British Columbia Quantum Tech Advances at Light Speed
(BIV.com) This article reports on British Columbia’s tech ecosystem support of quantum computing. Vancouver-based quantum companies are benefiting from being in the middle of a Venn diagram of ecosystems, with the West Coast of North America – home to Microsoft and Google – on one end and Central Canada on the other. The British Columbia province has also recognized Vancouver’s emergence as a quantum hub, announcing last month it would commit $17 million over five years to help launch the new Quantum Algorithms Institute at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus to train more experts in the field.
Quantum Tech Companies in BC
The Canadian firm Vanedge Capital Partners Ltd. partnered with Google on the software used to achieve quantum supremacy, correcting errors made by the tech giant’s processor. Moe Kermani and his team at Vanedge Capital Partners Ltd. couldn’t help but bask in a feeling of validation late last month when scientists at Google achieved “quantum supremacy.”
Burnaby-based D-Wave Systems Inc. is a pioneer in the field, building what many consider to be the world’s first commercially viable quantum computer. It has sold systems to Google, U.S. defence company Lockheed Martin Corp. and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Microsoft Corp. announced earlier this month it was partnering with Vancouver-based 1QB Information Technologies Inc. (1QBit) for its new Azure Quantum offering. Vancouver-based Fujitsu Intelligence Technology CEO Naoko Yoshizawa, meanwhile, sits on 1QBit’s board.
Fujitsu Ltd.’s new office, where a team of 20 experts is using a quantum-inspired digital annealer to tackle commercial endeavours such as optimizing shipping routes at sea is across the street from 1QBit.
The British Columbia province has also recognized Vancouver’s emergence as a quantum hub, announcing last month it would commit $17 million over five years to help launch the new Quantum Algorithms Institute at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus to train more experts in the field.