Nu Quantum: Quantum Datacenter Alliance Launched

To foster collaboration and innovation across the quantum stack, Nu Quantum has launched the Quantum Datacenter Alliance (QDA), with founding participants Cisco, NTT Data, OQC, QphoX, Quantinuum and QuEra.

The alliance is designed to bring together world-leading companies representing different layers of the quantum computing stack to create a forum on data centre-scale quantum computers. By collecting this range of perspectives from across the industry, the QDA is able to offer an open community to discuss opportunities and challenges for organisations seeking to build large and scalable quantum computing services.

“We are proud to found the QDA with some amazing partners,” says Carmen Palacios-Berraquero, CEO at Nu Quantum.

“We look forward to welcoming more participants and associates to accelerate the industry further.”

Who Nu Quantum are

Founded in 2018, Nu Quantum is a spin-out of the University of Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory. In November 2023, the company raised a £8.5 million (US$10.75m) pre-series A round from main investors Amadeus Capital Partners, Expeditions Fund and IQ Capital.

The organisation is now creating the Entanglement Fabric for quantum computing scale-out. It hopes that its networking architecture will be able to unlock data centre-scale quantum computing by weaving together quantum processors to accelerate the path to fault-tolerance and transformational utility. 

Carmen adds: “The interactions we have had so far have been incredibly enlightening and underline the importance of cross-industry discussion to accelerate the maturity of the quantum computing industry.”

Why an alliance like this is important

The QDA will host its inaugural in-person event in 2025 to share insights and explore topics such as distributed architectures, scaling, standardisation and interoperability. 

“As a global leader in networking, Cisco acknowledges the critical role of cutting-edge research in driving innovation. Quantum networking, as a catalyst for distributed quantum computing, aligns closely with our strategic objectives of creating flexible, high-performance, and energy-efficient network solutions,” explains Bill Gartner, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cisco’s Optical Systems and Optics.

“We are confident that collaborating in the development of this groundbreaking technology can expedite its market entry and unlock transformative business value.”

The need for networked scaling of quantum computing has never been more important. Within the data centre industry alone, quantum computing has the potential to revolutionise data centres by providing solutions to complex problems that are currently impossible with classical computing.

Technology giant Microsoft has already announced its own quantum processor breakthrough, with its new Majorana 1 chip using new topoconductor material on its mission to accelerate development of global commercial quantum computers.

Industry leaders are therefore making it clear that this type of collaboration enables more organisations to build and utilise this advanced technology successfully. 

Tom Winstanley, CTO & Head of New Ventures at NTT DATA UK&I, adds: “The industrialisation of quantum computing represents a material opportunity. I am delighted that NTT DATA UK&I is participating in the QDA to explore the potential in open collaboration with quantum network, hardware and solution providers.”

“We embrace collaborations like the QDA that support and develop potential technology paths to fast-track universal, fault-tolerant quantum computing,” explains Jenni Strabley, Vice President and General Manager of Compute Products at Quantinuum.

“Partnerships are key to building a complete quantum stack and unlocking transformative possibilities. We appreciate the highly innovative work led by groups in the UK, a global hub of quantum innovation that we’re proud to be a part of.”

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