Set-up of quantum computers in Singapore to give app development a leg-up: Josephine Teo

SINGAPORE - The setting up of quantum computers on local shores is crucial to strengthening Singapore’s role as a quantum infrastructure hub as the race to develop real-world applications continues, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo.

On Jan 26, at the inauguration of start-up

Horizon Quantum’s quantum computer

here, Mrs Teo said Singapore’s investments in quantum technology research are dependent on a complete ecosystem built here.

Since 2002, Singapore has invested a total of $700 million in quantum technology research, with the most recent $300 million top-up in 2024.

The National Quantum Computing Hub, the site of Singapore’s first quantum computer used mostly for research purposes, has also been exploring applications in sectors such as finance, drug discovery and logistics.

“(But) our national programmes cannot unlock the promise and potential of quantum computing on their own – we also need a healthy ecosystem of industry, enterprise, investors and start-ups,” said Mrs Teo.

Horizon Quantum is the first to launch a commercial quantum computer for hire, and its new local quantum computer will help boost the nation’s goals of achieving breakthrough applications. The two-tonne system is located within the eight-year-old company’s headquarters in one-north.

Quantum computers can examine a countless number of possibilities to pinpoint a probable solution in hours, while a traditional computer would take hundreds and thousands of years to do the same task. They have been tipped to lead new discoveries in fields such as medicine, materials and more sophisticated artificial intelligence.

Horizon Quantum was founded by Dr Joe Fitzsimons in 2018, who had previously been an associate professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, and a principal investigator at the Centre for Quantum Technologies.

The US$2.3 million (S$3 million) computer consists of control electronics and a superconducting quantum processor cooled to approximately minus 270 deg C by a Maybell Big Fridge, all of which make up around four cupboard-size racks.

The system runs on nine superconducting qubits, which quantum computers use to store information in a complex mix of 0s and 1s simultaneously. As the number of qubits grows, a quantum computer becomes exponentially more powerful.

“We expect that owning and operating our own hardware will help us to accelerate the development of real-world quantum applications across multiple sectors,” said Dr Fitzsimons, adding that this could include speeding up Monte Carlo simulations, a technique widely used in financial derivative pricing.

Singapore made an early bet on quantum technologies by establishing the Centre for Quantum Technologies in 2007, a level of vision that not many countries have been able to match, said Dr Fitzsimons.

Of the 45-strong team behind Horizon Quantum, 13 of the quantum scientists joined the company from the Centre for Quantum Technologies and Nanyang Technological University, said Mrs Teo in her speech.

“(This) is yet another data point of the calibre of quantum talent – both home-grown and those who have found a home here – that form the ecosystem today,” she said, adding that the Government is committed to further growing the talent base.

Also on the road map in 2026 is the set-up of another quantum computer here, under a partnership inked between the National Quantum Office and US-based quantum computer builder Quantinuum.

The US-based firm will also be establishing a new research and development and operations centre in one-north. It is looking to hire an undisclosed number of engineers, software specialists and researchers to support local customers.

In Singapore, quantum computing has the potential to help optimise port operations, said Mrs Teo during an open forum discussion on quantum technology at the World Economic Forum held recently in Davos, Switzerland.

With many vessels calling at the port and countless permutations on how containers can be moved, doing it inefficiently means products like a bottle of water become more costly, she said.

“If we can use quantum computing to improve the efficiency of how a port operates, that serves as a very useful way for us to make a small contribution and be more competitive and, as a result, sustain the relevance of our maritime centre.”