A consortium of Canada’s leading quantum technology companies announced today that they are launching Quantum Industry Canada (QIC), an industry association with a mission to ensure that Canadian quantum innovation and talent is translated into Canadian business success and economic prosperity.
The twenty-four founding members represent Canada’s most commercial-ready quantum technologies, covering applications in quantum computing, quantum sensing, quantum communications, and quantum-safe cryptography.
The consortium is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and meets on a quarterly basis. The founding members of QIC include: D-Wave, 1Qbit, Xanadu, Zapata, ISARA, and others.
The QIC was created to ensure that Canada remains a global leader in this new emerging industry and seizes the opportunity created by years of public investment into scientific research.
Members will collaborate and coordinate to communicate Canada’s quantum readiness to a global audience of technology ecosystems, talent and investors. QIC will also support Canadian quantum start-ups and mature players through access to expertise in intellectual property and go to market strategies. The association will work together with the provincial and federal governments to strategically support this emerging industry.
The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) has identified Quantum technology as a $142.4 billion opportunity that could employ 229,000 Canadians by 2040. Canada is already a leader in quantum research and development, ranked first in per capita spending with over one billion dollars invested since 2005 (ranked #1 overall in quantum computing research, #5 overall).