The world's first diamond-based quantum accelerator to be deployed in Perth

Australian startup Quantum Brilliance announced today that its diamond-based quantum accelerator is slated to be deployed at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre in Perth, Australia. The startup is backed by The Australian National University and the installation is a part of Pawsey's Quantum Pioneer Program, which aims to push quantum computing research in domains like machine learning, logistics, defense, aerospace, and finance.

The firm expects to complete installation by June this year. Once that is done, Pawsey will become one of the few data centers in the world that currently house a ready-to-use quantum computer hosted on the cloud.

The key thing to note about the startup's quantum accelerators is that they do not require cryogenic temperatures to operate optimally. By using the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in synthetic diamonds, Quantum Brilliance was able to mediate the effect of magnetic impurities and thermal vibrations in its accelerator. The firm debuted this system last year in March claiming that its qubits have the longest coherence time of any solid-state electron spin at room temperature.

This is a concrete step towards the firm's aim to commercialize quantum computers and deploy them in data centers, hospitals, and mines for research, business, and traditional use cases. “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.”

“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 center.”