In April, we reported that Vancouver’s Photonic was selected to participate in Stage A of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.
The global program from DARPA aims to rigorously assess whether any quantum computing technology can deliver “utility-scale” performance—meaning the computational value outweighs its cost—by 2033.
“We are proud to be selected for Stage A of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative,” Stephanie Simmons, Photonic’s Founder and Chief Quantum Officer, remarked at the time. “When DARPA announced QBI last year, we were pleased to see that their definition of ‘utility scale’ includes not only the computational value, but also the costs.”
Since then, Photonic has expanded into the United Kingdom with a $49M investment to develop a research and development facility.
Photonic is a member of the BC Tech Association.
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The B.C. company also advanced to the next step of the Canadian Department of National Defence’s Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security NORAD Modernization Science and Technology Contest.
Additionally, Photonic galvanized its leadership suite with new executive appointments.
And now, the Canadian innovator is moving on to the next phase of DARPA’s QBI, advancing to Stage B of the competition, the company announced this month.
“The Stage A concept review provided Photonic the opportunity to demonstrate the promise of our distinctive architectural approach to solve one of quantum computing’s formidable challenges: scaling beyond single nodes,” remarked Simmons recently.
“We are thrilled to move forward with Stage B, which shifts focus from the underlying theory to the practical path to building a scalable quantum computer,” the entrepreneur continued.
DARPA’s QBI has three stages including the now-complete Stage A.
Stage B requires examination of the research and development approach for the proposed utility-scale quantum computer concept.
And finally, Stage C will involve working with the program’s verification and validation team to test that the utility-scale quantum computer concept can be constructed and operated as designed.
“Our commitment has always been to deliver on the promise of quantum computing at scale,” Simmons said. “We’re looking forward to sharing our plan to make it a reality.”
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