Quantum computing firm Xanadu announced on Friday that it is opening an advanced photonics research, development, and manufacturing hub in Toronto with financial support from the Government of Canada.
Toronto-based Xanadu has inked a definitive agreement for the feds to loan it $195 million CAD in funding—half of the up to $390 million the company has been seeking from the federal and Ontario governments as part of Project OPTIMISM—to establish and operate this facility over the next five years. Project OPTIMISM is expected to cost $893 million in total and create 275 new highly-skilled jobs.
“The [feds] just don’t hand out nearly $200 million to anyone in any sector. Quantum is the future, and they’re recognizing this.”
In an interview with BetaKit, Xanadu founder and CEO Christian Weedbrook claimed that this is the largest quantum manufacturing investment in Canadian history. The repayable contribution comes through Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada’s Strategic Response Fund, which replaced the Strategic Innovation Fund, and requires a significant level of coinvestment on Xanadu’s part.
The new, 158,000-square-foot photonics hub, named Inception after the popular Christopher Nolan film, will be located in Etobicoke at the old brick Campbell’s Soup factory. Campbell’s vacated the site in 2019, and it was restored to its original Art Deco style by QuadReal Property Group. Xanadu is taking over the entire building.
Weedbrook appreciates the site’s heritage, and joked that Xanadu is considering creating company T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “from soup to qubits.”
The modern-looking building currently has no old signs or other clear nods to its predecessor Campbell’s, beyond the brick facade covering a small portion of its exterior. Weedbrook said Xanadu will look to incorporate something when the site is up and running, suggesting a print of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans series near the entrance.
The CEO said this photonics hub will accelerate Xanadu’s quantum computing development efforts and build the components it needs to power future quantum data centres, the first of which it aims to establish by 2029.
Weedbrook said the investment reflects the company’s longstanding relationship with the federal government, from which it has already garnered $78 million to date. That includes $40 million from the feds through the Strategic Innovation Fund, and Xanadu is also due to land up to $23 million through the first phase of the Canadian Quantum Champions Program (CQCP).
“The [feds] just don’t hand out nearly $200 million to anyone in any sector,” Weedbrook said. “Quantum is the future, and they’re recognizing this, so it’s great to see.”
Canada’s Minister of AI and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon said in a news release that quantum “will be one of the foundational technologies of the 21st century,” noting that the government hopes the commitment will help ensure Canada remains a leader in this space.
“By supporting advanced manufacturing and commercialization in Canada, we are helping ensure that Canada remains a global leader in quantum innovation and that more of the economic benefits of that leadership are created here at home,” Solomon added.
When “you go from soup cans to qubits, you’re looking at the future and you’re telling the country, this is what we see,” Solomon said during today’s announcement.
“Buildings like this are the shell for what will be the most advanced technology, the best pure science, the best innovation, and some of the best products in the world,” Solomon added. “I feel like we’re here at the launch of Starship Enterprise.”
Weedbrook expressed hope that additional funding from the Ontario government would follow, but said he had no firm updates to share on the status of those discussions at this time.
