Archer Materials Limited announced today that it has signed an agreement with IBM to become the first Australian company building a quantum computing chip to join the IBM Q Network, a global community of companies at the forefront of quantum computing.
Archer is in the process of building its ¹²CQ quantum computing chip, which is different to all the chip types currently being developed because it uses a carbon-based material that has the proven potential to enable chip operation at room-temperature as well as integration onboard portable devices.
The successful development of the ¹²CQ chip could potentially overcome low operating temperature limitations of qubits and would represent a breakthrough solution to the widespread use and ownership of quantum computing powered technology.
As an ecosystem partner of the IBM Q Network, Archer will gain access to IBM’s quantum computing expertise and resources to enable a broader hardware ecosystem using Qiskit, IBM’s open-source software development framework. Archer will also have the opportunity to collaborate with other members of the network, to fast-track its own chip development.
Archer CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair said: “We are looking forward to working with the diverse members of the global IBM Q Network, a group of the very best organisations at the forefront of quantum computing.
“Ultimately, we want consumers and businesses to be one of the first beneficiaries of this exciting technology, and now that we are collaborating with IBM, it greatly increases our chances of success” Dr Choucair concluded.
Director of the IBM Q Network Dr. Anthony Annunziata said: “The open-source Qiskit quantum computing framework was designed to be extensible, and to support research beyond IBM Quantum systems. Our collaboration with Archer will be a great example of the combination of Qiskit’s flexibility, integrating with different quantum hardware to accomplish the goal of enabling practical quantum computing applications”.
Archer is one of few companies globally that provides investors an on-market opportunity to invest in quantum computing and news of the agreement comes as another indication of Australia’s significant global standing amongst quantum computing pioneers.
About Archer’s ¹²CQ Chip
12CQ is a technology that Archer aims to build for quantum computing operation at room-temperature and integration onboard modern electronic devices.
About IBM Quantum
IBM Quantum is an industry-first initiative to build commercial universal quantum systems for business and science applications.
