In addition, Nu Quantum will collaborate with Cisco, using Cisco as a prospective end user for the project. Cisco has considerable experience in delivering scalable, resilient and performant data-centre services. As part of this collaboration, Cisco will contribute to key system requirements and help to evaluate final deliverables.
The project, called LYRA, delivers discrete 19-inch rack-mount modules for control-plane and optical interfacing. This modular architecture will allow in-field upgrades to support different quantum computer modalities and alternative wavelengths. The solution also incorporates a new high-precision timing-architecture and digital control bus, allowing the system to easily scale to support a large cluster of quantum-compute nodes.
The ultimate goal for quantum computing is to solve problems that are out of reach for even the most powerful classical computers. Commercially useful, fault-tolerant quantum computers of any modality will require millions of physical qubits, somewhere in the regio of 1,000X to 10,000X what quantum computers are currently capable of.
There is increasing recognition that real-world systems will be most efficiently architected by combining tens to thousands of computing cores or quantum processing units (QPU) supported by quantum networking units (QNUs).
LYRA is intended to deliver a world-first modular, rack-mount and scalable QNU prototype.
This new contract is worth £2.3m and is additional to other procurements contracts awarded directly from the UK Government in 2023.
Commenting on the contract, Carmen Palacios, Co-founder and CEO of Nu Quantum, said, “LYRA takes the cornerstone quantum networking units from optical-bench to a deployable, prototype-product, capable of supporting test-bed integration with trapped-ion qubits and software stacks. The LYRA QNU is designed for future support of different qubit modalities and is a huge step forward in bringing quantum out of the lab and into real-world use.”
“The potential of quantum computing is extremely exciting. However, it is increasingly accepted that to reach its potential quantum networking will be needed to scale quantum computing to a Fault Tolerant era,” said Peter Shearman, Head of Co-Innovation at Cisco UK & Ireland.
According to Roger McKinlay, Challenge Director – Quantum Technologies for UK Research and Innovation, “The award of this contract to Nu Quantum, working with Cisco, is a perfect example of what we were seeking when we launched this SBRI competition earlier this year. Partnerships are as important as products to accelerate the development and adoption of this transformative technology.”