Microsoft is building a new quantum computing center in Maryland and line up with its work with DARPA on evaluating and funding quantum systems.
In an interview, Charles Tahan, Partner, Microsoft Quantum, said the facility is a partnership with the state of Maryland, which has built a quantum computing corridor built with IonQ as an anchor tenant along with the University of Maryland.
Tahan said the buildout will include substantial lab space for technical work, office space for operations and dedicated zones to collaborate with partners, university students and the broader quantum computing community. "It's a great location for what we want to do," said Tahan. "This will be a place where people can use our technology in a trusted way. It will also help the other side to see if their technology can be compatible with our stack and hopefully push the entire quantum field forward."
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Microsoft is part of a DARPA program that is evaluating and funding quantum computing development.
The plan for Microsoft is to have its first equipment operational at the new facility by June 2026 with topological qubit test systems. Tahan said the Maryland Microsoft facility could become a potential hub with cloud access to prototype systems from the software giant and partners.
Tahan added that the Maryland center will focus on its topological approach to quantum computing.
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced Majorana One, a quantum processor with a topological architecture designed to scale to 1 million qubits in theory.
Microsoft is taking a platform approach to quantum computing with plans to intersect with artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. Microsoft also announced its quantum ready initiative for enterprises to go along with partnerships with Atom Computing and Quantinuum.
Tahan said:
"Microsoft is a platform company, and it's very much true in quantum. We're not only trying to build quantum computers internally, but work with our partners. We're about empowering many companies that our end users really get access to the best technology at any given time."
