “intends” “expects” and similar expressions which are intended to identify forward-looking information. More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward-looking information concerning statements with respect to the closing of the Offering, timing of closing of the Offering, the use of proceeds of the Offering and the future plans of the Company. The Company cautions that all forward-looking information is inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, assumptions, expectations and risks, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to assumptions regarding prevailing market conditions and general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties to develop the forward-looking information in this press release, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company’s disclosure documents filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedarplus.ca. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

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