Finnish quantum computing company IQM Quantum Computers has partnered with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland to launch Europe’s first 50-qubit superconducting quantum computer.

The system is located at VTT’s premises in Micronova in Espoo, Finland, and has been made available to companies and researchers via the VTT QX quantum computing service.

First announced in November 2020 and backed by a €20.7 million ($21.9m) funding package from the Finnish government, the project was completed over three phases. In 2021, IQM deployed a 5-qubit quantum computer, connecting it to the Internet via CSC’s (Finland’s IT Center for Science) Lumi supercomputer in 2022.

The company then completed the deployment of a 20-qubit system in 2023 before ultimately upgrading it to the 50-qubit quantum computer that has now been made available.

Espoo is also the location of IQM’s manufacturing facility, where, as of September 2024, the company had manufactured 30 full-stack quantum computers.

In a post on LinkedIn, the company said the new system serves as a baseline for IQM’s Radiance quantum computer. Currently available in a 54-qubit version, in March 2024, IQM said a 150-qubit version of Radiance was targeted for Q1 2025.

"The delivery of this quantum computer is a significant milestone in our technology roadmap towards large-scale quantum computing with applications in quantum machine learning, optimization, or simulations,” said Dr. Jan Goetz, co-CEO and co-founder of IQM Quantum Computers. “Our collaboration with VTT to develop the 50-qubit system serves as a baseline for our IQM Radiance 54-qubit quantum computer, a product we are shipping to our customers worldwide. We are now at full speed to deliver on the growing demand for our quantum computers to drive scientific breakthroughs and ultimately reach quantum advantage.”

Erja Turunen, EVP at VTT, added: “Developing and building a 50-qubit quantum computer demonstrates that Finland is one of the global leaders in the field. With this quantum computer, we can develop applications and new algorithms for material modeling and simulation, optimization problems, and artificial intelligence.”

Founded in Helsinki, Finland, in 2018, IQM brings full-stack quantum computers and applications to HPCs, research institutes, universities, and business enterprises. In late 2024, the company announced plans to deploy its 5-qubit IQM Spark quantum computers at both the Chungbuk National University in South Korea and the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute.