Cisco and Nu Quantum invest in modular quantum datacenters

A partnership recently established between Cisco and the startup Nu Quantum based in Cambridge, UK, will develop a prototype for modular, rack-mounted and scalable quantum datacenters. The so-called LYRA project will receive government funding valued at £2.3 million.

Cisco is expected to be a potential user of the product generated by the project, the world’s first quantum networking unit (QNU). As a partner in this collaborative initiative and with its vast experience in scalable, resilient and high-performance datacenters, Cisco intends to contribute to the main elements of the system and help evaluate the final results.

The project will feature discrete modules for mounting in 19-inch racks for control and optical interfacing. The modular architecture will allow field upgrades to different types of quantum computers and wavelengths. The solution will also incorporate a new high-precision timing architecture and digital control bus so that systems can be easily scaled using large clusters of quantum computing nodes.

“We are honored to receive funding from the UK to create the world’s first quantum datacenter prototype and to have an incredible partner like Cisco,” says Carmen Palacios, co-founder and CEO of Nu Quantum. According to the executive, the LYRA project will transform the main optical bench quantum network units into a unit capable of being integrated into test environments.

For Peter Shearman, head of co-innovation at Cisco in the UK and Ireland, the potential of quantum computing is extremely exciting. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that in order to achieve this potential, fault-tolerant quantum networks will be needed. “We are very excited about the partnership with Nu Quantum which will accelerate the journey towards a modular, qubit-agnostic and datacenter optimized future,” says Shearman.

According to Nu Quantum, there is growing recognition that real-world computing systems will be architected by combining tens or thousands of quantum processing units (QPU) supported by QNUs. The LYRA project will offer the world’s first modular, rack-mountable and scalable QNU prototype.

Modular systems for quantum computers

It’s clear that modular quantum systems need quantum networks to connect. This is the case with the IBM Quantum System Two, the first modular quantum computer unveiled during the IBM Quantum Summit held in New York (USA) at the end of 2023, which combines three 133-qubit ‘Heron’ quantum processors in a single quantum circuit announced at the same event.

IBM Quantum System Two is the basis for the architecture of IBM’s new generation of quantum systems. It combines scalable cryogenic infrastructure and classical servers with modular electronics for controlling qubits. It also uses quantum communication and computing, aided by classical computing resources, as well as a middleware layer to integrate quantum and classical workflows.

For IBM, with these innovations, together with other advances in theory, hardware and quantum computing, it will be possible to realize the potential of quantum computing at scale. “We are certainly already in the era where quantum computers are being used as a tool to explore new frontiers of science. With new advances in how quantum systems can grow and add value through modular architectures, we will further extend the quality of the quantum technology stack for use at scale and put it in the hands of users and partners so they can solve more complex problems,” says Dario Gil, senior vice president and chief research officer at IBM.

This vision of taking quantum computing beyond research centers is shared by the founder of Nu Quantum, Carmen Palacios, who hopes to offer quantum computers to datacenter environments. “Large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computers will be very similar to a high-performance supercomputer of today,” she told Tech Monitor. “Alternatively, QNUs could perhaps enable the creation of quantum datacenters, with four racks of quantum computers and a fifth rack as the quantum network unit to interconnect them all.”