Quantum computing company Orca secures US customer

Montana State University (MSU) has purchased two PT-1 quantum photonics systems, an investment that was funded by the US Air Force as part of a $115 million Applied Quantum Core grant.

“By having a working system that has all the modularity you would like, it means we don't have to buy a new quantum computer every three years,” Professor Idzerda said, explaining that the university needed systems that were easy to install and flexible in terms of how they could be configured and upgraded across the course of their lifetime.

“We were looking for the best company around, so it didn't matter where it came from,” Idzerda said. “We were also looking for a company who was like-minded [and we appreciated] that Orca would open the box for us so that we can improve the product as we go forward.” A “broad” Memoriam of Understanding was signed by the two organizations, meaning that Orca will support MSU for as long as the university has its PT-1 systems deployed.