“Matter and Light for Quantum Computing” (ML4Q) is a new Cluster of Excellence funded within the Excellence Strategy by the German Research Foundation (DFG). It is a cooperation by the universities of Cologne, Aachen, and Bonn, as well as the Research Center Jülich. ML4Q works in the three key research fields of quantum information science, solid-state physics and quantum optics in order to develop the best hardware platform for quantum information technology, and provide comprehensive blueprints for a functional quantum information network.