Canada Invests $195M in Xanadu's Toronto Quantum Facility
Xanadu, a quantum computing company, has received a C$195 million repayable loan from Canada's federal government to establish and operate a photonics manufacturing facility in Toronto. The plant, called Inception, is housed in a renovated old Campbell's Soup factory and will be used for the manufacturing, packaging, and assembly of quantum components.
The company plans to use Inception early next year and expects to bring most of its current chip packaging and assembly work in-house. Currently, this process takes up to three months, but Xanadu hopes to complete it in just eight hours once the plant is running.
Xanadu has been seeking up to C$390 million from Ottawa and the Ontario government as part of Project OPTIMISM, which aims to cost around C$893 million and create up to 275 highly skilled jobs. The company's CEO, Christian Weedbrook, expressed hope that Ontario will follow with its own investment.
The loan is a repayable contribution through Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada's Strategic Response Fund, and Xanadu will have to make a significant co-investment of its own over the next five years. The company has received government funding in the past, totaling C$78 million, including C$40 million from the Strategic Innovation Fund.