Denmark's Export and Investment Fund (EIFO) and the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF) are set to invest €80 million ($92.93m) to build what they claim will be the world’s most powerful quantum computer.

The project, dubbed QuNorth, will see the deployment of the first Level 2, or ‘Resilient’, quantum system in the Nordic region, with Microsoft and Atom Computing set to deliver the machine, named Magne, in reference to the son of the Norse God, Thor.

Microsoft Quantum catagorizes quantum computing implementation into three levels: Foundational, Resilient, and Scale, with Resilient systems operating on reliable logical qubits, as opposed to the noisy physical qubits seen at the Foundational level.

Construction of Magne will begin in Fall 2025, and the computer is expected to be ready for its first tasks by the start of 2027. Atom Computing will build and deliver the quantum hardware for Magne, while Microsoft will integrate its Azure software, which will be tailored to Atom Computing’s neutral atom technology.

Magne, which the company stressed will be 100 percent Danish-owned, is expected to comprise around logical 50 qubits and more than 1,200 physical qubits, making it the first commercially available quantum computer where “many physical qubits… work together to form the more stable logical qubits through error correction algorithms,” Morten Bache, scientific director at the Novo Nordisk Foundation, explained.

No details about exactly where the system will be housed have been released, but NNF said Magne and QuNorth will be located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company is currently searching for a new CEO to oversee the initiative and plans to establish a “small organization of around 10 employees, whose primary task will be to ensure optimal utilization of Magne across commercial and academic users in the Nordic region.”

As part of the project, QuNorth will also establish four PhD or post-doctoral roles in partnership with Microsoft.

“We are thrilled to deepen our collaboration with Denmark and the Nordics – key to Europe’s quantum ambitions,” said Jason Zander, EVP, Microsoft. "Together with Atom Computing, we are striving to build the world’s most powerful quantum computer that applies Microsoft’s advanced error correction to Atom Computing’s high-fidelity qubits.

“We are proud that this state-of-the-art system comes to life in Denmark, also home of our decades-long investment in advanced quantum fabrication and research. We welcome this era of collaboration with the Novo Nordisk Foundation, EIFO, and industry leaders, accelerating innovation across scientific breakthroughs, from drug discovery to disease modeling. Reliable quantum computing is now a reality.”