Expansion of collaboration with IBM: Aqarios software now available directly through IBM

Munich, 11 November 2026

• Further agreement with IBM, building on the inclusion in the IBM Quantum Functions Catalog in September 2026
• IBM offers Aqarios' software to its customers directly via its own platform and handles billing itself
• Aqarios receives a license fee for every call, so remuneration grows with usage
• Scalable sales channel: IBM customers can obtain the software without a separate purchase from Aqarios

Aqarios Quantum Technologies AG announces that its wholly owned subsidiary Aqarios GmbH has entered into a further agreement with IBM. Under it, IBM now offers Aqarios' quantum optimization software “Constrained Quantum Optimizer” to its customers directly via the IBM Quantum Platform and handles billing itself. Anyone purchasing computing time on IBM's quantum computers can thus obtain and use the software directly under their existing IBM contract.

The agreement builds on the inclusion of the software in the IBM Quantum Functions Catalog (formerly Qiskit Functions Catalog) in September 2026. Through the catalog, IBM and selected partners provide applications that run directly on IBM's quantum hardware. IBM is one of the leading providers of quantum computers. The applications are built on Qiskit, the world's most widely used open-source framework for programming quantum computers.

The principle is simple: anyone working with IBM's quantum computers buys an allocation of computing time for this purpose. Part of it can now be used directly for Aqarios' software. IBM charges a fee for each call, depending on the size of the optimization problem being solved, and pays Aqarios a license fee in return. Aqarios' remuneration thus grows directly with the use of the software.

For customers, this removes a significant hurdle. Instead of a separate purchasing process with contract negotiations and approvals, they use the software directly from their existing budget. Teams can try it on their own problems right away and expand its use as soon as it proves itself. This low-threshold access has the potential to significantly accelerate the adoption of the software.

For Aqarios, this is an important step towards scaling its software business. Through IBM, the software directly reaches IBM's existing customers. They obtain it on their own, without Aqarios having to acquire and contract each customer individually. Alongside software licenses for the Luna platform, customer projects and publicly funded research projects, this creates a further sales channel for software revenue in quantum computing.

In parallel, Aqarios GmbH continues to grant direct licenses. These allow companies to use the software without limit for a fixed period within the agreed contractual terms. Anyone who works with the software permanently and intensively after trying it will find the right model here.

About Aqarios
Aqarios Quantum Technologies AG is a German deep-tech company and the sole owner of Aqarios GmbH, a 2021 spin-off of LMU Munich. Aqarios is a leading provider of application-oriented quantum software. Its proprietary software platform Luna combines classical optimization with quantum computing, putting both today's and tomorrow's computing technologies to work for industry. Companies in energy, finance, logistics, aerospace and manufacturing can use it to solve highly complex operational problems and make their processes more efficient, without needing quantum expertise of their own. Aqarios has already worked on applications for DAX-listed corporations and leading industrial companies such as BASF, BMW, E.ON, MTU Aero Engines, SAP, Schaeffler and Siemens, and runs them on quantum computers from several providers, including IBM, IonQ and D-Wave. Aqarios and the Luna platform have received several awards for innovation, among them the 2025 Quantum Effects Award in the category Quantum Computing Software and Algorithms at the leading trade fair of the same name in Stuttgart.