AP to unveil nation’s first open-access quantum computer from April 14 in Amaravati

Vijayawada: India's first open-access quantum computer will be made available to students and researchers from April 14 at Amaravati. Representatives of SRM University and Qubit Force informed the chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu at a round-table conference held on Tuesday that the quantum computer that is going to be installed on the university campus will be open for testing and research.Naidu said Andhra Pradesh secured a first-mover advantage by aligning early with the objectives of the National Quantum Mission (NQM) and asserted that the Amaravati Quantum Valley (AQV) would serve as a foundation for indigenous quantum hardware manufacturing.The round table was attended by NQM director J B V Reddy, State Quantum Mission director C V Sridhar, IBM director Amit Singhi and representatives of central govt institutions, including C-DAC, C-DOT, DRDO, Naval Science and Technological Laboratory, and BARC. Officials from quantum hardware, cryogenics, photonics and power electronics firms were also present. IIT Tirupati professor Satyanarayana participated in person, while IIT Madras Director Prof V Kamakoti joined virtually.The chief minister asked stakeholders to work towards manufacturing quantum computing hardware domestically within the next two years. He said that the state govt is aiming for hardware production, system integration and algorithm development at AQV, building a complete quantum ecosystem. The participants opined that Andhra Pradesh should aim to become one of the world's five global quantum hubs by 2030. Naidu said that state govt is ready to provide all necessary support, including collaboration between research institutions, startups and industry, including quantum bio foundry-led innovation.Stating that AP was the first state in the country to roll out a dedicated quantum computing policy, Naidu said the State Quantum Computing Mission already began operations from Medha Towers in Vijayawada on a temporary basis.Drawing comparisons with the IT revolution of the 1990s, he said early adoption of quantum technologies would determine future economic leadership. He added that IBM, TCS and L&T were partnering with the state to establish quantum computing capabilities in Amaravati.