Christian Weedbrook, founder of the quantum technologies company, Xanadu, listens in as Varun Vaidya, left, discusses the working principle of one of the building blocks of quantum computers, at their office in Toronto on Thursday, June 20.A Toronto startup aiming to build the world’s most powerful computer by harnessing the quantum properties of light has raised $32-million from leading early stage financiers in Canada and the United States.
Several developers say quantum supremacy could be achieved within one to five years. While the machines won’t be at their full potential, they could be powerful enough for customers to start using. It’s also a rare early stage investment for Georgian, which usually backs software companies already generating millions of dollars in revenue. Quantum is more familiar territory for Mr. Draper; the venture-capital firm he co-founded, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, backs Burnaby, B.C.-based D-Wave, the most advanced player in commercializing quantum computing.
But Xanadu needs to take “three giant steps,” before it can fully commercialize its technology, said Massachusetts Institute of Technology mechanical engineering and physics professor Seth Lloyd, a leading expert in quantum computing who advises the startup:
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