IQM Quantum Computers expands operations to Poland and inks MoU with Gdańsk Tech | Gdańsk University of Technology

Poland marks the company's seventh global office, joining offices in the US, APAC, and four top European quantum countries, with talents from 47 nationalities. The expansion reflects the company's growth, fueled by the adoption of its quantum computers.  

As part of the expansion, IQM has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gdańsk University of Technology, a leading technical university in Poland, to develop cutting-edge quantum applications, focusing on transformative fields such as personalised medicine.  

This strategic partnership represents a significant milestone in the Polish quantum community, facilitating the exchange of expertise and knowledge while fostering innovation. Additionally, it aims to build a robust quantum educational ecosystem, with a particular focus on educating students in the quantum field. 

Poland is one of Europe’s most developed tech hubs, has a growing talent pool in software, physics, engineering, and the government is committing to actively pursuing the development of deep tech and AI. The country is also part of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU). EuroHPC JU has several supercomputing centres already integrated into the European supercomputing network. 

– Quantum computers mark a worldwide technological revolution that has only just begun to develop and which we intend to be a part of – stresses Prof. Krzysztof Wilde, Rector of Gdańsk Tech. This technology, combined with the immense computing power of our supercomputer "Kraken", will give us growth opportunities that elude the imagination. Moreover, building such a computer in Pomerania will be a great ground for cooperation between the researchers at Gdańsk University of Technology and internationally recognised companies and institutions, as well as with other universities in Gdańsk.

– First of all, with the University of Gdansk, which employs prominent quantum theorists, and second of all, with the Medical University of Gdańsk, which we can offer a lot within the scope of digitization of medicine, as the Pomeranian scientific community. I sincerely believe that cooperation of Gdańsk Tech with IQM will bring us considerably closer to achieving this ambitious goal – he added.  

The Director of the Centre of Informatics Tricity Academic Supercomputer and Network (CI TASK) at Gdansk Tech, Prof. Jerzy Proficz, remarked: I am thrilled about the prospect of incorporating cutting-edge quantum computing technology from IQM into the Centre of Informatics TASK at Gdansk Tech. This advancement will significantly boost our research capabilities, allowing us to tackle complex problems in fields such as cryptography, material science, and artificial intelligence, and providing our students and university with unique opportunities for research and development.

Through this expansion and collaboration with Gdansk University of Technology, we see an opportunity to drive innovations in quantum development that will directly benefit the Polish ecosystem – said Mikko Välimäki, Co-CEO of IQM Quantum Computers. – In addition, it underscores our commitment to creating a global quantum community and enhancing our position as the market leader partnering with the best research teams. 

With extensive expertise in sales, marketing, and communications, IQM’s current Global Head of Sales and Marketing, Sylwia Barthel de Weydenthal, has been appointed as the Country Director for the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) market, effective June 1, 2024. 

Barthel de Weydenthal has held various leadership positions at Coca-Cola, Heineken, Danone, Meta, and until recently, she was the Head of Marketing and Communications at IQM. – The CEE region has great potential, and we are confident she will leverage her extensive industry experience and leadership to drive further growth for our business – said Välimäki. 

– Being Polish, I am excited about our presence of IQM in my homeland and the opportunity to lead and drive the future of IQM in Poland and across the CEE. As we embark on this new chapter, I look forward to working closely with our partners, businesses, and academia to make sure they benefit from our quantum research and solutions,” said Barthel de Weydenthal. 

About IQM Quantum Computers:   

IQM is a global leader in building quantum computers. IQM provides on-premises quantum computers for supercomputing centres, enterprises, and research labs and offers full access to its hardware. IQM also has a quantum computing cloud offering “IQM Resonance.” IQM’s commercial quantum computers include Finland’s ongoing commercial 50-qubit quantum computer co-development project with VTT, IQM-led consortium’s (Q-Exa) HPC quantum accelerator in Germany, and IQM processors will also be used in the first quantum accelerator in Spain. IQM has over 290 employees, with offices in Palo Alto, Warsaw, Paris, Madrid, Munich, Singapore, and Espoo.