Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Danish state will invest in a world-leading quantum computer to be used by European researchers and companies
A quantum engineer measures the optical power of a laser beam. Photo credits: Atom Computing
A plan to acquire and operate what is expected to become the world’s most powerful commercial quantum computer has been announced by EIFO, Denmark’s national export and investment fund, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The €80 million initiative will establish a new company, QuNorth, whose main task will be to commission and run the machine.
Dubbed Magne, it will be open to academia and industry across Europe, and is central to ambitions to make Denmark and the Nordic region a world leader in quantum technologies.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation traditionally funds health and sustainability research, both of which stand to benefit from the ability of quantum computing to solve extremely complex problems. Before QuNorth, the Novo Nordisk Foundation had already invested over DKK 2 billion (€270 million) in quantum research, according to the foundation’s chief executive, Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen.
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