Universal Quantum ventures outside Europe with Singapore as APAC hub

● Universal Quantum is making a significant long-term investment in people, facilities and services in Singapore, supported by EDB and backed by investment from EDBI

● Universal Quantum's new Singapore centre will anchor the company's Asia-Pacific R&D activities, drawing on the country's capabilities from chip development to quantum algorithms

● The centre establishes a strategic base from which to draw on the region's unique technology capabilities and strengthen Universal Quantum's global ecosystem

Universal Quantum, the UK-based company building large-scale quantum computing systems for real-world use, has sited its first dedicated R&D presence outside Europe in Singapore. The announcement marks Singapore's emergence as a thriving quantum ecosystem.

The new Universal Quantum R&D Competency Centre builds on Universal Quantum’s close partnership with the National Quantum Office (NQO), the body responsible for driving the implementation of Singapore's quantum strategy. The collaboration is also backed by the Economic Development Board, and EDBI, an arm of SG Growth Capital (the investment platform of the Singapore Economic Development Board [EDB] and Enterprise Singapore) with EDBI announced as a strategic investor in Universal Quantum.

"Singapore brings together world-class research infrastructure, advanced manufacturing expertise and a highly collaborative Government," said Dr Sebastian Weidt, CEO and co-founder of Universal Quantum.

"Combined with Universal Quantum's chip design expertise, the partnership creates a unique and complementary mix of capabilities that will accelerate our journey towards building scalable, error-corrected quantum computing that can deliver real-world benefits in multiple sectors."

A programme of advanced ion trap chip process development and integration will bring together Universal Quantum's chip design expertise with Singapore's fabrication and packaging capabilities. The work will establish a world-class facility for microchip development, advancing progress towards fault-tolerant, scalable trapped-ion quantum computers. 

The advance of ion trap chip technology is a critical step towards harnessing stable qubits at the scale required to deliver reliable quantum computing and to transform fields such as medicine, materials design and climate modelling, Universal Quantum said.

The Centre will launch with an initial team of 25, with plans to grow significantly as its work in Singapore expands. This forms part of Universal Quantum’s long-term roadmap to work with Singapore's local quantum ecosystem to explore fault tolerant quantum computing (FTQC), including advanced quantum microchip development to the development of FTQC algorithms for strategic industries in Singapore. 

The development of new capabilities in advanced packaging design is central to Universal Quantum's long-term technical plans in Singapore, and will draw on collaboration with local research institutes whose capabilities in this field are unmatched. Together, this work will build the chip architectures required to support a fully scaled, million-qubit integrated quantum processing unit.

Universal Quantum will also develop its Singapore office as the company’s inaugural hub for Asia-Pacific. Supported by the EDB, the move builds on the company's existing momentum in the region, connecting research, talent, industry and ecosystem development through a long-term presence in the country. 

Universal Quantum intends to explore applications of its technology in sectors where Singapore has established industrial strength, and have become critical for the Singaporean competitiveness, allowing them to keep their advantage over the long term. In doing so, the company expects to become a significant contributor to the region’s quantum ecosystem, and to build partnerships with the organisations leading its development. 

“Universal Quantum’s move reflects confidence in Singapore as a trusted base for developing and scaling frontier technologies like quantum,” said Ling Keok Tong, Executive Director of the National Quantum
Office. The National Quantum Strategy is developed and implemented by NQO, a national platform hosted by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF).

“This Centre will help to anchor partnerships with Singapore’s growing quantum ecosystem of researchers and industry partners.” 

“Universal Quantum’s decision to establish its Asia-Pacific R&D hub locally underscores Singapore’s strengths in quantum innovation and advanced manufacturing,” said Soo Haw Yun, VP,  Global Enterprises, EDB. 

“This investment will deepen Singapore’s quantum R&D capabilities and create highly skilled jobs. We look forward to seeing Universal Quantum develop and advance cutting-edge quantum solutions from Singapore.” 

"Singapore is the best place for Universal Quantum to continue to grow in Asia-Pacific," said Luc Gerardin, Global Head of Business Development at Universal Quantum. 

"The strength of the ecosystem, the ambition of the Government's quantum strategy, and the quality of the industrial and research partners on the ground are unmatched in the region. We are here to build, and to build for the long term."