OQC Sets 2034 Goal for 50,000 Logical Qubits In Quantum Plan
Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), a UK quantum computing company, announced its ambitious fault-tolerant quantum computer roadmap. OQC leads the global effort to build commercial quantum machines.
Vision and Milestones of OQC
OQC is a bold quantum computing vision with explicit logical qubit goals. Businesses aim to:
200 logic qubits by 2028: Quantum computers may revolutionise essential applications including vulnerability analysis, fraud detection, arbitrage, and cyber threat identification. OQC predicts that by 2028, smartphones with this capabilities will surpass supercomputers on certain workloads.
By 2034, 50,000 logical qubits According to other quantum computing roadmaps, this objective is over ten times the highest, making it extremely ambitious. This size is expected to boost quantum computer applications including decryption, drug discovery, and quantum chemistry. Gerald Mullally, OQC's interim CEO, calls this initiative a “landmark for quantum computing, in the UK and globally,” indicating that quantum computing is “closer than many realise” to changing lives. He stresses that enterprises, notably financial and national security firms, must prepare for a “quantum-transformed world”.
Transfer to the “Logical Era” and OQC's Main Advantage The shift from the “physical era” to the “logical era” of quantum computing is central to OQC's roadmap.
Physical qubits are noisy and defective, requiring error correction in the “physical era”.
A quantum computer's capabilities depend on the number of error-corrected logical qubits in the “logical era”. Physical qubits are fragile and error-prone, hence logical qubits are needed to build successful quantum computers.
Oxford Quantum Circuits' patented technology provides them an edge in this move. Their device uses 10 times fewer physical qubits than current approaches to generate each error-corrected logical qubit. This shows that OQC's technique uses fewer than 100 physical qubits per logical gate, while others can use up to 1,000. They scale better due to their “resource ratio” efficiency.
Exclusive Technology: 3D Superconducting Transmon Circuits
OQC's technology relies on Oxford University superconducting transistor circuits. The 3D architecture is unique to their design. This 3D architecture has performance and scaling advantages:
Easy control and readout: Making qubit manipulation and reading easier, which is difficult.
By reducing qubit interactions, reduced crosstalk preserves quantum coherence and reduces mistakes in larger arrays.
OQC qubit architecture detects faults and their locations. With location data, errors can be reduced. Their design allows them to identify energetic qubit states degrading to less energetic ones, the main source of architecture mistakes.
In addition to architectural design, OQC improves physical error rates. They intend to lower these rates to less than 0.1% by carefully tuning qubits to reduce errors and improving chip materials to extend qubit coherence.
Their qubit gates' accuracy and speed demonstrate the technology's capability. In under 25 ns, OQC's two-qubit gate achieves 99.8% fidelity. This makes it one of the most precise and fast gates ever seen. Scaling quantum machines for economic benefits and efficiently performing more complex algorithms requires rapid gate speeds.
Leadership, Funding, and Strategic Partnerships
OQC's ambitious ambition relies on strategic connections and ongoing fundraising.
They partner with Riverlane, which develops quantum computer fault-tolerant algorithms. Riverlane CEO Steve Brierley called OQC's strategy a “bold vision” and “clear statement of intent” that places the UK at the forefront of quantum computing.
Organisational leadership has changed recently. Gerald Mullally replaced inventor Ilana Wisby as interim CEO last year. In April, Jack Boyer became board chairman.
A successful Series A investment round in 2022 raised £38 million for OQC, the biggest for a UK quantum computing business. Series B fundraising, estimated at $100 million, is underway. Backed by Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (UTEC), Lansdowne Partners, and OTIF, SBI Investment in Japan is leading this round.
As part of its global expansion, OQC will install its first quantum computer in New York City alongside a data centre partner later this year. They signed their first quantum computing co-location data centre arrangement.
OQC's roadmap also includes an Application Optimised Compute strategy that designs quantum computing systems for applications where quantum technology has a clear advantage. This strategic goal ensures that their ideas immediately benefit businesses in national security and financial services. The sources briefly mention Google, IBM, Rigetti, and IQM in Finland, but OQC claims their 50,000 logical qubit goal is better than other roadmaps.