About 4colors
Better algorithms, better decisions
4colors Research builds optimization software for planning and for quantum computing. Founded in Cambridge, UK, in 2016, it turns original algorithms into products.
Passionate about optimization: we invent the algorithms and build them into software our customers use.
Hard problems are our favorite kind
We are an optimization company: we build software that makes better decisions.
Since 2016 we have turned new methods for scheduling, logistics, loading and quantum computing into products: 4colors Optimizer and our quantum software.
Our mathematicians and engineers improve one engine and a small family of products, and we help every customer put them to work.
What we bring together
Original algorithms
Learned guidance
Careful engineering
Public benchmarks
Mathematical modeling
Quantum expertise
Ready-to-use products
Close customer support
From research to your decisions
Every idea earns its place on hard benchmark problems before it reaches a product.
New search ideas, tested against strong methods on difficult problem sets.
The ideas that win go into the 4colors Optimizer, one engine for many problem types.
Editions, planning apps and the Quantum Compiler deliver the engine where you work.
Better plans for production, people, transport and circuits, within the time you have.
- 01
Research
New search ideas, tested against strong methods on difficult problem sets.
- 02
Engine
The ideas that win go into the 4colors Optimizer, one engine for many problem types.
- 03
Products
Editions, planning apps and the Quantum Compiler deliver the engine where you work.
- 04
Your decisions
Better plans for production, people, transport and circuits, within the time you have.
Why the algorithm matters
Two solvers given the same problem and the same time return plans of different quality.
Quality
A better search finds plans with lower cost, fewer delays and more capacity.
Time
A faster search leaves time to compare options before a decision is due.
Scale
A smarter search keeps working as problems grow to industrial size.
The gap between a good plan and a better one is real money, and the algorithm decides which one you get.
What we build
One optimization engine, delivered three ways.
Classical
Optimization software
4colors Optimizer and the planning apps Takt, Roster and Stride, for production, shift and project plans.
Quantum
Quantum software
The 4colors Quantum Compiler and the Optimizer for QUBO, for teams running circuits and models on today's devices.
Projects
Optimization projects
Custom models and proofs of concept where production, workforce and transport decisions connect.
Recognized on hard problems
All recognitionMay 2026 · Award
Cambridge Independent awards
Highly Commended, Technology Company of the Year, and shortlisted for AI Company of the Year.
February 2026 · Contract
UK Space Agency
Sensor-scheduling algorithms for space domain awareness.
October 2025 · Semifinalist
XPRIZE Quantum Applications
One of 20 teams, for quantum routines inside adaptive optimization.
December 2024 · Winner
Airbus x BMW challenge
First in the Quantum-Powered Logistics track with a hybrid classical and quantum approach.
What's in a name?
Every map can be colored with four colors so that no two neighbors match. Easy to state, famously hard to prove: the problem behind our name.
Bring us a hard problem
Tell us the decision or computation you want to improve.