(Bloomberg) Amazon.com Inc. is laying the groundwork for a quantum computer.
Amazon has been hiring for a Quantum Hardware Team within its Amazon Web Services Center for Quantum Computing, according to internal job postings and information on LinkedIn. Marc Runyan, a former engineer with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, lists his title on the professional social network as senior quantum research scientist at Amazon and describes his role as “helping to design and build a quantum computer for Amazon Web Services.”
A spokesman for Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud-computing group, declined to comment. Runyan didn’t immediately respond to a LinkedIn message.
Among Amazon’s recent hires are research scientists focusing on designing a new superconducting quantum device as well as device fabrication. Developing its own quantum computer would let Amazon more closely mirror the approach taken by its major cloud rivals. International Business Machines Corp. first made a quantum computer available to the public in 2016 and has rolled out regular upgrades.
One person briefed on Amazon’s plans, but not authorized to discuss them, says the company is using a superconductor model, a similar approach to that used by Google and IBM, among others. The person said Amazon has been on a hiring spree to staff its quantum computing group.
Amazon Is Laying the Groundwork for Its Own Quantum Computer
