India will establish two quantum chip and sensor fabrication plants as part of the country’s National Quantum Mission (NQM), the Minister for Science & Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, has announced.

The investment in the two facilities will total approximately $80.75 million, with the fabs set to be located at two Indian universities specializing in engineering – IIT Bombay and IISc Bangalore. Two additional small-scale facilities will also be set up at IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur.

The Quantum Sensing & Metrology facility at IIT Bombay will boost the development of quantum sensing technologies, including advanced quantum sensor platforms that will provide “tangible societal and strategic impact,” the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay reported, while the Quantum Computing fabrication facility at IISc Bengaluru will support the manufacturing of quantum computing chips based on superconducting, photonic, and spin qubits.

The facilities will be made accessible to academic and science and technology institutions, in addition to enterprises, startups, and MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises).

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is proud to see the strong progress under both the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems and the National Quantum Mission,” said Professor Abhay Karandikar, secretary, DST. “The Technology Innovation Hub here has made remarkable advances by way of supporting startups, developing new technologies, and recently launching work on Indian-language large language models… Together, these initiatives create a complete innovation ecosystem from fundamental research to commercialisation.”

Pasqal deploys 200-qubit quantum computer in Aramco’s Dhahran data center

A year and a half after Saudi oil company Aramco announced it was partnering with French startup Pasqal to install the first quantum computer in Saudi Arabia, the system has been deployed at Aramco’s data center in Dhahran.

The 200 qubit neutral-atom quantum computer will be used by the oil giant to explore advanced quantum algorithms and real-world use cases relevant to industrial operations, the company said in a statement.

As part of the partnership, Pasqal will also provide training programs and research opportunities for engineers and scientists in Saudi Arabia, supporting the Kingdom’s quantum ecosystem and helping to grow its pool of skilled workers.

“Aramco is an established technology leader, which continues to innovate through the development and deployment of advanced digital solutions that have tangible benefits,” said Ahmad O. Al-Khowaiter, Aramco EVP of technology and innovation. “We are deploying AI and other technologies at scale to further enhance our operations, maximize efficiency, and unlock value across our business. Our partnership with Pasqal is a natural progression, and we are thrilled to pioneer next-generation quantum capabilities, harnessing significant opportunities presented by this new frontier in computing.”

Loïc Henriet, Pasqal CEO, added: “This is a historic milestone with Aramco. The deployment of our most powerful quantum computer yet is a piece of history and a landmark for the Middle East’s quantum future. Pasqal continues its expansion, delivering practical quantum power to industry.”