The Tangle Testbed: How PSC's TangleLab Prototypes Quantum Inside Classical Supercomputing

Quantum computing's next infrastructure argument is not about qubit count alone. It is about where quantum processors sit inside the machines researchers already use—and who gets access to test that integration.

On July 27, 2026, Carnegie Mellon University announced that the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) will build TangleLab, a $5 million National Science Foundation-funded hybrid quantum-classical testbed developed with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Rigetti Computing.

Not a standalone quantum computer

PSC deputy scientific director Bruno Abreu put the design goal plainly: "We are not deploying a standalone quantum computer. Our goal is to make TangleLab the prototype open platform for a future where quantum information processing and distribution are core elements of advanced cyberinfrastructure."

TangleLab will integrate a Rigetti Novera quantum processing unit with HPE high-performance computing hardware—including ProLiant compute nodes, Cray storage systems, and networking—alongside GPUs suited for AI and accelerated simulation workloads.

Researchers will apply for time through a competitive proposal process. The system will support dedicated research runs and real-time access for classes and workshops, with PSC providing onboarding, training, and research consulting.

Why heterogeneous history matters

PSC has pursued heterogeneous supercomputing since 1991, combining processor types to accelerate scientific applications. TangleLab extends that tradition by treating quantum processors as another specialized resource within an existing HPC environment rather than an isolated laboratory instrument.

Executive director Barr von Oehsen framed the access mission: "Through our partnership with HPE and Rigetti, we are giving scientists, students and educators hands-on access to an integrated quantum-classical system, advancing discovery while helping build the quantum-ready workforce the nation will need."

Project leadership includes University of Pittsburgh dean Bruce Childers, HPE Quantum director Masoud Mohseni, and Rigetti senior vice president Andrew Bestwick.

Timeline and context

Construction is scheduled to begin at PSC's new data center on September 1, 2026, with full operations expected in 2027. The NSF award number is 2537076.

The announcement lands amid a broader July push toward hybrid quantum infrastructure. IBM continues advancing its superconducting roadmap toward the Starling fault-tolerant system targeted for 2029, while also acquiring silicon-spin qubit expertise through HRL Laboratories. Google's quantum program has expanded into neutral-atom modalities. TangleLab represents the national lab access lane: open, proposal-driven, and explicitly educational.

Carnegie Mellon noted that TangleLab complements existing regional quantum efforts, including the Pittsburgh Quantum Institute and the Keystone AI + Quantum Factory partnership across Pennsylvania universities and industry.

What researchers will test

The open question TangleLab is built to probe is practical: on which workloads does a QPU inside an HPC stack outperform purely classical resources once orchestration, networking, and error characteristics are accounted for?

That is a workflow question as much as a physics question. Scheduling, data movement, hybrid algorithms, and failure recovery all determine whether quantum hardware becomes a routine accelerator or remains a side experiment.

For Rigetti, the deployment extends Novera's footprint into a federally funded testbed with training mandates—a different go-to-market than commercial cloud hours alone.

For the field, TangleLab offers something benchmarks alone cannot: a sustained environment where quantum-classical integration is the default, not the exception.

### Sources

• Carnegie Mellon University — Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center To Build Supercomputer That Puts Quantum Computing to the Test (July 27, 2026)
• The Quantum Insider — Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center Will Build New Hybrid Quantum-Classical Supercomputer (July 27, 2026)
• IBM Newsroom — IBM to Acquire HRL Laboratories to Power the Future of Quantum (July 23, 2026)