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Speculation on ASP Isotopes' Silicon-28 Customer Identities and Path to Mass Production
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- one contract is with a major U.S. semiconductor company
- one is with a large global industrial-gases company
- and one is with a large U.S. buyer
ASP has not disclosed the names of its customers. This is not financial advice, speculation only. I have a position in ASP isotopes.
ASPI has shipped enriched Si-28 samples to customers, received independent confirmation that enrichment levels tracked its theoretical calculations, and is now targeting commercial Si-28 shipments in H2 following engineering modifications to its enrichment facility.
Potential Customer 1: Intel
"Major U.S. semiconductor company." Intel is one of the world's most obvious candidates for that description.
Intel has spent years developing silicon spin qubits and explicitly designed its quantum programme around semiconductor manufacturing.
Intel's Tunnel Falls chip, for example, is a silicon spin-qubit device manufactured using industrial transistor fabrication technology. Intel describes the platform as being designed for at-scale manufacturing using CMOS technology. Strong strategic fit with ASP.
ASP is effectively saying:
We can provide highly enriched Si-28.
Intel is saying:
We can manufacture silicon spin qubits using semiconductor processes.
The Hitachi Connection
In July 2026, Hitachi announced a major collaboration with Intel K.K. and Japan's AIST to accelerate silicon quantum computing from academic research toward industrial application.
The programme is intended to develop silicon quantum chips with more than 100 qubits, use Intel's 18A manufacturing process and quantum-device Process Design Kit, develop cryogenic packaging and control technology, and ultimately work toward systems exceeding 1,000 qubits.
The infrastructure required to create a real manufacturing ecosystem around enriched Si28 is forming:
PDK - chip design - foundry manufacturing - packaging - control - system integration.
If Intel is serious about scaling this architecture, the supply of high-quality Si-28 becomes strategically important.
Potential Customer 2: June 2024, ASP announced a purchase order from global industrial gases company.
The obvious names:
- Linde
- Air Liquide
- Air Products
The semiconductor industry already depends heavily on companies like these for highly purified gases and materials.
A major gases company has:
- semiconductor-fab relationships
- gas purification infrastructure;
- logistics
- packaging
- materials expertise
- global distribution
That industrial-gases company could potentially become a distribution bridge into the semiconductor industry.
ASP doesn't need to build a sales relationship with every individual fab. It has effectively plugged itself into an existing semiconductor supply chain.
If Si-28 becomes an important material for quantum and advanced semiconductor manufacturing, the companies controlling the supply chain will want reliable sources.
Potential Customer 3: IBM / Anderon
This trail is imo the most interesting right now. IBM has traditionally been associated with superconducting qubits, rather than silicon spin qubits. At first glance, IBM seemed like an unlikely Si-28 customer. But IBM's strategy has changed.
In May 2026, IBM and the U.S. Department of Commerce announced plans for Anderon, a new IBM company intended to become America's first pure-play quantum wafer foundry.
The proposed project has up to $1 billion in CHIPS incentives, alongside a $1 billion IBM contribution, and is designed to enable advanced quantum wafer production for a broad range of companies and quantum modalities.
IBM isn't simply building quantum computers. It's building silicon quantum manufacturing infrastructure, just like Intel with Hitachi.
In July 2026, IBM announced an agreement to acquire HRL Laboratories. HRL brings expertise in silicon-spin qubits and quantum sensing. IBM explicitly said the acquisition could help it work with Anderon on developing spin-qubit manufacturing and accelerating quantum manufacturing learning cycles.
IBM is still pursuing its superconducting architecture. But it is now acquiring silicon-spin expertise and building a quantum wafer foundry. That means IBM has created a pathway into the Si-28 ecosystem.
The company itself says HRL's silicon-spin expertise could complement its existing programme and help IBM understand how to scale quantum computing over the coming decade.
And Anderon is intended to serve a broad range of quantum computing modalities and companies.Therefore, even if IBM itself doesn't use enormous quantities of Si-28, Anderon potentially could become a manufacturing platform for companies that do. That makes Anderon relevant to the Si-28 supply chain even without IBM being a direct buyer.
Where Does Argonne Fit?
Argonne has been deeply involved with intel in semiconductor quantum research through Q-NEXT. Its Quantum Foundry has housed Intel's Solid State Testbed, supporting development from quantum-dot qubit chips through systems architecture.
National laboratories are now helping create the infrastructure connecting:
quantum physics - semiconductor fabrication - quantum systems.
Argonne could be:
- an end user
- a research partner
- a qualification/testing site
- a source of technical validation
- or simply part of the broader ecosystem.
The 99% kicker
The third customer doesn't necessarily have to be a quantum-computing company. It could be a company developing a next-generation semiconductor application.
ASP itself has said Si-28 may have applications beyond quantum computing, including next-generation semiconductors and AI/data-centre technologies.
ASP plans to initially sell Si-28 at around 99% enrichment, rather than immediately targeting the ultra-high purities associated with the most demanding quantum applications.
That's potentially important because isotopic purification can alter silicon's thermal and phonon properties. 99% Si-28 can provide useful thermal-performance benefits in advanced semiconductor architectures, ASP could potentially address a much larger market than quantum alone.
Current status for ASP and their Si28 roadmap
First Si-28 samples shipped to a U.S. customer in August 2025 independent testing confirmed enrichment matched theoretical expectations.
Current delays were primarily due to non-core equipment, particularly valves, piping and compressors inherited from Klydon.
ASP has upgraded 200+ OEM compressors to meet required specifications.
Facility is now operating with 48 enrichment stages, producing significant quantities at 98% Si-28 vs. 92% natural abundance.
Further compressor upgrades are underway to enable additional enrichment stages.
First commercial 99% Si-28 shipments targeted for H2 2026.
The 99% Si-28 market could potentially be substantially larger than the market for ultra-high enrichment.
The key near-term milestone is therefore commercial 99% Si-28 production, followed by higher-purity material for quantum applications.
Si-28 is only be the tip of the iceberg for ASP Isotopes. They're moving toward commercialisation across several strategic-material markets, including Ytterbium-176 and Carbon-14 for nuclear medicine, helium and LNG through its Renergen acquisition, and its HALEU/nuclear-fuel business through Quantum Leap Energy.
Targeting first commercial shipments across multiple isotope products in 2026, while Phase 1 helium production is also expected to ramp in Q3 2026.
ASP has not disclosed the names of its customers. This is not financial advice, speculation only. I hold shares of ASP isotopes.
Sources:
ASPI letter to share holders
Hitachi + Intel + AIST - Silicon Quantum
https://www.hitachi.com/en/press/articles/2026/07/0722a/
IBM - Anderon Quantum Foundry
IBM - HRL Acquisition
https://newsroom.ibm.com/2026-07-23-ibm-to-acquire-hrl-laboratories-to-power-the-future-of-quantum
Argonne - Silicon quantum with Intel
https://www.anl.gov/article/argonne-launches-silicon-quantum-processor-collaboration-with-intel
The OP speculates about the identities of the unnamed customers under three silicon-28 contracts signed by ASP Isotopes (ASPI). The core thesis is that the customers may include Intel, an industrial gas giant such as Linde, and IBM's proposed Anderon quantum wafer foundry platform or a related U.S. institution. The argument begins with the company's public descriptions of a large U.S. semiconductor company, a global industrial gas company, and another U.S. buyer. Regarding Intel, the OP emphasizes its long-running development of silicon spin qubits and efforts to achieve scalable manufacturing using CMOS processes. In July 2026, Hitachi, Intel K.K., and AIST launched a collaboration targeting chips with more than 100 qubits, the Intel 18A process, a quantum-device PDK, cryogenic packaging and control technologies, and ultimately systems with more than 1,000 qubits, potentially making high-purity silicon-28 a critical material. However, this only demonstrates a logical technical need at Intel and does not prove that it is an ASPI customer. For the industrial gas customer, the OP names Linde, Air Liquide, and Air Products, arguing that their existing relationships with wafer fabs and their purification, packaging, logistics, and global distribution capabilities could connect ASPI to the semiconductor supply chain. However, there is no direct evidence identifying Linde specifically. The third line of speculation concerns IBM and Anderon: in May 2026, the U.S. Department of Commerce and IBM announced a proposed independent quantum wafer foundry company named Anderon, which could receive up to $1 billion in CHIPS support, with IBM committing another $1 billion. IBM subsequently announced the acquisition of HRL Laboratories, which has silicon spin-qubit capabilities, and stated that it could work with Anderon on spin-qubit manufacturing. The OP therefore argues that even if IBM remains focused primarily on superconducting qubits, Anderon could purchase silicon-28 for other silicon spin customers. Argonne is viewed as a potential end user, validation partner, or research partner because it hosts Intel's solid-state quantum testbed through Q-NEXT, but there is likewise no evidence linking it to any contract. Operationally, the post states that ASPI shipped samples in August 2025, that third-party test results matched theoretical calculations, and that equipment delays were mainly caused by peripheral components such as valves, piping, and compressors. The claimed current status of 48 stages and approximately 98% abundance could not be fully verified from the cited public materials. The officially confirmed interim update is that 18 stages had restarted by May 2026, with initial commercial deliveries targeted for the third quarter of 2026. The OP places particular emphasis on approximately 99% silicon-28 rather than limiting the thesis to ultra-high-purity quantum applications, hypothesizing that isotope purification could improve thermal conductivity and phonon properties and enable adoption in AI, data centers, and advanced semiconductors, thereby expanding potential demand. In addition, the author identifies Yb-176, C-14, Renergen's helium and LNG, and the QLE nuclear fuel business as future growth drivers and discloses ownership of ASPI shares, but provides no position size, cost basis, price target, or revenue and valuation model. The article's largest weakness is that it jumps directly from technical fit and industry relationships to conclusions about customer identities. Contract values, purchase volumes, purity specifications, pricing, and repeat-purchase arrangements are all unknown. Simultaneous commercialization of multiple products, equipment modifications, capital expenditures, and customer qualification also present execution risks, while the claim that the 99% product has a larger market is not yet supported by orders or quantifiable market data.
There was very little substantive discussion, and no meaningful validation of the customer-identity speculation emerged. One comment focused on Renergen's helium concentration, whether the gas source is associated with natural gas, and how LNG prices affect project economics; the reply merely stated in general terms that the deposit is high quality. Another comment claimed that INFQ might also be involved but provided no evidence. The remaining comments were mostly jokes about the post being too long, and the OP did not provide any substantive response.
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