Australia invests A$1 billion into PsiQuantum for quantum computing efforts

The Australian government has announced it will invest nearly A$1 billion in developing quantum computers, staking its claim in a race currently dominated by the United States and China.

Headquartered in the US, PsiQuantum was co-founded by a team including two Australian researchers and has received funding from both the Australian Federal and Queensland Governments of A$470 million, for a total of A$940 million ($600 million). The project will receive funding of $13 million. In return, the company will build and operate a next-generation quantum computer in Brisbane, Australia.

stephen bartlett Researchers at the University of Sydney said the announcement amounted to Australia asserting sovereign capabilities in quantum computing and building a quantum technology ecosystem.

“What I'm really excited about about this is that the size of the investment means we're serious,” Bartlett says. Big technology companies such as IBM, Google and Microsoft are investing billions of dollars in quantum computing, but Australian funding makes PsiQuantum one of the world's largest dedicated quantum computing companies.

Quantum computers offer the possibility of completing some tasks much faster than regular computers. So far, such capabilities have only been demonstrated in non-practical problems, but as research teams in the U.S., China and elsewhere race to build larger and less error-prone machines, they are becoming increasingly common. It is hoped that this will begin to prove useful.

Many teams have built quantum computers based on superconductors, but PsiQuantum's approach involves particles of light called photons, which were thought to be difficult to scale up. However, ahead of the Australian announcement, PsiQuantum Published a paper The paper details how standard semiconductor manufacturing equipment, of the type used to make regular computer chips, could be used to build the photonic chips needed for quantum machines.

Australia has exported generations of quantum researchers, including the co-founders of PsiQuantum. Jeremy O'Brien and Terry Rudolph. Mr Bartlett said government investment could allow these scientists to return to Australia and start building their careers here. “Australia is saying we have a seat at the big table when it comes to quantum computing.”