John Martinis Makes Move to Silicon Quantum Computing

October 5, 2020 (PN5)  When John Martinis left Google last spring, we all wondered where he would land. It turns out he's on just about the other side of the world at the Australian start-up, Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC).

In his own words (from the article published on their website),

“I’m hugely excited to join the team at SQC,” says Professor Martinis. “Building a quantum computer is my life-long ambition. If we can build one successfully at scale, it will be a transformational achievement with tremendous impact for humankind. I chose to come to SQC because of the promise of the unique approach in fabrication at the atomic level. No one else in the world can do what these guys are capable of.“

Last spring, he spoke with Forbes to describe the circumstances surrounding his departure from Google. Paul Smith-Goodson conducted a fantastic interview, and the details are all there. He foreshadowed his move to Silicon Quantum Computing saying,

"One idea is to work with other qubits groups, who are making different qubits, to figure out how they can scale up and build a large quantum computer. Because I have an example with superconducting qubits that I now understand well, I hope to use those ideas for these other approaches. So, this might be a great opportunity."

Many of Martinis's former students, now doctors themselves, remain at Google where he says the plan is to "build a million-qubit system in about ten years, with sufficiently low errors to do error correction." He also says, "I'm excited that they'll be able to make progress and push this forward. I wish them the best."

Contributed by Tony Przybysz, SNF Co-editor Electronics (digital & quantum computing)