Equinix: The Convergence of AI and Quantum Computing

There is a metaphor that Petrina Steele returns to when explaining how AI and quantum computing will sit together in the data centres of the future. 

During her fireside conversation at Data Centre LIVE: The London Summit, Petrina explained that it is easiest to think of digital infrastructure as a “layer cake”.

Internet service providers form the first tier, then network providers, then content delivery and cloud. 

AI, the penultimate layer, is being added to the tower right now. Quantum will be the one that crowns the whole thing.

While quantum computing is still far from full maturation, its development is becoming more tangible each year.

For Petrina and Equinix, it is no longer a question of whether quantum technology will live up to its substantial hype, but how it can be integrated with existing systems.

“The real magic comes around how we provide access to this converged infrastructure,” she says. “These kinds of infrastructures have to live together.”

When will the potential of quantum computing be realised?

The question of timelines and rollouts is always shifting in quantum computing, and no more so than in the past 18 months.

Until 2025, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang – perhaps the most influential voice in the global tech sector – was publicly sceptical about the short-term potential of quantum.

“It’s incredibly promising,” he said in 2025, “but still far away.” Specifically, he said he thought quantum computing was still 15 to 30 years away from being useful to companies.

“He wiped around eight billion off the market,” Petrina recalls.

More recently, though, he appears to have changed his tune. Later in 2025, he began developing NVQLink as an interconnect between NVIDIA processors and quantum processing units, while also building AI models expressly designed to enable quantum technology.

Petrina calls this the “Jensen Huang effect” – something she describes as a big catalyst for the sector.

The shift to sovereignty

During her fireside, Petrina discussed another of the tech world’s hottest topics: data sovereignty.

In 2026, data sovereignty is reshaping where AI infrastructure is built and by whom. 

Petrina believes that this trend is being driven by two forces: first, the shifting geopolitical landscape and second, tightening regulation. 

Together they are producing what she calls a "private AI play" – enterprises retaining core infrastructure for themselves whilst using public cloud for "burstability" or on-demand AI models.

Nowhere is this more pronounced than in Europe. 

BT's recent partnership with NScale, a UK-based neo cloud provider, is emblematic of a broader pattern across the continent, mirrored by Deutsche Telekom in Germany. 

For Equinix and similar companies, these are strategic issues that require a significant rethink of the operating model.

Cooling at the extremes

Speaking to the practicalities of maintaining quantum computers, Petrina noted that quantum is even more demanding than AI when it comes to cooling.

While AI GPUs are already pushing the limits of conventional cooling, quantum computers have to be maintained at temperatures close to absolute zero. 

According to IBM, a major producer of quantum computers, this hardware must be kept at around -273°C, colder than deep space.

Equinix has proof that the two technologies can coexist, though. 

The company operates a live quantum computer at its Tokyo TY11 facility, deployed in partnership with Oxford Quantum Circuits, which has helped Equinix learn important lessons around cryogenic equipment handling and the placement of vibration-sensitive superconducting systems away from neighbouring workloads.

The question of ROI

While quantum computing has its fair share of sceptics, Petrina says that early adopters are already recording gains of 30-35% over classical computing baselines. 

HSBC's trial with IBM on bond market operations yielded improvements of around 34%, for instance. 

Elsewhere, Qubit Pharmaceuticals is applying quantum-ready AI to molecular simulation for oncology and anti-inflammatory drug discovery, achieving around 30% improvements in the process.

When asked about which industries stand to benefit most from quantum computing right now, Petrina identified financial services, life sciences and any sector engaged in design and simulation. 

She also highlighted that governments are emerging as significant investors of late, with the superior data-crunching capabilities of quantum computers well suited to analysing large nationwide datasets.

The overlooked challenge

Asked what challenge the industry is most wildly underestimating, Petrina does not hesitate. It is interconnection. 

As AI scales towards the edge and autonomous agents make real-time decisions, those agents will draw on models and data sources in entirely different locations. 

The underlying network infrastructure is too often assumed rather than planned for.

"AI is going to go wherever the data is," she says. "That ability to have this flow of data moving around – it's going to be really important."

For IT leaders focused solely on their AI roadmap, her advice is straightforward: be curious about quantum companies, monitor emerging quantum-safe communications regulations and honestly assess whether quantum could give your business a competitive edge.