Credit: Photo: Quantum Brilliance
CANBERRA, March 24, 2021 — Quantum Brilliance, a venture-backed Australian quantum computing startup from The Australian National University, will install the world’s first diamond quantum accelerator at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre.
Quantum Brilliance harnesses synthetic diamonds to build quantum accelerators that do not require near absolute zero temperature or complex laser systems to operate like mainframe quantum computers. Quantum Brilliance is one of only a few companies worldwide able to deliver market-ready quantum computing systems for customers to operate on-site.
With the installation, Pawsey will become one of the first supercomputing centres globally to host a universal quantum computer onsite. Pawsey and Quantum Brilliance will join forces with other Australian industry leaders and researchers as part of Pawsey’s Quantum Pioneer Program to develop cutting-edge quantum applications in machine learning, logistics, defence, aerospace, quantum finance and quantum research.
“I am delighted to see active industry and researcher engagement with quantum computing,” said Pawsey’s Executive Director Mark Stickells. “We are excited to explore the potential of this technology for Australian researchers to further accelerate their scientific workflows using the potential of quantum computing within the advanced infrastructure of a national research supercomputing centre.”
The world’s first commercial room temperature diamond quantum accelerator at Pawsey was designed on campus at The Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. This journey was made possible through the support of both ANU and the Australian Government’s Accelerating Commercialisation grant, which has spurred the growth of Australia’s sovereign advanced manufacturing capabilities in quantum computing.
ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt said Quantum Brilliance represents the future of quantum computing.
“As Australia’s national university, ANU is committed to creating the technologies and industries of tomorrow, today. This work is vital to ensuring the future prosperity of our nation and the world,” Professor Schmidt said.
“Quantum Brilliance and its work to develop an affordable room temperature, lunchbox-sized quantum computer that will become part of everyday life is the perfect example of this.
“The university’s goal to create a billion-dollar company in the next five years will happen by supporting research commercialisation for spin-outs like Quantum Brilliance,” Schmidt said. “Quantum Brilliance is a company in its early days. But while it is early days, backing it now could lead to huge payoffs for all of us.”
In contrast to quantum computers being developed by technology giants such as Google and IBM, Quantum Brilliance’s vision is to develop quantum computing into an everyday technology, which can be mass deployed in data centres, hospitals, mines, space and even in laptops.
Despite the COVID recession, Quantum Brilliance has grown rapidly, with over 20 staff and international partners in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
“It has been a privilege working towards this goal with the fantastic team at Pawsey. We are only starting to see how quantum accelerators can transform industries in Australia and around the world.” said Quantum Brilliance CEO Andrew Horsley, Ph.D. “Because of our unique diamond-based technology, customers can run our quantum computers themselves, and we provide them a full set of tools to explore how quantum can help create new capabilities. We are one of a very small handful of companies with the capability to deliver quantum computing hardware directly to customers.”
Quantum Brilliance and Pawsey technicians are finalizing the quantum accelerator’s configuration with installation at the centre scheduled for June.
The ongoing growth of Australia’s growing diversity in the quantum computing landscape brings Australia one step closer towards the nucleation of a National Quantum Computing Facility, one of the recommendations within CSIRO’s 2020 Quantum Technology Roadmap.
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About Pawsey Supercomputing Centre
The Pawsey Supercomputing Centre is a world-class high-performance computing facility accelerating scientific discoveries for Australia’s researchers. Named for Australian scientist Joseph Pawsey, known as one of the pioneers of Australian radio astronomy for his work in the field of interferometry, the Centre enables science and accelerates discovery, by contributing to the delivery of globally important research. Pawsey is currently serving over 40 organisations and achieving unprecedented results, in domains such as radio astronomy, energy and resources, engineering, bioinformatics and health sciences.
The Pawsey Centre is an unincorporated joint venture of CSIRO – Australia’s national science agency, Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University and The University of Western Australia. Pawsey is funded by the Australian Government under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), the Western Australian Government and its partner organisations.
About Quantum Brilliance
Founded in 2019, Quantum Brilliance is a venture-backed Australian-German quantum computing hardware company, providing diamond quantum accelerators supported by a full stack of software and application tools. Quantum Brilliance’s vision to enable mass deployment of quantum accelerators will propel industries to harness edge computing applications and next generation supercomputers. Quantum Brilliance’s international partnerships extend into North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific, working with governments, supercomputing centres, research organisations and industry leaders.
About the Quantum Supercomputing Innovation Hub
Established in 2020, the Quantum Supercomputing Innovation Hub is an Australia-first commercial partnership between a supercomputing centre (Pawsey Supercomputing Centre) and a quantum computing company (Quantum Brilliance). This collaboration is one of the positive examples which was inspired from recommendations within CSIRO’s 2020 Quantum Technology Roadmap. The Roadmap conservatively estimates Australia’s quantum industry to be worth over AU$4.3 billion and create 16,000 new jobs within the next two decades. The Innovation Hub is a beacon for how Australia’s sovereign quantum industry can grow, by simultaneously supporting the creation of a quantum applications industry and accelerate the growth of Australia’s sovereign quantum hardware manufacturing capability.
About the Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a national research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and institutes. It is ranked as the number one university in Australia and number one in the southern hemisphere by the 2021 QS World University Rankings. ANU counts six Nobel laureates and 49 Rhodes scholars among its faculty and alumni. The university has educated two prime ministers, 30 current Australian ambassadors and more than a dozen current heads of government departments of Australia.
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