According to the official Weibo of the Israeli Embassy in China, Israel is building the world’s first quantum computing R&D center. It will provide Israel’s industry and academia with access to a full-stack quantum computer that runs millions of times faster than normal computers, can run direct computations, and will have cloud access as an option in the future.

The project has a total budget of 100 million NIS ($29 million), which will be paid by the Israel Innovation Authority over three years. Quantum Machines, which creates hardware and software solutions for the control and operation of quantum computers, has been selected for the center, the company said. The center will focus on all hardware and software layers for three different quantum processing technologies (superconducting qubits, cold ions and optical computers).

Israel’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Orit Farkash HaCohen, described the center as a “major leap in the resilience of Israel’s civilian technology”.

Earlier, according to the Tel Aviv reporter station of Science and Technology Daily, the Israel Innovation Agency and the Defense Research and Development Agency of the Ministry of Defense jointly announced that they will invest 200 million NIS (about 60 million US dollars) to develop a state-owned quantum computer for use in the country’s academia, R&D work in defense agencies and high-tech industries. Israel hopes to use this project to lay a technical foundation in related fields and establish an independent quantum computing capability.

According to previous reports by Israel’s Haaretz, Israel’s development of quantum computing adopts a dual-track parallel model, in which the Innovation Bureau builds a 20-qubit quantum computer and seeks cooperation from foreign technology companies; the Defense Research and Development Agency of the Ministry of Defense plans to Develop and operate domestic quantum computers without relying on foreign technology. Israel believes that in the future quantum computing will be regarded as a technology of strategic security, like advanced weapons, and may not necessarily be purchased from other countries. Other countries may restrict the export of quantum technology.