Two of Québec’s key quantum computing organizations, PINQ² (the Québec Digital and Quantum Innovation Platform) and Sherbrooke-based DistriQ, have partnered to boost the commercialization of quantum computing both in the province and Canada.
The partners claim this will create a “robust industrial fabric” that puts the technology to use in real situations, whether companies are startups or major enterprises. The organizations hope to transition companies away from conventional computing to mixed “classical-quantum” models and spur quantum applications in fields like cybersecurity, logistics, and materials simulation.
“This is a major opportunity for Québec and Canadian companies to gain early positioning in the quantum value chain.”
DistriQ and PINQ²
DistriQ and PINQ² claim they will achieve this goal by combining their “expertise, infrastructures, and networks” to enable collaboration between academic researchers, industries, and “technological stakeholders.”
Spokeswoman Marion Urso told BetaKit via email that this included more experimentation using “real quantum hardware” and promoting toolkits to integrate quantum into existing workflows.
“This is a major opportunity for Québec and Canadian companies to gain early positioning in the quantum value chain,” the leadership teams from DistriQ and PINQ² said in a statement.
Urso said the partnership was expected to produce “measurable results” within the next 12 to 18 months by onboarding more companies, launching pilot programs, and launching infrastructure. She added that PINQ² was already involved with partners beyond Québec, including IBM.
Sherbrooke is a major hub for quantum computing in Canada and home to companies like Nord Quantique, Quantacet, and Qubic Technologies. The federal government provided $8.1 million for quantum development in the city this February, including a $5.2-million grant for DistriQ and a $1.8 million loan for Nord Quantique.
DistriQ, billed as Sherbrook’s “Quantum Innovation Zone,” was founded in 2022 to foster both research and commercialization in the emerging field. PINQ² aims to support development in the area and was created in 2020 by the Université de Sherbrooke as well as the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation du Québec.
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The news comes as Canada’s broader quantum industry is forging other connections. Toronto-based Xanadu recently struck deals with Applied Materials, the United States (US) Air Force, and glass giant Corning to advance its networked quantum computing chips. The US military’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) also selected Xanadu, Nord Quantique and Vancouver, B.C.’s Photonic to compete in the first stage of a program aimed at building a usable quantum computer by 2033.
Québec and Canada at large also face mounting competition from the US, including Canadian-born D-Wave Quantum Systems and IBM. Microsoft also recently entered the hardware field with Majorana 1, a processor that uses a claimed new class of materials to help scale quantum computing to practical levels.
Feature image courtesy of IBM.