The government of Australia has teamed up with the state of Queensland to invest AU$940 million (US$620m) in a quantum computer. The system, to be constructed by California-based startup PsiQuantum, will be located near Brisbane Airport. Both governments have contributed A$470m ($307m) through share purchases, grants, and loans.
The fault-tolerant quantum computer is expected to be up and running by the end of 2027 and will be utilized to support various industries, including renewable energy, minerals and metals, healthcare, and transportation. In exchange for the investment, PsiQuantum has agreed to establish a regional headquarters in Queensland and operate its computers from there.
The system features fusion-based architecture and utilizes photonics, encoding qubits into particles of light. PsiQuantum CEO, Professor Jeremy O’Brien, expressed excitement about the partnership with the Australian and Queensland governments, emphasizing the potential of a utility-scale quantum computer to revolutionize computational infrastructure and spark the next industrial revolution.
Founded in 2016, PsiQuantum aims to build and deploy the world’s first practical quantum computer. The company, co-founded by Australians Jeremy O’Brien and Terry Rudolph, believes in a fast and feasible path to large-scale fault-tolerant systems using existing technologies like high-power cryogenic systems.
The Australian government’s decision to invest in a PsiQuantum-made system was initially met with criticism for favoring a US-based company over local quantum computing organizations. However, the move aligns with Australia’s goal to tap into the lucrative domestic quantum computing market, estimated to generate AU$2.5 billion ($1.6bn) in annual revenue and create 10,000 new jobs by 2040.
In related news, Australia’s Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre recently announced plans to deploy Nvidia’s CUDA Quantum simulation computing platform at its National Supercomputing and Quantum Computing Innovation Hub. Additionally, the center had installed a room-temperature diamond-based quantum computer developed by Quantum Brilliance in early 2022.