Quantum computing company Orca has launched its PT-2, its latest photonic quantum computer.

Designed to integrate with existing high-performance computing (HPC) and data center environments, the company said it represents a “significant leap” forward in practical quantum computing.

ORCA PT-2
Orca PT-2 quantum computer – Orca

Building on Orca’s PT-1 offering, which has been deployed in seven on-premises systems, the company says the PT-2 has “quantum-enhanced machine learning capabilities.” These can be integrated with Nvidia’s CUDA-Q development platform and combined with existing generative AI models to support industrial-scale quantum AI.

In a statement, Orca said that this approach marks a “radical departure” from the limitations of other quantum approaches, allowing organizations to embed quantum computing into generative AI and optimization workflows.

“Our focus is on unlocking new applications while driving industry transformation,” said Richard Murray, Co-founder and CEO of Orca Computing. “The PT-2 not only opens the door to future innovations but allows users to adopt quantum technology without major additional investments. Our roadmap ensures that customers can upgrade their systems and continuously benefit from the latest quantum technologies.”

In addition to launching the PT-2, Orca will also deploy an integrated GPU processing quantum computing testbed at the newly opened National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) in Harwell, in the UK. Described by Orca as an “industry-first,” the company said the testbed will accelerate the development and testing of photonic quantum architectures, focusing on machine learning with hybrid quantum and classical neural networks, and photonic quantum processors.

Founded in 2019 as a spin-out from Oxford University, Orca Computing is a UK-based photonic quantum computing company. In June 2024, the company announced it will lead an R&D consortium to develop network multiplexing and switching technologies for use in quantum computing and data centers.