The future belongs to quantum computing — a revolutionary field that offers limitless potential for theoretical research and practical applications. With a rising profile as a hub for technological innovation, Canada is well positioned to play a leading role in the development of quantum-related industries.
In this post, TechTO highlights the companies, research centres, and people that are contributing to Canada’s quantum landscape.
Pioneers in the quantum field reach new milestones every day. As such, TechTO plans to update this quantum overview on September 1, 2020. Please let us know if you have any suggestions, recommendations or ideas for collaborations.
For a quick background on quantum computing, check out this post.
Canada’s Quantum Companies
Innovating commercial applications for quantum technology requires significant resources. Continued advances in quantum-related fields will necessitate support from venture capital and government funding.
TechTO has identified a group of companies working on quantum computing. The list features businesses with Canadian-based headquarters (along with a few US companies that maintain a significant base in the country).
***Venture-backed Companies
- Burnaby, British Columbia
- Founded: 1999
- Founders: Eric Ladizinsky, Geordie Rose
- Funding: $204.7M over 15 rounds
- In their words: D-Wave Systems designs and manufactures quantum computing and superconducting electronics. It offers D-Wave One system, a computing system that is designed for industrial problems encountered by Fortune 500 companies, government, and academia. The company also provides customer support, site preparation, site installation, training packages, and on-site engineer support services.
- Vancouver, British Columbia
- Founded: 2012
- Founders: Andrew Fursman, Landon Downs
- Funding: $45 (CDN) over 4 rounds
- In their words: We identify intractable industry problems and build the software necessary to harness the best quantum hardware technologies to solve them.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2016
- Founder: Christian Weedbrook
- Funding: $35.6M over 5 rounds
- In their words: Xanadu’s ultimate goal is to provide quantum on demand to enable significant computational improvements over the best classical methods to solve really tough real-world problems. Xanadu has amalgamated leading scientists and professionals to pair academic research with industry veterans to develop a massively scalable venture.
- Boston, Massachusetts (with an office in Toronto, Ontario)
- Founded: 2017
- Founders: Alán Aspuru-Guzik, Christopher Savoie, Jhonathan Romero, Jonathan Olson, Yudong Cao
- Funding: $31.4M over 4 rounds
- In their words: Zapata Computing is a quantum software company that offers computing solutions for industrial and commercial use. It provides hardware-agnostic solutions for simulation, optimization, and machine learning applications in chemistry, finance, logistics, pharmaceuticals, engineering, and materials.
- Waterloo, Ontario
- Founded: 2015
- Founders: Mike Brown, Scott Totzke
- Funding: $26.9M over 3 rounds
- In their words: ISARA Corporation is a security solutions company specializing in creating class-defining quantum-safe cryptography for today’s computing ecosystems.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2017
- Founders: Christopher Ing, Lucas Siow, Mark Fingerhuth, Tomas Babej
- Funding: $4.6M over 3 rounds
- In their words: ProteinQure is automating the computational design of protein-based drugs by developing an algorithm that scales to large proteins and automates a large fraction of the protein drug discovery process.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2018
- Founders: Zheping Li
- Funding: $2M over 1 round
- In their words: Qindom locates in the middleware of AI and optimization ecosphere. Our research efforts are focused on proprietary quantum machine learning algorithms and methodologies. Quantum Intelligence as a Service (QIaaS) is provided to address complex AI optimization problems.
***Companies with undisclosed rounds
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2017
- Founders: Roman Lutsiv, Vlad Anissimov, Edward Tang
- Funding: Undisclosed
- In their words: We are developing solutions in key areas of investment and credit risk management that address some of the major pain points the industry is facing.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2018
- Founders: Oktay Goktas, Elliot MacGowan, Edwin Tham
- Funding: Pre-seed, undisclosed
- In their words: Agnostiq builds software solutions that enable users to experiment with quantum processors over the cloud, without compromising the privacy of their data or algorithms.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2017
- Founders: Bryce Hunter, Ystallonne Alves
- Funding: Undisclosed
- In their words: The first quantum startup in the world to render an image using a quantum computer. We are a technology team with a relentless focus on speeding up rendering times, reducing rendering costs, and expanding rendering possibilities.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2011
- Founders: Michael Helander
- Funding: Series A, undisclosed
- In their words: At OTI Lumionics we are developing advanced materials — by design — using quantum simulations, machine learning and real-world testing in pilot production.
- Kitchener, Ontario
- Founded: 2017
- Founders: Joseph Emerson, Joel Wallman
- Funding: Undisclosed
- In their words: Quantum Benchmark is the leading provider of software solutions that enable error characterization, error mitigation, error correction and performance validation for quantum computing hardware.
***Innovators
- Waterloo, Ontario
- Founded: 2014
- Founders: Taj Manku, Oleksiy Kravets
- Funding: $7.3M (CDN) from 1 grant
- In their words: Our goal is to become the standard for motion sensing using WiFi signals.
- Waterloo, Ontario
- Founded: 1999
- Funding: $6.5M (CDN) from 1 grant
- In their words: High Q Technologies is a collaboration between the University of Waterloo and Vancouver-based Mitacs.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2017
- Founders: Henning Dekant
- Funding: Undisclosed
- In their words: Our company creates and curates an Open Source analytics platform that allows data scientists to augment Python into a full-blown Quantum Computing toolbox, which will enable development from the first tentative programming steps to a full blown Quantum Ready Corporate Critical systems.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2017
- Founders: Jennifer Shelton, Mohammadreza Rezaee
- Funding: Undisclosed
- In their words: AuroraQ is a quantum computing startup that develops standardized and modular quantum components that integrates seamlessly with the quantum processor, is scalable, and works with a broad range of quantum processor technologies.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2016
- Founders: Colin J.E. Lupton
- Funding: Undisclosed
- In their words: The Blackstone Virtual Quantum Machine (VQM) service by Black Brane Systems, Inc. is a cloud-based, virtualized, 128-qubit universal quantum computer.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2016
- Founders: Visweswaran Vish R
- Funding: Undisclosed
- In their words: CogniFrame algorithms leverage the power of Quantum Computing to derive optimized samples of potential optimal solutions for Asset Liability Management to help Financial Institutions improve their Return on Assets (ROA) on their Banking Book.
- Waterloo, Ontario
- Founded: 2018
- Founders: Chris Mathew, Kyle Faller
- Funding: Undisclosed
- In their words: Intelline builds mass custom cryocoolers to enable widespread implementation of cryocooled technologies.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2015
- Founders: Joseph Geraci
- Funding: Undisclosed
- In their words: Netramark helps pharma companies identify and predict the population of candidates that would be the most responsive to a drug treatment in a clinical trial.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2017
- Founders: Abu Anand, Fazal Mahmood, Gurjot Singh Dhaliwal
- Funding: Undisclosed
- In their words: We fast track the development of new alloys using Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Simulations.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Founded: 2017
- Founders: Abhi Rampal
- Funding: Undisclosed
- In their words: Solid State AI is building a SaaS platform that enables process and equipment engineers in complex manufacturing industries to increase manufacturing yields, optimize process parameters, and reduce equipment maintenance costs and downtime.
Quantum Valley
Based in Waterloo, Quantum Valley is a cluster for world-leading research and innovation. With the visionary support of BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis, the Waterloo quantum ecosystem features state-of-the-art facilities and integrated relationships between renowned scientists and industry experts.
Quantum Valley is comprised of seven entities:
- Quantum Valley Investments
- Research Advancement Centre
- Quantum Valley Ideas Lab
- Institute for Quantum Computing
- Quantum NanoFab
- Lazaridis Institute for Management
- Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
- In their words: The Quantum Valley Investment Fund provides commercialization funding, expertise and support for researchers that develop breakthroughs in Quantum Information Science that can reasonably lead to new commercializable technologies and applications.
Institute for Quantum Computing — University of Waterloo
- In their words: The Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) is a world-leading quantum institute at the University of Waterloo. IQC is advancing the field of quantum information at the highest international level to discover and develop powerful new quantum technologies that will drive future economies.
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
- In their words: Perimeter Institute is a leading centre for scientific research, training and educational outreach in foundational theoretical physics. Founded in 1999 in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, its mission is to advance our understanding of the universe at the most fundamental level, stimulating the breakthroughs that could transform our future.
Academic Research
In the not-so-distant past, quantum theory rarely appeared in the core curriculum of most post-secondary science programs. Today, many Canadian universities offer at least several courses in quantum-related topics, spanning departments of physics, chemistry, computer science, and more.
Several of the country’s institutions have attracted international recognition for their quantum research. The following list highlights academic programs that focus on quantum theory and possible applications for the real world. (The University of Waterloo is included in the previous section on Quantum Valley).
The Quantum Stream at Creative Destruction Lab–Toronto
- Toronto, Ontario
- In their words: The Quantum Stream at CDL-Toronto brings together entrepreneurs, investors, leading scientists in quantum technologies, and quantum hardware vendors to build ventures in the nascent domain of quantum computing, machine learning, optimization, sensing and other applications of quantum technologies.
University of Toronto — Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control
- Toronto, Ontario
- In their words: CQIQC is tasked with promoting research collaborations in the rapidly evolving interdisciplinary fields of quantum information and quantum control.
University of Toronto — Quantum Optics cluster (Physics)
- Toronto, Ontario
- In their words: The Quantum Optics cluster includes researchers working in the fields of AMO (atomic, molecular, and optical) physics, Quantum Information, Laser Science, Plasma Physics, and some parts of Condensed Matter Physics.
University of Toronto — Centre for Quantum Materials
- Toronto, Ontario
- In their words: Our centre studies novel quantum phases of complex materials. Emergent properties of such phases may hold a key to future scientific and technological innovations in materials physics.
Fujitsu Co-Creation Research Laboratory at the University of Toronto
- Toronto, Ontario
- In their words: The Fujitsu Co-Creation Research Laboratory is a facility designed to accelerate innovative computing research, particularly Digital Annealer. DA is inspired by quantum mechanics, but unlike quantum computers, does not require cryogenic temperatures.Toronto, Ontario
University of British Columbia — Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute
- Vancouver, British Columbia
- In their words: SBQMI identifies and explores quantum materials and phenomena, and exploits its knowledge to discover, design and build the quantum technologies of the future.
Université de Sherbrooke — Institut quantique
- Sherbrooke, Québec
- In their words: We bring together experts in quantum materials, quantum information and quantum engineering to conduct high-quality fundamental research and develop the quantum technologies of the future.
People
In the section on quantum companies, each listing includes the names of their respective founders. Many of these leaders, especially from the oldest and largest companies, deserve credit for developing Canada’s reputation as a thriving ecosystem for quantum innovation.
TechTO has identified a series of noteworthy people from the quantum-related sectors, spanning research, industry, and education.
- Emerging star in the next generation of quantum computing: Young Innovators to Watch Award from CES and internship with Zapata Computing
- Chief Executive Officer, D-Wave
- Deputy Director, Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC); Canada Excellence Research Chair Laureate
- Professor, Physics and Computer Science at Laurier University; Director, Centre for Women in Science (WinS); President, Canadian Association of Physicists
- Founding Director, Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC); Associate Faculty, Perimeter Institute
- Founder & Managing Partner, Quantum Valley Investments; Founder, BlackBerry Limited
The Future of Quantum in Canada
Depending on the specific metric (funding, publications, patents, etc.), Canada ranks approximately fifth in the world for quantum-related innovation. That said, the global leaders — the US and China — are significantly increasing their support for quantum technologies, with particular emphasis on practical applications in telecommunications and cybersecurity. Canada has punched above its weight in the quantum realm. Sustained excellence will certainly require support from industry, academia, and governments.
For a quick background on quantum computing, check out this post.
TechTO plans to update this quantum overview on September 1, 2020. Please let us know if you have any suggestions, recommendations or ideas for collaborations.
