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The UCD quantum spin-out is relocating part of its R&D activities to the Netherlands.
Just a few months after announcing a strategic partnership with Equal1, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) will invest into the Irish quantum company, as it continues to expand its presence in the region.
The investment from TNO through its private holding company, details of which were not disclosed, seeks to strengthen the Netherlands’ position as a global hub for quantum technology. Moreover, the Dutch research organisation’s technical expertise will help the University College Dublin (UCD) spin-out accelerate scaling up, the two said in an announcement last Friday (7 February).
In order to utilise TNO’s technology and expertise in nanofabrication, infrastructure and advanced materials, Equal1 will be relocating part of its R&D activities to the House of Quantum, a national campus for quantum start-ups in the Netherlands.
“TNO’s investment in Equal1 accelerates the realisation of our vision to build rack-mounted quantum computers capable of scaling to millions of high-performance qubits on a single quantum chip,” said Jason Lynch, the CEO of Equal1.
“TNO is a leader in the field of quantum and we are grateful for their support as this partnership marks a key milestone in our roadmap towards developing the world’s most scalable, practical and energy-efficient quantum computers.”
Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi, the CEO of TNO added: “This investment in Equal1 is a first tangible illustration of our new strategy to support promising deep-tech start-ups and scale-up, while strengthening the Dutch high-tech ecosystem.
“This way, TNO helps companies create a global impact more quickly, thereby strengthening the Dutch economy, accelerating transitions and promoting employment.”
The investment into Equal1 comes just months after the two announced a strategic partnership to innovate the next generation of silicon-based quantum devices – specifically, the Quantum System-on-Chip (QSoC) processors. The collaboration took Equal1 to its new centre of excellence and research facility at the House of Quantum.
Founded in 2018, Equal1 develops full-stack quantum computers with an artificial intelligence layer leveraging semiconductor technology. The start-up currently employs approximately 45 people, with offices at NexusUCD in Dublin as well as in the US, Canada, Romania and the Netherlands.
While TNO aims to strengthen the Dutch high-tech industrial ecosystem through collaborations, addressing challenges that deep-tech start-ups face in successfully transitioning into scale-ups that grow at a similar pace to their US counterparts.
In December last year, Equal1 revealed what it referred to as the “world’s first” multi-tile quantum controller chip demonstrated in its UnityQ QSoC platform.
While earlier in the year, the Irish quantum computing company announced a collaboration with world-leading chipmaker Nvidia to work on the integration and validation of quantum-classical infrastructure for cloud and data centre deployments.
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