{"id":"73c37bb0-7d21-4169-ba5e-1adada7fb98e","slug":"aws-center-quantum-computing-pasadena","name":"AWS Center for Quantum Computing Pasadena","aliases":["AWS Quantum Computing Lab at Caltech","AWS CQC Pasadena","Amazon Web Services Center for Quantum Computing"],"locationId":"cfa62e3b-ea39-4dc9-9286-a8a8a51bdd84","lat":34.1478,"lng":-118.1445,"locationPrecision":"city","landStatus":"university","lifecycleState":"energized","powerSourceMix":"grid","interconnectionQueueStatus":null,"interconnectionQueueId":null,"expectedEnergizationDate":null,"dedicatedSubstation":null,"gridOperator":"CAISO","waterSourceNotes":"No industrial water cooling disclosed. Quantum processors on site (Ocelot cat-qubit chip) operate in dilution refrigerators at near-absolute-zero temperatures, which use closed-cycle helium (helium-3/helium-4) rather than facility water for cryogenic cooling.","servingUtility":"Pasadena Water and Power","acreage":null,"totalBuildingSqft":21000,"streetAddress":"California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CA","notes":"AWS's flagship quantum hardware R&D center, a two-story 21,000 sqft lab on the Caltech campus at 209 S. Holliston Avenue, Pasadena, designed by Brooks + Scarpa and opened October 2021 after a December 2019 partnership announcement with Caltech. The center is led by Oskar Painter (Head of Quantum Hardware) and Fernando Brandao (Head of Quantum Algorithms) and pursues fault-tolerant quantum computing using cat qubits and bosonic quantum error correction. In February 2025 the team unveiled Ocelot, AWS's first in-house quantum chip: a stacked two-die tantalum-on-silicon device with 5 cat data qubits, 5 buffer circuits and 4 error-detection qubits, which AWS claims reduces error-correction overhead by up to 90 percent. AWS is expanding capacity nearby, having purchased a 168,000 sqft former Earthlink building at 2964 Bradley Street in December 2025 for roughly $78M as a second Pasadena quantum R&D site.","keyFacts":[{"label":"Opened","value":"2021"},{"label":"Location","value":"Caltech campus, 209 S. Holliston Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91106"},{"label":"Building","value":"Two-story, 21,000 sq ft lab by Brooks + Scarpa; a Caltech capital project with AWS"},{"label":"Focus","value":"Quantum hardware and fault-tolerant quantum computing"},{"label":"AWS Braket","value":"Braket systems are hosted at provider facilities, not AWS data centers"},{"label":"Head of Quantum Hardware","value":"Oskar Painter (Caltech)"},{"label":"Head of Quantum Algorithms","value":"Fernando Brandao (Caltech)"},{"label":"In-house chip","value":"Ocelot (Feb 2025): 5 cat data qubits, 5 buffer circuits, 4 error-detection qubits"},{"label":"Error correction (company-claimed)","value":"Cat-qubit error correction; up to 90% less overhead"},{"label":"Cooling","value":"Dilution refrigerators; no facility water cooling disclosed"},{"label":"Expansion (Dec 2025)","value":"168,000 sq ft building at 2964 Bradley Street bought for about $78M"}],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/quantum-computing/announcing-the-aws-center-for-quantum-computing/","name":"AWS Quantum Computing Blog","title":"Announcing the AWS Center for Quantum Computing"},{"url":"https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/preparations-begin-aws-center-quantum-computing-caltech","title":"Preparations Begin for AWS Center for Quantum Computing at Caltech","sourceName":"Caltech News"},{"url":"https://fpdc.caltech.edu/capital-projects/recent-past-projects/aws-quantum-computing-lab","title":"AWS Quantum Computing Lab — Caltech Facilities Planning, Design & Construction","sourceName":"Caltech FPDC"},{"url":"https://thequantuminsider.com/2021/10/26/aws-opens-its-center-for-quantum-computing-on-caltech-campus/","title":"AWS Opens Its Center for Quantum Computing on Caltech Campus","sourceName":"The Quantum Insider"},{"url":"https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/quantum-computing-aws-ocelot-chip","title":"Amazon's new Ocelot chip brings us closer to building a practical quantum computer","sourceName":"About Amazon"},{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/27/amazon-touts-its-first-quantum-computing-chip-a-week-after-microsofts-unveiling.html","title":"Amazon touts its first quantum computing chip a week after Microsoft's unveiling","sourceName":"CNBC"},{"url":"https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/27/1112560/amazon-quantum-computing-chip-makes-its-debut/","title":"Amazon Web Services introduces its first quantum computing chip","sourceName":"MIT Technology Review"},{"url":"https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/aws-plans-another-quantum-research-center-in-pasadena-california/","title":"AWS plans another quantum research center in Pasadena, California","sourceName":"Data Center Dynamics"},{"url":"https://world-architects.com/en/brooks-and-scarpa-architects-hawthorne/project/aws-quantum-computing-lab-at-caltech","title":"AWS Quantum Computing Lab at Caltech — Brooks + Scarpa Architects","sourceName":"world-architects.com"}],"reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-25T17:25:51.946Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-12T23:59:03.399Z","location":{"id":"cfa62e3b-ea39-4dc9-9286-a8a8a51bdd84","name":"Pasadena","slug":"pasadena-us","kind":"city","parentLocationId":"252014de-7d24-488b-8eb9-8b5c22ee8ec3","region":"West Coast","lat":34.1478,"lng":-118.1445,"reviewStatus":"reverified","aliases":["Pasadena, California, USA"],"collisionRisk":"high","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-07T15:40:58.391Z","updatedAt":"2026-11-02T18:32:15.604Z"},"parties":[{"id":"3871e029-ed19-4819-825d-abdbdfee2c45","dataCenterId":"73c37bb0-7d21-4169-ba5e-1adada7fb98e","companyId":null,"externalName":"Amazon Web Services","role":"operator","structureNotes":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-25T17:25:52.374Z","company":null}],"capacityClaims":[],"financialClaims":[],"metricClaims":[],"powerProjects":[],"facilities":[],"incidents":[],"events":[],"capacity_picture":{"announced_gw":null,"contracted_gw":null,"under_construction_gw":null,"energized_gw":null,"announced_minus_energized_gw":null,"by_series":{"announced":null,"contracted":null,"under_construction":null,"energized":null}},"jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Place","name":"AWS Center for Quantum Computing Pasadena","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/datacenters/aws-center-quantum-computing-pasadena","geo":{"@type":"GeoCoordinates","latitude":34.1478,"longitude":-118.1445},"address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressLocality":"Pasadena"}}}