The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has chosen Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Atom Computing and PsiQuantum to demonstrate concepts for designing quantum machines.
The three companies were selected for the initial phase of the Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing program based on their proposed novel approaches to building a computer in less than 10 years, DARPA said Tuesday.
DARPA intends to divide US2QC into four phases over five years. For the initial phase, design concepts from the participants will undergo test and validation by DARPA and other experts from federally backed laboratories and research and development centers.
Microsoft’s proposal is based on topological qubit architecture to make the machine compact and fast in problem solving.
PsiQuantum is working on a lattice-patterned fabric of silicon-based photonic qubits to produce an error-corrected quantum system.
On the other hand, Atom Computing intends to use optically-trapped atoms to construct its highly scalable quantum computer.
“The goal of US2QC is to reduce the danger of strategic surprise from underexplored quantum computing systems,” said Joe Altepeter, a program manager at DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office.
