Quantum computing can be extremely complex, but one global firm, which has strong links to Harwell, has generated “an incredible amount of demand” – by making all its technologies as easy as possible to use. 

ORCA Computing, “ORCA” for short, has built industry-leading computer hardware, software and technologies that integrate with existing, standard computers. This rapidly opens up access to quantum – which is often seen as an ‘elitist’ industry.  

In parallel, ORCA is also working in partnership with multiple high-calibre organisations to develop next generation machines – working towards the ‘Holy Grail’ of error correction in the long-term. 

The company has already built one quantum computer for the Harwell-based National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) and is working on a second, more advanced testbed, which is due in March 2025. ORCA says it will be the first system in the world that combines multiple photon sources within a single system – which makes a richer environment for developing applications. It will be ORCA’s tenth quantum computing system.  

Harwell’s role in the story  

QuBIC 

Harwell Innovation Campus is home to scores of businesses within the quantum supply chain, as well as national facilities including NQCC and the Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC). Those two organisations worked in partnership with Harwell to deliver the Quantum Business Incubation Centre (QuBIC) – a programme aimed at turbo-charging quantum businesses via up to £50,000 of targeted R & D funding, and £10,000 of R & D vouchers to spend with public sector partners. QuBIC also offers access to business support including 1:1 coaching, investment readiness, market validation, intellectual property advice and meetings with high calibre stakeholders within industry.   

Per Nyberg, Chief Commercial Officer of ORCA Computing – which is on the programme – said: “The real benefit of QuBIC for us has been getting access to the experts on the user side.  We’ve also found it great to use the accessible facilities and be part of the entire ecosystem and dynamic atmosphere at Harwell.” 

Government chose Harwell to be the home of its new National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC). The strategic hub and the national laboratory was backed by an initial £93 million of investment through UKRI*, and aims to push the boundaries of what’s possible using quantum computing technology.  

The NQCC offers a 4,000 sq. metre state-of-the-art building including meeting, office and laboratory spaces to host 12 quantum computers by spring 2025, which will support breakthrough projects. 

Currently, more than 70 people work in the NQCC, and it provides an array of opportunities for students – including support for the quantum apprenticeships, 30 PhD studentships over 8 years, summer placements, quantum hackathons, and crash courses for those in industry.  

It’s all designed to support the development of quantum hardware, software, and applications. And, it is built just a few metres away from the existing critical research facilities of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), as well as several businesses within the quantum supply chain.  

Najwa Sidqi is the Manager of the Harwell Campus Quantum Cluster – a growing community of innovative quantum businesses. She said: “The NQCC represents a significant investment in the UK’s quantum future, and Harwell was selected as its location due to its secure environment and the presence of critical research assets. We recognise the transformative potential of quantum technology to drive economic growth, and we are committed to ensuring a strong return on investment by focusing on skills development and fostering collaborations across the sector.” 

ORCA Computing – The story so far 

ORCA’s mission is to make quantum accessible and user-friendly, enabling organisations to harness the benefits of quantum in the near-term, while building and developing infrastructure for the future: 

Near-term Benefits – ‘Accelerators’ in Quantum 

• Capability – ORCA believes that quantum computers should function as ‘accelerators’ for classical systems – with software and technologies that boost the capabilities of existing classical infrastructure. This approach enables the most immediate path to industrial-scale quantum applications.  

• Flexibility – The quantum computers within ORCA’s PT Series, are modular and flexible. This means customers can easily complete upgrades and performance swaps. The adaptable architecture delivers accelerated performance, scalability and usability for use cases like advanced machine learning, allowing organisations to remain at the forefront of the rapid evolution of quantum technologies. 

• Reduced cost – Per Nyberg said ORCA prioritised removing financial barriers to entry. 

“We have looked at the total cost of ownership, including acquisition, facilities, programming and running the computers.  

“Economics matter. We want to make quantum as accessible as possible in terms of the cost to install, operate and upgrade,” he said. 

“We don’t want a situation where quantum is only for a few organisations -where the promise of quantum for society and economy is left unfulfilled.”  

Long term benefits – Creating ‘next-generation’ quantum systems 

ORCA is now building on its proven success with PT-1 – and has introduced the PT-2 – a system with even more sophisticated quantum capabilities to the market.  

It is working with high-calibre organisations, including various departments of the British government, such as the Ministry of Defence, as well as multiple high performance computing centres to understand the needs and pain points of users. 

Per said: “We have a very tight feedback loop with clients. We need to characterise things for each organisation, like how to operate the computers, and make sure we best integrate with applications such as generative AI.”  

What it means for the planet 

Per said ORCA is striving to remain on the forefront of quantum, while maximising accessibility for a broader set of users. The hardware for both models is designed to be mounted on racks, stored at room temperature, and accommodate both best-in-class and off-the-shelf components.  

Meanwhile, the software is built using the widely-used Python development programme to make it as easy as possible for users to configure it to meet their needs.  

“There is broad consensus that all uses of quantum will ultimately be hybrid, and we’re embracing that. The faster we can enable organisations to understand and adopt quantum, the sooner the promise and benefit of quantum becomes a reality,” said Per. 

“We believe that quantum will be taken up across the board quite quickly and become ubiquitous. Like with AI, you just cannot predict where this will go in the next 2-5 years.  

“But long term, we think quantum will solve problems that are intractable on classical machines.” 

ORCA’s technology 

Both of ORCA’s quantum models have modular, fibre-interconnected architecture, with natively networked photonic architectures. It’s a way of making sure the infrastructure and processing are as efficient as possible.  

The model is driven by photonics – manipulating and controlling photons to enable computing to be carried out at the speed of light.  It means companies can get ahead now – because it’s widely anticipated that all quantum approaches will need to use photonics for communication as systems scale in size.    

ORCA says its infrastructure is also ahead of the game – because it uses fibre for all key functions like computing and communication. This is superior for scaling compared to existing alternatives for quantum – which would rely on converting quantum data as systems scale and communicate.  

Meanwhile, ORCA is continually updating the software development kit (SDK) for all of its models and systems – adding new libraries, algorithms and support for different industry standard programming frameworks.   

About ORCA  

Harwell and QuBIC aren’t ORCA’s only links to Oxfordshire – home to innumerable innovations and technologies.  

Chairman and co-founder Professor Ian Walmsley led a research group at the University of Oxford; specialising in topics including fast optics, quantum, and high performance computing. Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer Josh Nunn studied under him – regrouping later at ORCA. 

Meanwhile, co-founder and CEO Richard Murray was one of the early members of Innovate UK. Since  founding ORCA in 2019, he has grown the company to a team of over 65 people and expanded its global presence by establishing a US headquarters in Austin, Texas. Per Nyberg has three decades of experience. This included 17 years at the supercomputing leader Cray where he became Vice President with responsibilities for global commercial strategy in artificial intelligence, cloud and industry vertical markets. 

“We genuinely believe we are unique in our approach to both designing and commercialising quantum technology,” said Per. ”Quantum is at a stage where any and every win in the community is a benefit for all, and we believe that we are playing an important role for the industry. ”