On March 23, 2021, the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) announced that its Quantum Research Center (QRC) had begun work to build the UAE’s first quantum computer in Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with Barcelona-based Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech. The project was led by QRC Chief Researcher Professor Jose Ignacio Latorre.
QRC opted to use superconducting qubits, the same technology employed by Google and IBM. According to Professor Latorre, the first step was to build a laboratory and install cleanroom equipment, with the first quantum chips “Made in Abu Dhabi” expected by the end of summer 2021.
ATRC Secretary General Faisal Al Bannai said the quantum computer would support research across fields including new medicines, new materials, battery design, and artificial intelligence applications. Qilimanjaro later confirmed in its 2021 year-in-review that it had commissioned its first gate-based superconducting qubit quantum computer to TII during that year.