One of PsiQuantum’s silicon wafers undergoing testing. [Image: PsiQuantum]
The US-based quantum computing company PsiQuantum announced that it is getting a funding boost from a new investor—the Australian government. The federal and Queensland governments will provide of a total of AUS$940 million (US$620 million) to help PsiQuantum meet its ambitious stated goal of realizing a commercially usable, fault-tolerant quantum computer at a site near Brisbane, Australia, by the end of this decade.
“A utility-scale quantum computer represents an opportunity to construct a new, practical foundation of computational infrastructure and in so doing ignite the next industrial revolution,” said PsiQuantum CEO Jeremy O’Brien in a press release. “We’re thrilled to partner with the Australian and Queensland governments as our team at PsiQuantum takes a massive step forward in our mission to help deliver on the promise of quantum computing.”
A vote for photons
Quantum-computing companies have pursued a number of architectures based on different types of qubits, including designs that use superconducting circuits and trapped ions. The sizable Australian investment represents a vote of confidence in PsiQuantum’s photon-based method, which the company believes solves the scalability problems faced by other approaches by leveraging existing semiconductor manufacturing processes and cryogenic technologies.
Since its inception, PsiQuantum has maintained that a commercially viable quantum computer must be fault tolerant and fully error corrected—characteristics that require very large-scale systems. PsiQuantum aims to integrate millions of optical components on a standard silicon photonics chip, and it has partnered with semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries to develop and fabricate these devices for single-photon generation and detection.
The company says that this first utility-scale system will be in the regime of one million physical qubits and will be hyperscale in footprint with a modular architecture. Previously the company has framed the goal of building an error-corrected quantum computer by 2029. In the press release announcing the Australian funding, however, PsiQuantum said it is “on an aggressive plan to have the [utility-scale Australian] site operational by the end of 2027.”
A prototype of PsiQuantum’s cryogenic cabinet, many of which it plans to link together to create a commercially useful quantum computer. [Image: PsiQuantum]
Let’s make a deal
The PsiQuantum funding is part of “Future Made in Australia,” a larger policy championed by the administration of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. This initiative aims to support industries and domestic manufacturing to position the country as a competitor in the global economy, including through investments and subsidies.
The AUS$940 million financial package will take the form of equity, grants and loans. As part of the investment deal, PsiQuantum has agreed to develop and operate successive generations of the quantum computer at a site near Brisbane, which it describes in a press release as “strategically located.”
For several PsiQuantum leaders, the Australian project constitutes something of a homecoming. Although the firm is currently headquartered in California’s Silicon Valley, two of its four cofounders, Jeremy O’Brien and Terry Rudolph, are from Australia and attended university in the country.
Eyes on the future
While the investment has faced some initial skepticism in Australia given the challenges to realizing the technology, company officials remain confident in their ability to meet their aggressive timeline. They also note that they have begun working with partners on next steps, as they believe their quantum computer could have an impact in wide-ranging areas including renewable energy, health care and transportation.
“Today’s endorsement from the Australian government establishes another critical milestone in PsiQuantum’s mission to deliver the world’s first useful quantum computers,” said PsiQuantum Chief Business Officer Stratton Sclavos. “With a utility-scale quantum computer in sight, our applications teams have been working with leading companies in pharmaceuticals, semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace, chemicals and financial services to ensure that fault-tolerant quantum applications are ready to deploy when the system is operational.”