Australian quantum startup Diraq has partnered with Equinix to deploy a quantum computer at a Sydney data center belonging to the digital infrastructure company.

According to the two companies, the deployment will be the first quantum computer to operate inside an Australian commercial data center and is the world’s first silicon spin quantum computer to run in a shared commercial facility.

Once installed, the quantum computer will feature a silicon chip containing eight qubits, sitting alongside the system’s self-contained cryogenic cooling and control electronics. In order to scale to a higher qubit count, only the chip, and not its surrounding infrastructure, will need to be replaced, with Equinix describing the system as “easily upgradable.”

The quantum computer also fits within Equinix’s existing data center infrastructure, requiring “minimal integration” and drawing less than 20kW of power.

Installation work at Equinix’s Sydney data center is on track to be completed in October 2026.

“Quantum computers are about to become as essential to data centers and computing infrastructure as data servers, CPUs and GPUs,” said Andrew Dzurak, Diraq founder and CEO. “The data center is where quantum computing goes mainstream, and that shift starts now. It’s a first, and the milestone is in the simplicity itself. Diraq’s quantum computers integrate into operational data centers like any other rack. That’s the advantage of Diraq’s silicon spin qubits: as we scale to millions of qubits, our system is deployable anywhere in the world, right next to the AI systems that are reshaping the global economy.”

Jarrod Nink, managing director, Australia, Equinix, added: “Quantum computing’s future depends not only on breakthroughs in hardware, but on proving how these systems can operate within the digital infrastructure enterprises rely on every day. Our collaboration with Diraq will demonstrate how quantum computing can be securely deployed alongside AI, cloud and high-performance computing environments.”

Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Sydney, Diraq builds quantum processors using silicon quantum dot technology. The company is aiming to build a full-stack quantum computer that moves the industry away from what it describes as "large, error-ridden systems" and towards fault-tolerant computing.

To date, most quantum computers have been hosted in labs and computing centers, enterprise sites, or in facilities operated by quantum companies. However, a growing number are starting to be deployed in colocation spaces.

UK quantum computing company Oxford Quantum Circuits has previously installed a quantum computer at an Equinix facility in Tokyo, Japan. It has also deployed hardware in Centersquare’s LHR3 facility in Reading, UK.

Orca, another UK quantum firm, has deployed its hardware in Digital Realty's new liquid cooling lab in London.