Fresh from a controversial $940-million deal with Australian taxpayers to attempt the world’s first useful quantum computer in Brisbane, PsiQuantum has inked a deal to build its second one in Chicago.
PsiQuantum, founded by two Australians and two Brits in Silicon Valley in 2016, will get $760 million (US$500 million) in tax incentives over 30 years to build the quantum computer in a planned quantum precinct on the shore of Lake Michigan.
But this does not mean the Americans are getting it cheaper than the $940 million Australia is paying for theirs, PsiQuantum spokesman Alex Mack told Forbes Australia.
“It’s definitely not costing anyone less,” Mack said. “In Chicago, the state is building out the infrastructure. They are building the cryo plant and the main building and we will be the anchor tenant.”
In Queensland, the company will build the lot, he said.
“The Illinois government passed US$500m to build the quantum campus, with US$200 million of that for the cryo plant. And we got US$500 million in tax incentives from the state, city and county for us to be there as the first tenant.”
PsiQuantum, has raised US$665 million in venture capital valuing the company at US$3.1 billion as at 2023, before these latest two deals were struck. The Australian and Queensland governments each paid US$125 million for equity in the company in a deal announced in April this year. The balance of their $940 million deal will be in loans from the governments who were accused of running a sham selection process and of “picking winners” in their backing of PsiQuantum.
The deal further cements PsiQuantum’s claim to be leading the race to build the world’s first useful quantum computer, against competitors including Intel, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, the Chinese government and many start-ups, including Australians. The spoils promise to be great because such devices are predicted to have vastly superior computing power to anything in existence today and able to tackle problems from complex drug design to traffic modelling and smashing existing encryption.
The company aims to have the world’s first useful, error-corrected quantum computer operating in Brisbane by the end of 2027. There was no schedule for the Chicago computer’s completion, “but we are obligated to build the first one in Australia,” Mack said. “That’s part of the deal.”
Having two such computers would not dilute the value of the Brisbane machine, Mack said.
“It’s going to be a very scarce resource. Capacity is an issue. Getting run time on it will be difficult. It was always the intention to build one in the US. Making Australia the first one is a cool part of the story.”
Brisbane will create 400 jobs whereas Chicago is slated to create 150. Brisbane will come with a centre devoted to climate applications as well as an Austlraian HQ. Chicago won’t have those add ons, Mack said.
And while PsiQuantum might find itself sharing the Chicago park with a competitor, “the cryo plant was specced out to our needs and because we use photonics, the cryo plant won’t be as cold as most of our competitors need it to be.”
The US Department of Defense’s R&D branch, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA will also move to the campus.
“It is going to make Chicago a hub in the same way Brisbane is going to be a hub. Both Australia and Illinois understand quantum computing very well.
“This is no longer tech stuck in the lab. This is becoming real. The conversations are now about sovereign capability. Can you develop a life-saving vaccine, can you create materials that last longer.”
Company founder and CEO, Professor Jeremy O’Brien praised the vision of Illinois government in committing to build the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park on the site of an old steel works.
“Governor J.B. Pritzker and Illinois understand what’s needed to unlock quantum computing’s potential, and we’re thrilled to partner with them and anchor the state’s quantum strategy with the first utility-scale quantum computer in the United States at this iconic location.”
Pritzker has prioritized quantum computing, announcing a Quantum Proving Ground Initiative in partnership with DARPA which will bring US$280 million to the precinct.
“In Illinois, we’re leading the charge with this first-of-its-kind quantum park to unite stakeholders, experts, and future generations of quantum leaders,” Pritzker said in a release. “I’m grateful that PsiQuantum will be our anchor tenant as we launch this exciting collaboration to create the jobs of the future, and PsiQuantum choosing Chicago cements our status as a global hub for quantum computing.”
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