Microsoft said it would continue to collaborate with the University of Sydney on other projects. Photo: Microsoft
Microsoft has ended its quantum computing research efforts in Australia, closing its quantum research centre at the University of Sydney after a seven-year partnership.
The tech giant confirmed this week that it would close Microsoft Quantum Sydney, which it has run in collaboration with the University of Sydney since 2017, and relocate its quantum research and commercialization efforts to its US headquarters.
The university said many researchers involved in the quantum centre, including its director Professor David Reilly, would remain in Australia to continue their work separately from Microsoft.
A Microsoft spokesperson said Information Age:“Organizational and workforce adjustments are a necessary and regular part of running our business.
“We will continue to prioritize and invest in strategic growth areas for our future and to support our customers and partners.”
A spokesperson for the University of Sydney also confirmed the closure and said it was a “fruitful collaboration” with Microsoft.
“The university thanks Microsoft for its contribution to the advancement of the quantum industry in Australia,” the spokesperson said.
“Microsoft Quantum Sydney has helped quantum science students in Sydney [University] develop their technical knowledge and skills, thereby contributing to the quantum technology renaissance underway in Australia.
“The university and Microsoft have a strong relationship and continue to work closely together on a range of projects, including the recently signed memorandum of understanding on artificial intelligence.”
Revolutionary research
Microsoft Quantum Sydney was established seven years ago at the University of Sydney’s $150 million Nanoscience Hub with the aim of making commercial quantum computers a reality.
In 2021, the team made a major breakthrough with the development of a chip capable of controlling a large number of qubits, the building blocks of quantum computers.
This should help solve the scalability problem currently facing the quantum computing industry.
It was led by Professor Reilly, who was a joint employee of Microsoft and the university.
He will remain in Australia to continue this research, with members of his team.
(Left to right) Professor David Reilly, University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor and Principal Dr Michael Spence, and Microsoft’s Douglas Carmean and David Pritchard in 2017. Photo: University of Sydney/Jayne Ion
“We are delighted that [he] “Team members and members of Microsoft Quantum Labs Sydney have decided to remain in Australia and collaborate with the vibrant and growing quantum ecosystem at the University of Sydney and across Australia,” the university spokesperson said.
“Professor Reilly is one of the world’s leading quantum technologists.”
The team will also work closely with the recently established Quantum Australia network, which will be based at the University of Sydney thanks to a Commonwealth grant of almost $20 million.
The network will aim to strengthen ties between industry, research, consumers and government groups around quantum, and act as a “single gateway” for the sector.
Australia goes quantum
The federal government has placed particular emphasis on growing the local quantum sector, with the release of Australia’s first quantum strategy in May last year, which aims to cement Australia’s position as a global leader in the sector.
As Microsoft consolidates its quantum efforts in the US, a major US quantum player, PsiQuantum, is bringing some of its capabilities to Australia thanks to a major government investment.
The federal and Queensland governments will invest nearly $1 billion in PsiQuantum to bring the company’s efforts to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer to Brisbane.
This includes a capital investment of $189.5 million from the federal government.
The deal has been shrouded in controversy, with concerns over the huge amount of funding going to a foreign-based company, a legal contract that has ballooned in value and an approach to the local market made while the federal government was already in high-level talks with PsiQuantum.
The Australian National University (ANU) earlier this month signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese technology company Fujitsu that it said would “drive local innovation and talent development” in quantum computing.
The agreement will see Fujitsu provide researchers and academics at the university with access to its quantum technologies and simulators in Japan, with the aim of eventually establishing an on-site quantum computer at ANU.