The Canadian government has announced $8.1-million in financial support to power Sherbrooke, Que.’s quantum sector across one startup and three innovation partners.
The financial support is being funnelled through the Canadian Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) to help domestic startups and non-profit organizations develop quantum technology and bring it to market.
Nord Quantique is the sole startup receiving direct support from CED, through a $1.8-million loan.
“Quebec and Canada are taking their place in the economy of the future, and our government is here to support them,” Minister Pascale St-Onge, the minister responsible for CED, said in a statement. “By boosting innovation in this way, we are helping not only to ensure Quebec’s SMEs and organizations are well positioned, but also to strengthen our global leadership in this emerging area.”
Sherbrooke-based Nord Quantique is the sole startup receiving direct support from CED, through a $1.8-million loan. The new funding will go towards establishing a quantum computer assembly lab by covering costs for specialized equipment, including dilution refrigerators, which operate at incredibly low temperatures, and quantum control electronics.
Founded in 2020 out of Université de Sherbrooke, Nord Quantique develops processors for quantum computing. Last year, the startup claimed it achieved a new milestone for quantum error correction.
A qubit, or quantum bit, is the basic unit of information for quantum systems, like binary bits are to classical computing. Qubits are particularly susceptible to environmental factors and “noise,” leading to errors.
Nord Quantique says its approach can integrate error correction into each qubit, thereby reducing the number of qubits required to perform useful quantum computations.
RELATED: NGen invests $21.4 million across quantum, space, and EV manufacturing projects
La Presse recently reported that Nord Quantique has received funding interest from the US government’s military research arm, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), into its quantum projects. However, the funding would require the Québec-based startup to secure $20 million USD ($28.4 million CAD) from the Canadian government. The company is exploring its government funding options, separate from an ongoing Series A fundraising effort.
DistriQ, which is a provincially designated Quantum Innovation Zone, is receiving the majority of the funding. CED is providing a $5.2-million grant for the centre to buy high-end equipment for DevTeQ, a collaborative lab in Espace Quantique 1. Businesses will be able to benefit from the new additions for research and development. DevTeQ already offers quantum computing technology, cryogenic refrigerators, optical microscopes, photonic optics equipment, and more specialized equipment for quantum prototyping.
CED is contributing a total of $750,000 over three years to support the Québec Quantique initiative, which consists of local groups that support quantum innovation through advocacy, international outreach, and research project funding. The money will go toward promoting the quantum sector and covering the labour costs of the initiative.
PINQ2, the Quebec Digital and Quantum Innovation Platform, administered Québec Quantique until 2024, but DistriQ has now taken over. PINQ2 was created as an initiative of the university and the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation du Québec to support local quantum development.
L’Accélérateur de création d’entreprises technologiques (ACET), a business incubator affiliated with the Université de Sherbrooke, is receiving $435,000 to fund its operations. The non-profit organization focuses on launching and accelerating tech startups, through coaching, access to resources, and its flagship incubator program, ACET Boost.
The new funding was allocated under the CED’s Support for Regional Quantum Innovation initiative, which provides direct financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises and non-profit organizations, such as quantum innovation hubs or post-secondary institutions. The initiative falls under the government’s $360-million National Quantum Strategy, unveiled in 2021.
With federal and provincial support, Sherbrooke has grown into a key hub for Canada’s quantum ecosystem. Several quantum startups are headquartered there, including Nord Quantique, Quantacet, and Qubic Technologies.
Feature image courtesy Nord Quantique.