A quantum computer is being installed at an Equinix data center in Tokyo, Japan, by the UK-based Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC). This week, the company said that starting in late 2023, it will provide "Quantum Computing as a Service" through a system on Equinix's TY11 Tokyo International Business Exchange (IBX), powered by the company's Fabric service. The quantum computer's parameters were kept a secret. The five-story TY11, which was completed in 2019 and is situated in Koutou-ku, has 38,345 square feet of area right now. The majority of quantum computers available today may be accessed "as a service" through the public cloud or through private cloud services provided by locations controlled by the quantum firms. For instance, IonQ makes use of Google Cloud and Azure to share its quantum, which is situated in its data center in Maryland.
IBM has agreed to deploy a number of on-premise facilities in Europe, Asia, and North America in addition to operating a number of Quantum computers out of a data facility in New York that is accessible through a portal. Also, it is adding extra equipment to IBM sites in a number of regions, including Canada and Japan. This is the second agreement OQC has signed for the colocation of a quantum computer. The company said a year ago that it will install one of its machines in the UK's LHR3 data center operated by Cyxtera. Installation is still ongoing.
Instead of using 2D circuits, OQC, which was founded at the University of Oxford, employs its own three-dimensional design called "Coaxmon" to streamline manufacturing and enhance the coherence of quantum systems. In contrast to its 8-qubit Lucy quantum computer, which is shared through AWS, it runs the 4 qubit Sophia system, housed in its lab at Thames Valley Science Park, Reading. Last year, the company completed a Series A investment round, raising $40.5m.
