Qu\u00e9bec quantum groups aim to boost collaboration between the tech industry and researchers.\n<\/p>\n
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Two of Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s key quantum computing organizations, PINQ\u00b2 (the Qu\u00e9bec Digital and Quantum Innovation Platform) and Sherbrooke-based DistriQ, have partnered to boost the commercialization of quantum computing both in the province and Canada.<\/p>\n
The partners claim this will create a \u201crobust industrial fabric\u201d 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 \u201cclassical-quantum\u201d models and spur quantum applications in fields like cybersecurity, logistics, and materials simulation.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThis is a major opportunity for Qu\u00e9bec and Canadian companies to gain early positioning in the quantum value chain.\u201d<\/p>\n
DistriQ and PINQ\u00b2 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
DistriQ and PINQ\u00b2 claim they will achieve this goal by combining their \u201cexpertise, infrastructures, and networks\u201d to enable collaboration between academic researchers, industries, and \u201ctechnological stakeholders.\u201d <\/p>\n
Spokeswoman Marion Urso told BetaKit via email that this included more experimentation using \u201creal quantum hardware\u201d and promoting toolkits to integrate quantum into existing workflows.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a major opportunity for Qu\u00e9bec and Canadian companies to gain early positioning in the quantum value chain,\u201d the leadership teams from DistriQ and PINQ\u00b2 said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Urso said the partnership was expected to produce \u201cmeasurable results\u201d within the next 12 to 18 months by onboarding more companies, launching pilot programs, and launching infrastructure. She added that PINQ\u00b2 was already involved with partners beyond Qu\u00e9bec, including IBM.<\/p>\n
Sherbrooke is a major hub for quantum computing in Canada and home to companies like Nord Quantique<\/a>, Quantacet, and Qubic Technologies. The federal government provided $8.1 million<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n
DistriQ, billed as Sherbrook\u2019s \u201cQuantum Innovation Zone,\u201d was founded in 2022 to foster both research and commercialization in the emerging field. PINQ\u00b2 aims to support development in the area and was created in 2020 by the Universit\u00e9 de Sherbrooke as well as the Minist\u00e8re de l\u2019\u00c9conomie et de l\u2019Innovation du Qu\u00e9bec.<\/p>\n
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The news comes as Canada\u2019s broader quantum industry is forging other connections. Toronto-based Xanadu recently struck deals with Applied Materials, the United States (US) Air Force<\/a>, and glass giant Corning<\/a> to advance its networked quantum computing chips. The US military\u2019s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) also selected Xanadu, Nord Quantique and Vancouver, B.C.\u2019s Photonic to compete in the first stage of a program aimed at building a usable quantum computer<\/a> by 2033.<\/p>\n
Qu\u00e9bec and Canada at large also face mounting competition from the US, including Canadian-born D-Wave Quantum Systems<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n