DARPA taps Microsoft, PsiQuantum for scalable quantum computer research
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As part of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, the two companies are now in negotiations under the validation and co-design phase of the quantum computing program.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced a new partnership Thursday working within the agency’s Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing program within the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, a program centered around identifying the technology that could bring a fault-tolerant — meaning that it arrives at its calculations without unexpected mistakes — quantum computer to life within the next few years.
DARPA selected Microsoft and PsiQuantum, a startup focused on leveraging photonics and semiconductors to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer, to move into the validation and co-design phase of that program to verify their proposed concepts.
“As one of two participating industry leaders, Microsoft’s approach to fault-tolerant quantum computing will be rigorously tested to validate whether it can achieve utility-scale advantage by 2033 — faster than conventional predictions,” Mitra Azizirad, Microsoft's president and chief operating officer of strategic mission and technologies said in a LinkedIn post. “We’re honored to continue this important work and confident that our unique topological approach will help the United States government accelerate its path to a fault-tolerant quantum prototype, advance its economic and security interests, and position the U.S. as a quantum leader on the world stage.”
Jeremy O’Brien, co-founder and CEO of PsiQuantum, said in a statement that his company is grateful to the Department of Defense and DARPA for establishing a program that prioritizes scaling a cryptographically-relevant quantum computer amid a global race to lead in the emergent field.
“We must keep our foot on the accelerator and commit all attention and resources towards the path to scaling and unlocking this technology and its real-world impact across the United States’ most critical industries,” O’Brien said.
PsiQuantum and Microsoft bring different approaches to scalable quantum computing to DARPA. While PsiQuantum’s technology relies on silicon-based photonics for error correction in quantum computation, Microsoft is researching a topological qubit architecture based on semiconductor nanowires and superconductors.
Joe Altepeter, the DARPA QBI program manager, said that the agency expects to include more quantum computing companies that submitted proposals for the QBI program this Spring.
“Our government evaluation team has been working closely with both companies [Microsoft and PsiQuantum] since the beginning of 2023 to scrutinize their approach to building a utility-scale quantum computer,” Altpeter said. “Both companies have undergone an incredibly rigorous and deeply technical analysis from what is almost certainly the world’s best quantum computing test and evaluation team. Now, we’re ready to evaluate their final utility-scale system designs, conduct government testing of components and hardware, and assess system-level performance capabilities of major prototypes.”