Finland launches a 20-qubit quantum computer

The new 20-qubit quantum computer further strengthens Finland’s position among the countries investing into quantum computing. Finland completed its first quantum computer, a 5-qubit one, in 2021.

Finland announced its efforts in quantum computing development back in November 2020 with a total budget of €20.7 million from the government to develop a 50-qubit quantum computer in 2024. In the coming years, the development will continue as the Finnish government has announced a total budget of €70 million to scale up the quantum computer towards 300 qubits and quantum advantage.

Already in the current project, significant technology development steps have been taken that enable the scaling up of the now completed 20-qubit quantum computer to 50-qubits. VTT and IQM plan to complete the upgrade by the end of 2024.

"In Finland, we have always challenged ourselves and pushed our boundaries to innovate, claiming our spot in the international arena with science, technology, and other industries. We have set ourselves very ambitious goals to build three quantum computers in four years, relying on our domestic industry. Our first goal was to complete a 5-qubit quantum computer, and now we have reached our second goal of a 20-qubit quantum computer. Furthermore, development of a 50-qubit one is already underway,” says Antti Vasara, VTT’s President and CEO.

The CEO and Co-founder of IQM Quantum Computers Dr. Jan Goetz says: "We are proud of this moment. It is a pivotal achievement in our journey for our team, Finland, and the European quantum ecosystem. This is not just a testament to working with partners in the ecosystem, but also to our technological capabilities. The launch of the 20-qubit quantum computer represents a significant step, and we are now on track for the development of the next generation of processors with 54 qubits and more for customers. As IQM is a European quantum leader contributing to the strategic European agenda, we will continue to promote collaboration and engage various stakeholders to drive more investments in supporting the ecosystem in scaling up and becoming more competitive."

VTT and IQM have together made technological advances in the development of the 20-qubit quantum computer which make it possible to scale quantum computers and increase the number of qubits and computing power. This in turn enables solving increasingly complex, previously unsolvable problems faster, using quantum computers.

VTT’s Research Manager Pekka Pursula elaborates: “We have, for example, improved integration methods and signalling. We have also developed manufacturing and packaging methods that allow a greater number of qubits to be placed on a single silicon chip and to conduct their electrical signals at temperatures close to absolute zero. In the new quantum computer, there are 20 qubits on a silicon chip. However, we have managed to develop the integration methods to increase the number of qubits even further.”

The new 20-qubit quantum computer is located at VTT premises in Micronova, the national research infrastructure for micro and nanotechnology in Espoo in the south of Finland. Finland’s first 5-qubit quantum computer is also located in the same premises.