Equal1 and CeADAR join forces to develop AI-quantum platforms

With the collaboration, the two aim to create a platform that makes quantum computing accessible for Irish businesses and researchers, Equal1’s CEO said.

Irish quantum computing start-up Equal1 and CeADAR, Ireland’s Centre for AI, have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a national edge AI and quantum computing testbed, enabling the country to develop and deploy AI-quantum platforms and services.

The collaboration aims to promote the importance of artificial intelligence and quantum computing in Ireland and Europe in matters of strategic importance, global competitiveness and technical research and innovation.

Quantum computing has the potential to solve complex problems beyond the capabilities of traditional computers. However, scalability and cost issues present themselves as major challenges.

Equal1’s CEO Jason Lynch said that with the collaboration with CeADAR, the two aim to create a platform that makes quantum computing accessible for Irish businesses and researchers.

As well as creating the combined AI and quantum computing infrastructure needed to develop advanced tech platforms, CeADAR and Equal1 will jointly develop funded research, development and innovation proposals to progress the national quantum-AI ecosystem, the two announced.

It is hoped that the combined ecosystem will lead to the development of new AI models that will have a “transformative impact” on multiple business sectors.

“CeADAR’s remit is to work with Irish businesses to help them understand and leverage the benefits of AI and machine learning,” said Dr John Lonsdale, CeADAR’s CEO. The centre was established in 2013 to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial needs.

“The fusion of AI and quantum computing will lead to transformative change across multiple sectors and it is our mission to ensure that Irish businesses are well positioned to understand and adapt to the changes that are coming our way.

“By collaborating with Equal1, CeADAR will be able to create a framework and ecosystem for the development and adoption of quantum AI,” he added.

Equal1 continues to make waves in the quantum industry. Equal1 recently announced Bell-1, the “first-ever” Irish-made quantum computer. According to the company, Bell-1 uses a silicon-based quantum server that eliminates cost and complexity barriers.

The new quantum computer consumes “significantly” lower amounts of power when compared to other quantum machines at 1600W during operation, Equal1 said in its March announcement. This makes quantum computing easy to deploy without the large environmental footprint.

In February, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research announced that it will invest in the seven-year-old start-up.

While last year, the start-up announced a fresh collaboration with the world-leading chipmaker Nvidia to work on the integration and validation of quantum-classical infrastructure for cloud and data centre deployments.

CeADAR, meanwhile, recently struck a deal with Google to help Irish businesses capitalise on AI. The strategic partnership between the two will focus on building an AI-ready workforce.

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