![\"Oscilloscope](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/feature-image-2025-09-09T123234.919.jpg\")
Oscilloscope to analyse the signal that comes out the computing system | Ananthapathmanabhan , ThePrint\n<\/p>\nBengaluru: To save millions of lives lost to drug-resistant bacteria every year, physicians worldwide are in desperate search of computers that could swiftly find them the right drug. At QpiAI India Pvt Limited, located in Bengaluru\u2019s tech hub, Manyata Business Park, a group of passionate engineers is working round the clock to fulfill that demand. As a first step, they have already built one to design a research algorithm. It is no ordinary feat. It is India\u2019s first commercial quantum computer.<\/p>\n
It looks nothing like a desktop computer\u2014no mouse, no keyboard. Amid the buzz, thrums, and electronic chimes in an air-conditioned room, a team of engineers huddles around oscilloscopes, watching how the chilled atoms send signals that could one day help save lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have unlimited data in nature. And the language that nature talks in is quantum. That is the reason quantum computing is very important to actually move toward the next generation of intelligence modeling,\u201d said Nagendra Nagaraja, Founder and CEO, QpiAI.<\/p>\n
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Quantum science is the bedrock of path-breaking technologies in the fields of computing, communications, and even healthcare. Since it deals with tiny particles, it also needs extremely fast and multifaceted calculations\u2014which quantum systems can deliver.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the highly sought applications of quantum computers is drug discovery. It can cut short the time required for molecular simulations in drug development, which will help to solve the burden of antimicrobial resistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are (now) building a system software here and the platforms for pharma, logistics and then automotive (sector),\u201d Nagaraja added.<\/p>\n
The firm, supported by the Modi government\u2019s National Quantum Mission (NQM), has all its parts built indigenously except the refrigerator.\u00a0 The Union Cabinet approved the NQM in 2023 to nurture and scale up an innovative ecosystem in quantum technology to lead economic growth as well.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe client access will not require more than a laptop,\u201d Nagaraja said about the desired end result of the project, sitting in a room away from their big server room.<\/p>\n
\nOscilloscope to analyse the signal that comes out the computing system | Ananthapathmanabhan , ThePrint\n<\/p>\n
Building a quantum workforce<\/p>\n
While the QpiAI works to build quantum computers, they are also invested in training students and learners on how to use quantum computing and how to build programmes for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are building a workforce today that is not just at the application layer, but really working down, right down to the processor level. And that\u2019s the Indian workforce that we\u2019re targeting,\u201d said Kanishka Agiwal, Vice President, Sales at QpiAI.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the latest quantum summit in Karnataka, the government pushed for a Quantum Faculty Development programme<\/a> to train more than a thousand teachers in quantum fundamentals.\u00a0<\/p>\n The plan is to expose students and teachers to technology laboratories and industries like QpiAI, nurturing curiosity at an early stage.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re also now working with education institutes, where we\u2019re offering quantum computers, which are much smaller, but with the ability for people to use the quantum computer from an education standpoint,\u201d said Agiwal. So far, more than 30,000 students and around 15 academic institutions have joined the company\u2019s education drive.<\/p>\n The training programme is aimed at supporting the government\u2019s Atmanirbhar Bharat push by essentially going deep into the technical side of things\u2014not just learning to use hardware but also controlling the firmware, which runs on processors and chips.<\/p>\n \n Chill atoms, chill<\/p>\n In Bengaluru, at the QpiAI India Pvt Limited office, the quantum computer fills up an entire room. A huge refrigerator fits in the middle of the room; it\u2019s used to cool down atoms.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe control electronics, the microprocessor, the overall wiring, the fabrication, all of that is indigenous. The dilution refrigerator is currently not indigenous; in the near future, it might change. And that\u2019s when you\u2019ll have a fully indigenous stack quantum computer,\u201d Agiwal explained.<\/p>\n According to Agiwal, there are only one or two manufacturers of dilution refrigerators built for quantum computers in the world and that is not a core competency area for QpiAI. Such quantum cooling systems are a different beast altogether\u2014a manufacturing challenge\u2014as they involve the need for ultra-low temperatures and extreme precision.<\/p>\n However, room temperature superconductors, which right now sit in the cooling chamber of the office, might bypass the requirement for a high-cost refrigeration system.<\/p>\n \u201cThat might be the holy grail. I\u2019m sure there is a lot of research going on around it, but it\u2019s to be seen. I don\u2019t want to play stargazing and say that it\u2019s going to happen in a certain number of years, but science aside, never say never,\u201d said Agiwal.<\/p>\n In 2019, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) developed<\/a> superconductors that could exist at room temperature. But doubts surfaced over scalability when it failed to reproduce the research results. Even today, a successful room-temperature superconductor<\/a> has not reached the market, making refrigeration systems inevitable for now.<\/p>\n Also read: The desperate hunt for organ donors in India. Families fight red tape, distrust, ignorance<\/a><\/p>\n Nature speaking<\/p>\n Quantum computers explore beyond the building blocks of regular computers. Traditional computers process information in bits\u2014zeros and ones\u2014to give the best possible approximation of an answer. Quantum computers, on the other hand, can explore many combinations at once, thereby reaching more accurate results.\u00a0<\/p>\n When you flip a coin, you don\u2019t know if it will land on heads or tails until it falls. In quantum computing, the basic unit can exist as both heads and tails at the same time\u2014this idea, called superposition, comes from a century-old theory in quantum physics.<\/p>\n A quantum computer uses the unique properties of atoms to exist in multiple states at once. This means it can work on many possible answers simultaneously\u2014and the results it gives are not rough guesses but exact solutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n For example, imagine trying to recreate Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s Mona Lisa painting with matchsticks. Even if bits and pieces of matchsticks can be used to almost match how Mona Lisa looks, the matchsticks model is just an approximation of the original photo. At a closer view, the model is imperfect.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, replace the matchsticks with a paintbrush. With its smooth bristles, the job gets simpler. Through the smooth curves, the model mirrors the actual painting.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re actually getting very close to the way nature really has put out any of its combinations. We\u2019re trying to mirror that through a quantum computer. So the idea is that you get a quantum computer that can solve problems that classical computers are only able to approximate,\u201d\u00a0 said Agiwal.<\/p>\n The other path in quantum computers is entanglement, where two atoms become linked so that a change in one instantly affects the other, even if they are far apart. This connection helps quantum computers share information much faster and handle huge, complex problems more efficiently. Quantum computers, incidentally,\u00a0 are energy efficient in their operation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIncidentally, a quantum computer uses only a fraction of the energy that a regular GPU or a CPU uses. The energy of a quantum computer is most used when it\u2019s being built,\u201d Agiwal explained.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n At the baby phase, the quantum computer needs a cold treatment wherein the atoms are cooled down to extremely low temperatures and maintained throughout its life. However, the initial investment of setting up a quantum computer takes more energy than its classical counterpart.<\/p>\n A brand new business cycle<\/p>\n As a deep tech company, QpiAI doesn\u2019t identify itself in a quintessential business world. Most of the challenge for the company lies in the same idiosyncrasy, and a better way to bypass the challenge is open communication with the investors,\u00a0 according to Nagaraja. Returns on investment arrive much later in deep tech. The early focus is mostly on research and development, and achieving a technical breakthrough is important before longing for sudden profits. But once the technology milestones are covered, the revenue flow remains sustained and amplified. So the investors need to \u201cplay the long game<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, leadership of a founding team is very important in deep tech. They communicate and they make sure that these are the things that are expected from the engineers,\u201d Nagaraja added.<\/p>\n The QpiAI team is working hard as they amp up their quantum computer to hit a large market. Until then, a quantum computer that can be accessed from any mobile phone is a dream. (Edited by Ratan Priya)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bengaluru: To save millions of lives lost to drug-resistant bacteria every year, physicians worldwide are in desperate search…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129961,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[90404,64,63,257,296,90405,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-129960","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-computing","8":"tag-aatmanirbhar-bharat","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-computing","12":"tag-quantum-computers","13":"tag-skill-india","14":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Employers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/feature-image-2025-09-09T123046.804.jpg\")
Employees at the QpiAI\u2019s office | Ananthapathmanabhan , ThePrint\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you get an investor who wants to invest in deep tech and you are unable to communicate to them that this is how long it takes, then there will be a lot of chaos that builds up,\u201d Nagaraja said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, you have ChatGPT today. It\u2019s running on the servers, but you can access it on your mobile. I think that moment will come (for) quantum computers also. It\u2019s very much foreseeable,\u201d Nagaraja said.<\/p>\n