The US military-backed initiative aims to create a useful quantum computer by 2033.
All three Canadian companies are involved in a quantum computing project supported by the US military. research program advanced to the next round.
“We are pleased that DARPA believes we have a clear line of sight and want to continue to work with us to get us to that finish line.”
Nord Quantique, headquartered in Sherbrooke, Xanadu, headquartered in Toronto, and Photonic, headquartered in Vancouver, have been selected to participate in Phase B of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), a program run by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The companies have moved one step closer to the potential US$316 million ($445 million CAD) in funding available if they can develop a functional, fault-tolerant quantum computer.
“We are pleased that DARPA believes we have a clear line of sight and want to continue to work with us to get us to that finish line,” Nord Quantique CEO Julien Camirand Lemire told BetaKit. “We are extremely confident in our technology, but this is always encouraging.”
Nord Quantique is working on superconducting qubits with a special type of error correction at the qubit level, the basic software unit of quantum computing. The 50-person team claims to have developed a computing method that keeps the size of a quantum system compact and more energy efficient than its competitors.
The year-long second phase of the program gives companies an initial $5 million and the opportunity to negotiate an additional $10 million, which Lemire said must be provided by participating companies either from their balance sheet or from outside investors.
Photonic, which develops silicon spin qubits and networks them together, is focused on solving the scalability problem. In a statement, Photonic founder and chief quantum officer Stephanie Simmons said Phase A allowed the company to “demonstrate the promise of our unique architectural approach” to do just that.
CONNECTED: Why Canada Now Cares About Quantum Technology with Xanadu's Christian Widbrook
The 18 Phase A participants, which included tech giants Hewlett Packard Enterprise and IBM, received $1 million each for developing the concept of a useful-scale quantum computer and submitting a report. Eleven firms, including IBM and three Canadian companies, made it to the second stage. Xanadu's Christian Widbrook told BetaKit that while Phase 1 focused on the plausibility of the company's approach, Phase B will evaluate the research and development path.
“I told the team, ‘We have to get to the next stage,’” Widbrook said. “They really pulled it off.”
The QBI program aims to speed up the process of creating a commercially viable quantum computer, as the topic has led to market volatility and debate among quantum leaders. Experts rated that this goal can be achieved somewhere in five to twenty years. Defense applications of quantum technologies are widespread, from advanced remote sensing to hack-resistant cryptography.
The QBI program, which brings together hundreds of the world's quantum experts to review projects, acts as a “due diligence” mechanism in the rapidly changing quantum landscape, according to Nord Quantique.
In his federal budget On Tuesday, the Canadian government announced $334.3 million in funding for the quantum technology industry over five years. About $223 million will go to research, with the remaining $111.2 million earmarked for industry and defense. More detailed information is expected to be published in the upcoming Defense Industrial Strategy. Both Widbrook and Lemire said they have heard nothing more about how the money will be spent.
Xanadu and Photonic were both awarded grants under the Canadian Department of Defense's Innovation for Defense Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program. The companies received $1 million each to develop early-stage technology solutions to protect North America from aerospace and maritime threats.
Lemire told BetaKit that the intellectual property (IP) of developments made under the DARPA program will belong to the participating companies. A document on the QBI website When discussing intellectual property rights, it states that “each agreement will be negotiated separately and to the mutual benefit of both parties.”
For his part, Widbrook said that Xanadu plans to file patent applications in both Canada and the United States, and that DARPA has not yet provided additional details about how the US War Department plans to work with companies building full-scale quantum computers. “We are very happy to know, though,” he said.
Image courtesy of Nord Quantique.
