Toronto firm aims to build game-changing photonic quantum computers

Xanadu, a Toronto-based quantum technologies company, hopes to speed its development of a unique approach to quantum computing, following a recent a seed round of $9-million led by OMERS Ventures with participation from Golden Ventures and Real Ventures.

www.Xanadu.ai

Specializing in the design and integration of quantum silicon photonic chips into existing hardware to create full-stack quantum computing, Xanadu is creating a ‘game-changer’ that is based on building quantum photonic chips which will enable the creation of – what it hopes to be – the “world’s most powerful computer.”

Recent scientific breakthroughs have shown that the use of photons —  particles of light — can be harnessed to perform extremely fast, incredibly complex computations, making it possible to solve some of the world’s most pressing computational problems.

Team of world-class experts in quantum computing and hardware

With a team of world-class experts in quantum computing and hardware, Xanadu is developing a photonic quantum architecture that can help solve previously intractable problems in machine learning, chemistry, finance, sensing, and drug discovery. The team’s mission is to achieve practical quantum supremacy by building quantum processors based on silicon photonics, where fabrication is achieved using existing foundries, leading to significant cost and production savings. Seth Lloyd, a Professor at MIT and one of the pioneers of quantum computing, has joined as Xanadu’s chief scientific advisor.

“Xanadu’s approach is highly flexible and eminently suitable for performing tasks such as quantum simulation and quantum machine learning. This will allow the scaling up of quantum information processing to tens of thousands of quantum operations within the next few years,” says Lloyd.

Xanadu’s customer-centric approach and focus on productization positions it well when scalability is achieved. “We’ve been customer-driven and solutions-driven from day one,” said Christian Weedbrook, founder and CEO of Xanadu. “Our hardware and software are developed with direct input from forward-thinking businesses that understand the vast potential and benefits of embracing an inevitable quantum world, early on.”

The seed round represents a strong acknowledgement of the fast pace at which quantum computing is developing.

“Xanadu is looking to solve tough problems in a truly innovative way, which will have a significant impact across industries globally. We’re excited about Xanadu’s potential and confident in the team’s plans to build practical quantum solutions,” adds Sid Paquette, managing partner at OMERS Ventures.