Alice & Bob is giving itself three years to “divide the price of a quantum computer by ten”

2024-03-27 14:00:00

Industrialization is approaching for quantum computing. The start-up Alice & Bob won a grant of 16.5 million euros, via the France 2030 plan, to carry out a three-year project called the Cat Factory – in reference to the so-called cat qubits that it developed. His goal ? “Develop the enabling technologies needed to simplify quantum computingexplains Théau Peronnin, co-founder and CEO of the start-up, to L’Usine Nouvelle. We aim to divide the cost of manufacturing a quantum computer by ten.” This should therefore go from between 10 and 20 million euros currently to one or two, the company estimates.

Carried out in partnership with the ENS de Lyon and Mines Paris (PSL), “the program aims to independently demonstrate the viability of the technological building blocks necessary for the industrialization of these machines», specifies the physicist. This includes control electronics, cabling and chip design. The Cat Factory should be completed by the end of 2026. It should allow Alice & Bob to gain three years on its roadmap to produce a calculator of 100 logical qubits, protected from errors.

The device, made up of 1500 cat qubits, should find real use cases, wants to believe Théau Peronnin, who says “strong conviction of its interest as a calculating machine”. To make it a reality, “The Cat Factory will allow us to get the necessary bricks”.