SURREY, B.C. CANADA, March 2, 2022 – Quantum Algorithms Institute (QAI), a not-for-profit organization that facilitates collaboration among industry, academia and government in British Columbia, has teamed up with Xanadu, the Toronto-based world leader in photonic quantum computing. The collaboration between the two Canadian organizations is designed to build a highly skilled future workforce that will drive economic growth in British Columbia and across the nation.
One aspect of QAI’s mission is to develop a robust talent pipeline in quantum information sciences and this will be accelerated by students leveraging Xanadu’s hardware, software and expertise in quantum computing. Students will benefit from PennyLane, Xanadu’s open-source software library, to learn how to code quantum computing algorithms. For example, students will be able to efficiently use PennyLane as they undertake research internships in the Mitacs Accelerate Program at any QAI affiliated university, with the support of QAI.
“Our organization was created to strengthen the quantum ecosystem in British Columbia and one critically important aspect has been to identify opportunities for students to learn about quantum computing and choose careers in this rapidly growing technology sector,” explained Brad Lackey, chair of the QAI board of Directors. “Xanadu’s hardware and software technologies will enable QAI to further our goals not only in British Columbia but throughout our country as we evolve into a global leader in quantum computing.”
Nathan Killoran, Xanadu’s Head of Software and Algorithms and Lead Developer of PennyLane, explained, “PennyLane connects the most popular quantum computing platforms with the best machine learning tools using a device-agnostic and open-source approach.”
As part of the training material and course developed by Xanadu and QAI, students will be able to work on real-world problems alongside QAI’s industry and government partners in British Columbia, giving students unique experiences and an authentic perspective about quantum computing.
Killoran adds, “QAI and Xanadu share a common vision: Canada being the top quantum computing powerhouse. This vision starts today, by making sure that Canada’s world-class students are exposed to the latest ideas and developments in quantum computing and can gain relevant hands-on experience with the latest technology and software”.
About Quantum Algorithms Institute:
Headquartered in Surrey, British Columbia, the Quantum Algorithms Institute (QAI) is a not for profit organization that facilitates collaboration between industry, government, and academia to expand British Columbia’s applied quantum computing sector. To learn more about how the Quantum Algorithms Institute can de-risk your quantum journey, visit https://quantumalgorithms.ca.
About PennyLane:
PennyLane is an open-source software framework for quantum machine learning, quantum chemistry, and quantum computing built around the concept of quantum differentiable programming. It seamlessly integrates classical machine learning libraries with quantum hardware and simulators, giving users the power to train quantum circuits the same way as neural networks.
To find out more, visit the PennyLane Website (https://pennylane.ai), or check out the gallery of hands-on quantum machine learning content (https://pennylane.ai/qml/demonstrations.html).
About Xanadu:
Xanadu is a Canadian quantum technology company with the mission to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere. Founded in 2016, Xanadu has
become one of the world's leading quantum hardware and software companies. The company also leads the development of PennyLane, an open-source software library for quantum computing and application development. Visit www.xanadu.ai or follow us on Twitter @XanaduAI.
Media Contact for QAI:
Hilary Kaye
HKA Marcom
T: 714-422-0900
E: hilary@hkamarcom.com
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