Pose: phase I: unitary compiler collection (UCC) - unifying the quantum-programming stack through a community-driven compiler

The National Science Foundation awarded Unitary Fund $298,693 on May 1, 2026, under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to develop a comprehensive strategic plan and validated roadmap for a self-sustaining open-source ecosystem centered on the Unitary Compiler Collection (UCC), an open-source Python library for front-end- and back-end-agnostic compilation of quantum programs.

Phase I activities include conducting structured ecosystem discovery through interviews and engagement with industrial and academic stakeholders to identify technical gaps and define a community-governed roadmap; planning and extending shared technical infrastructure including expanded automated benchmarking and profiling and clearer modular interfaces for integrations; and growing and coordinating the contributor and partner community through documentation, onboarding pathways, community calls, events, and integration playbooks for hardware providers.

The project runs from May 1, 2026, through April 30, 2027, with performance based in San Francisco, California. The award addresses fragmentation in quantum software tools by creating shared infrastructure that makes quantum compilation more interoperable and accessible, lowering barriers for researchers, educators, and industry developers to contribute and reuse state-of-the-art compilation techniques.

Abstract

Quantum computing has advanced rapidly, but progress toward practical applications is limited by fragmented software tools that do not work well together. Much of the software that translates quantum algorithms into low-level instructions for specific hardware is siloed in incompatible tools developed by different vendors and research teams. This situation forces researchers and developers to rewrite work when switching platforms, slowing the adoption of new ideas. This project addresses the situation by building an open-source ecosystem around the unitary compiler collection (UCC). The result is a shared infrastructure that makes quantum compilation more interoperable and accessible. By lowering barriers for researchers, educators, and industry developers to contribute and reuse state-of-the-art compilation techniques, the project advances quantum technologies, supports workforce development, and accelerates innovation by turning a scattered set of tools into a community-driven public resource. This project produces a comprehensive strategic plan and validated roadmap for a self-sustaining open-source ecosystem (OSE) centered on UCC, an open-source python library for front-end- and back-end-agnostic compilation of quantum programs. Phase I activities include (1) conducting structured ecosystem discovery with interviews and engagement across industrial and academic stakeholders to identify high-impact technical gaps and define a community-governed roadmap; (2) planning and extending shared technical infrastructure that lowers the barrier to contribution, including expanded automated benchmarking/profiling and clearer modular interfaces for integrations; and (3) growing and coordinating the contributor and partner community through documentation, onboarding pathways, community calls, events, and integration playbooks for hardware providers and research groups. The outcomes are expected to include an execution-ready plan for a scalable, community-driven compiler ecosystem that enables ?write once, run anywhere? Workflows and supports integration with emerging standards for program exchange and hardware specification. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.