Rigetti Computing, Oxford Instruments complete U.K. project

Rigetti UK Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rigetti Computing, and Oxford Instruments NanoScience, a leading provider of cryogenic systems, announce that their three-year project to build and operate one of the first quantum computers in the UK has been successfully completed. The consortium also included the Quantum Software Lab at the University of Edinburgh, Phasecraft, and Standard Chartered Bank. The goals of the Rigetti-led GBP 10 million consortium were to accelerate the commercialization of quantum computing in the UK through the delivery of a quantum computer in the UK, by advancing practical applications in machine learning, materials simulation, and finance, and furthering the development of the UK’s quantum computing talent, infrastructure, and national supply chain. The consortium was backed by funding from the UK government’s Quantum Technologies Challenge, led by UK Research & Innovation. Dr. Subodh Kulkarni, Rigetti CEO, said, “Completing this project, with the end result being a useful 32-qubit quantum computer, is an exceptional achievement for all of the project partners. It takes a world-class team to build and deploy a quantum computer. The UK has become a world leader in quantum computing technologies, and we are excited to continue to contribute to its quantum computing capabilities. Additionally, Rigetti plans to leverage this experience to continue to develop our UK quantum computing leadership as we embark on deploying a 24-qubit Ankaa-class quantum computer at the NQCC’s Harwell campus.”