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Danish flags fly above the streets in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark, January 9, 2024. REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
STOCKHOLM/COPENHAGEN, July 17 (Reuters) - The Novo Nordisk Foundation and Denmark's state-owned credit fund said on Thursday they will invest in what they say will be the world's most powerful quantum computer, aiming to revolutionize areas such as drug discovery and materials science. Quantum computing holds the promise of carrying out calculations that would take today's systems millions of years and could unlock discoveries in medicine, chemistry and many other fields where near-infinite seas of possible combinations of molecules confound classical computers.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation, the non-profit which controls pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk
(NOVOb.CO), opens new tab, and Denmark's Export and Investment Fund (EIFO), said in a statement they would invest 80 million euros ($92.93 million) in the initiative called QuNorth.
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Microsoft
(MSFT.O), opens new tab, which has its largest quantum lab in Denmark, will provide software and Atom Computing will build the quantum computer.
The computer will be named Magne, inspired by Norse mythology where Magne, the son of Thor, is known for his immense strength.
Construction will begin in autumn and the computer is expected to be ready by the end of next year.
The quantum computer will start operating with 50 logical qubits, Jason Zander, Microsoft's executive vice president, told Reuters.
A qubit, short for quantum bit, is the basic unit of information in a quantum computer and a logical qubit is a virtual qubit built from many physical qubits to reliably process quantum information.
Last November, Microsoft and Atom created 24 logical qubits, the
highest number, opens new tabever created.
"When we get to about 50 logical qubits, that's when we start hitting true quantum advantage," Zander said.
"I get to the point where I can run something on a quantum computer that I could not run on a classic computer."
"When the machine gets up to 100 (logical qubits), we can start doing science problems, get up to a couple 100s, we can start doing some chemistry and starting to answer things, and then when all the way up to 1,000, now you are solving everything," Zander said.
($1 = 0.8606 euros)
Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen Editing by Frances Kerry
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Supantha leads the European Technology and Telecoms coverage, with a special focus on emerging technologies such as AI and 5G. He has been a journalist for about 18 years. He joined Reuters in 2006 and has covered a variety of beats ranging from financial sector to technology. He is based in Stockholm, Sweden.
