Israel to build its first quantum computer

“Quantum computing is a technology Israeli industry cannot ignore,” says Israel Innovation Authority CEO Dror Bin.

By JNS.org

The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) and the Israeli Defense Ministry will invest 200 million shekels ($62.2 million) in developing Israel’s first quantum computer, the organizations said Tuesday.

“Quantum computing, on all levels, is showing signs of being an important future component of the state’s security and its technological superiority,” said Danny Gold, head of the ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research & Development (DDR&D).

“Starting this process in the framework of the national program constitutes a significant step towards achieving Israeli independence in this area,” he added.

The IIA and the ministry will work on two parallel tracks. The authority will focus on building and developing a quantum computational infrastructure for running calculations directly or via cloud access. The goal of its program will be mainly optimization or to improve different elements in quantum computing.

The ministry, working with academia, the industry and all the National Research and Development Infrastructure (TELEM) entities, will establish a national center to develop a quantum processor, including hardware, control, optimization, algorithms and interfacing aspects.

The organizations said that initially the country may need to tap into overseas technology, but the goal is only to use Israel-developed quantum processors and technologies.

“Quantum computing is a technology Israeli industry cannot ignore,” said IIA CEO Dror Bin. “The industry must develop knowledge and access to infrastructure in which it can develop growth engines for activities in which it will decide to lead.”