China's Quantum Revolution in 2023

China’s Origin Quantum Ships First Quantum Computer

"Wuyuan" superconducting quantum computer Photo: Courtesy of Origin Quantum

Hey Everyone,

I have a pretty strong interest in all things China tech and it’s interesting how China has pursued Quantum computing. According to their State Media, China has become the third country with the ability to deliver a completely home-made quantum computer, which was developed by a Chinese enterprise. 

By home-made, I believe they are talking about China’s formidable startup of Origin Quantum.

According to the South China Morning Post, state media reported that the company  sold its 24-qubit Wuyuan quantum computer to an unnamed customer about a year ago. The Wuyuan is based on a superconducting chip design.

Origin Quantum is a full-stack quantum computing company that delivers a quantum computing cloud service platform.

Company founder Guo Guoping says the technology will produce visible benefits to daily life within three to five years. I am not clear on what they mean by this, so much of Chinese PR is even more vague than usual.

But rest assured, China seeks Quantum Supremacy, in its own ways. Quantum computers have started rolling off the production line in China, according to local media reports. Chinese hype is its own beast, with none of the reports offering concrete details. Indeed, many open with a reference to the presence of a quantum computer in the recently released Chinese action blockbuster "Wandering Earth 2" then enthuse about that science fiction vision having become reality.

Origin Quantum had a $148 million Series B though, so it’s a massive company compared to its global peers in the space. The round, which was led by the government-backed Shenzhen Capital Group’s Hotland Investment Asset Management with additional participation from CITIC Securities and China International Capital Corporation (CICC), Bank of China Group Investment Limited (BOCGI) and several other Chinese investment institutions.

China’s long-term approach to technologies like A.I. and Quantum computing is very difficult to other nations to replicate for various reasons. How will supercomputing, data centers and Quantum computing create hybrid compute for various industries is an exciting field. The future of hybrid computing could result in some tangible benefits.

But practical benefits for consumers? Prior quantum computers in China have been housed for academic uses and are among the devices that set records in delivering solutions far faster than classical computers, often referred to as quantum supremacy. I think they mean business applications.

Origin Quantum Computing Technology Co, a quantum computing company based in East China's Anhui Province, has developed quantum computers and delivered one to a user, per a statement sent to the Global Times by the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center on Monday. What indeed is a QC user if not an enterprise?

And what can the Quantum machines of today actually do? Their PR doesn’t make a whole lot of sense:

"More than 100 quantum computing companies in the world have put enormous investment into quantum research and development. Canada's quantum computing company sold its first quantum computer in 2011, followed by IBM of the US in 2019. Chinese Origin Quantum delivered a quantum computer in 2021," Zhang Hui, director of the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center, was quoted as saying.