Phoenix, the first generation quantum computer from Atom Computing in Berkeley, California
Atom Computing
Atom Computing recently announced that Denmark will be its European headquarters. The company will receive an investment of 70 million Danish kroner (approximately 10 million US dollars). The funding will come from the Export Investment Fund, a Danish state-owned financial institution. The Danish government's National Quantum Strategy will fund quantum research and bridge the gap between conducting research and commercializing quantum applications.
In addition to the agreement with Atom Computing, Denmark is pursuing a five-year Photon Quantum Computing project focused on developing fault-tolerant quantum computers using photons. The new relationship with Atom Computing also aligns with an existing quantum information science and technology cooperation agreement between Denmark and the United States.
Atom Computing has come a long way since two academics, Benjamin Bloom and Jonathan King, founded the company in 2018. With just $5 million in seed funding, the pair built the world's first nuclear spin qubit quantum computer using optically trapped neutral atoms. Bloom has returned to the CEO role after Rob Hayes recently stepped down.
The company's first quantum computer prototype used a 10×10 array of strontium-87 neutral atoms to create a 100-qubit machine. In 2023, Atom Computing announced plans for a second-generation 1,225-qubit machine. The 12x increase in qubits is a huge improvement in scalability that should keep the company on track toward its quantum fault tolerance goal.
Atom Computing has already solved many of the tough technical challenges related to fault tolerance. For example, the company holds the world record for a neutral atom qubit with a coherence time of 40 seconds. The longer a quantum state can be maintained, the longer and more complex the algorithms that can be run. In addition, Bloom and his team are the first neutral atom quantum company to develop mid-circuit measurement, a key feature required for many quantum operations, such as error correction and conditional logic operations. Atom Computing has also demonstrated the ability to measure the quantum state of certain qubits during a calculation, detecting certain types of errors without collapsing the quantum states of other qubits.
Strengthening the quantum ecosystem in Denmark and Colorado
The University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479 and since 1921 has been home to the Niels Bohr Institute.
Mik Hartwell, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 License
I had the opportunity to speak with Justin Ging, Chief Product Officer at Atom Computing, about the company's announcement in Denmark. Due to the growing demand for specialized quantum computing skills, I was particularly interested in quantum education in the Danish university system.
“Denmark has great schools with advanced technical courses,” Ging said. “Thanks to Niels Bohr and his legacy, Denmark has played a key role in quantum developments for over a century. We look forward to being part of Denmark's strong quantum ecosystem.”
Bohr was a quantum pioneer who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 for his theories about quantized energy levels within atoms. The Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen was founded in 1921. It is a leading center for quantum research and also houses the NATO Quantum Technologies Center, which acts as an accelerator and incubator to help start-ups bring their technologies to market.
To further solidify Denmark's position in the quantum field, two years ago the Niels Bohr Institute received a $200 million grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation to support a 12-year plan to build a universal quantum computer capable of addressing a wide range of problems by 2034. The foundation is a collaboration between research groups from the U.S., Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Ging further explained that Atom Computing plans to hire technical staff locally for its Danish facility, and once a quantum system is sold in Europe, Atom Computing will initially send in support resources from the U.S. to help the local Copenhagen team with installation and operation.
Because Atom Computing has experience building collaborations with other companies, Ging believes the company can leverage its expertise to further grow Denmark's quantum ecosystem. “Colorado has a strong and growing quantum ecosystem – the largest in the United States,” Ging says. “Denmark has all the right elements in place to enable the ecosystem to grow.”
Atom Computing has a collaborative agreement with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (CU Anschutz), one of the largest academic medical centers in the Rocky Mountain region, that has proven to be a strategic asset for the company. Many of the company's employees have academic ties to CU Boulder, including co-founder and CEO Bloom, who received his PhD there. Given these connections, it's no surprise that Atom Computing sees the university as a key player in its long-term technology strategy.
Additionally, both CU Anschutz and Atom Computing are part of Elevate Quantum, a TechHub designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration, the largest regional quantum consortium in the United States with more than 120 member organizations.
Quantum in Europe
Last year, the European Declaration on Quantum Technologies was signed, meaning that EU member states are committed to working together to build a European quantum ecosystem. Building on this commitment, Spain has partnered with Iberdrola, the largest electricity company, to test quantum computing. The European High Performance Computing Consortium, which has the potential to combine HPC and quantum into a form of supercomputing, recently selected the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, France, Italy and Poland as countries to receive funding.
In addition to Atom Computing, many other US quantum companies have established marketing and technology bases in Europe. Quantinuum's European headquarters is in Cambridge, UK. Maybell Quantum, a US company specializing in quantum hardware, has its European headquarters in Copenhagen. IBM operates in 175 countries worldwide, so it's no surprise that it has a large quantum footprint in Europe. The IBM Quantum Network provides access to quantum computers and software to more than 60 European members via the cloud, and IBM's research facility in Zurich, Switzerland, founded in 1956, has made many important contributions to quantum computing. IonQ has an important partnership with QuantumBasel, Switzerland's first quantum hub. The facility is scheduled to be upgraded in the future when IonQ's most powerful 64-algorithm qubit quantum computer becomes available.
Europe also has a number of quantum startups. In France, Pasqal is an important startup that is building quantum simulators and quantum computers based on programmable atomic arrays similar to the technology used by Atom Computing. Other emerging European startups include Quantum Motion in the UK, Kipu Quantum in Germany, and IQM Quantum Computers in Finland. Denmark does not have any large quantum companies, but has a number of niche companies building components and systems across photonics, materials science, nanotechnology, and other computer science disciplines – all complementary products needed for quantum research.
New Opportunities for Quantum Collaboration
Denmark has the supportive government, strong research environment and highly educated science and engineering workforce needed to support quantum computing. The University of Copenhagen, the Niels Bohr Institute and the Technical University of Denmark are all leading the way in quantum computing research. Working with these institutions gives Atom Computing new avenues to drive innovation and quantum development.
Denmark's central location in Europe gives Atom Computing easy access to key European markets. However, while gaining a foothold in Europe presents opportunities, it also presents challenges, including start-up costs, competition for talent, and navigating complex European regulations. To be successful, Atom Computing must leverage Denmark's strengths while mitigating potential drawbacks. If that happens, relocating to Denmark could give Atom Computing the opportunity to become a significant player in the European quantum space, expanding opportunities for innovation and new commercial applications.
Ging shared his thoughts on Atom Computing's future in Denmark. “At this point, it's an announcement, an investment and a partnership for both sides,” he said. “We'll be working on selling the system and building collaborations. These things will evolve over time, and we're looking forward to all of it.”
