Turkey unveiled its first domestically developed quantum computer, QuanT, at a ceremony held at the TOBB University of Economics and Technology (ETU) Technology Center in Ankara on November 21, 2024. The 5-qubit system was developed by TOBB ETU in collaboration with defense firm ASELSAN, building on a joint quantum technologies research laboratory established in 2022. Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) head Haluk Görgün, and TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu attended the launch, as reported by Daily Sabah and Anadolu Agency.
Hisarcıklıoğlu said Turkey had joined the ranks of approximately 15 countries with quantum computer technology. Vice President Yılmaz stated that the national technology initiative aims to ensure technological independence and that a superconducting chip production facility would be established by ASELSAN and TOBB ETU with SSB support. Yusuf Bora Kartal, ASELSAN’s director of radar programs, noted that the first chips used in the project were prototyped at a production facility outside Turkey.
QuanT resulted from 14 years of research at TOBB ETU, where the Superconducting Electronics Laboratory had been operational since 2009. TOBB ETU stated it would work to develop domestic quantum hardware and components and support startups in the quantum technology sector.