In a piece of recent news, IBM and the Canadian Government have chosen Quebec to house its first universal quantum system in Canada and the fourth one deployed outside of the US.

IBM announced its partnership with the Canadian government for deployment on 3 Feb 2022. The company further announced that Canada’s first universal quantum computer will be deployed at the IBM Bromont plant in Bromont, Quebec. Quantum computing is rare—which makes installing a system within a country a massive breakthrough. Moreover, IBM is leveraging the advantage of novelty.

The Breakthrough Novelty

IBM has forged a five-year deal partnership with the Canadian government, under which IBM will install a Quantum System One as part of a Quebec-IBM Discovery Accelerator project tackling scientific and commercial challenges. The company, along with the Quebec government, will foster microelectronics work. It will also include progress in chip packaging with the help of an existing IBM facility in the province.

In addition, IBM and the government organization also plan to show how quantum and classical computers can work together to address scientific challenges and expect quantum-powered AI to help discover new medicines and materials. The IBM Quantum System One will help researchers develop new solutions in sectors such as energy, life sciences, and sustainability, as well as to improve quantum computers.

Revolutionizing the Scientific Community

IBM did not further comment on the installation program, as to how it will install the quantum computer. It will be the fifth Quantum One installation planned by 2023 following similar partnerships in Germany, Japan, South Korea and the US. Canada is joining a relatively exclusive club, then.

Canada is no stranger to quantum computing. D-Wave, the company which sparked major controversies in the past, is based in Canada itself. However, the IBM move is significant as it gives Canada a more generalized system that could conquer problems impractical to solve using conventional supercomputers. This won't necessarily revolutionize Canada’s scientific community, but it could provide an edge until quantum computing is relatively commonplace.

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