Aliyun, Alibaba Group’s (NYSE: BABA) cloud computing subsidiary, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) today announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Shanghai to co-found the Chinese Academy of Sciences – Alibaba Quantum Computing Laboratory (the Laboratory). The new research facility aims to take the study and applications of quantum theory to the next level, heralding new technologies and platforms for information security, connectivity and computing.
Chunli Bai, President of CAS, Jianwei Pan, Professor and Executive Vice President of University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and a CAS member, and Alibaba Group Chief Technology Officer Jian Wang signed the MoU at the ceremony in Shanghai today.
Under the terms of the MoU, the Laboratory will conduct pioneering research in quantum theory with a view to discovering ground-breaking security techniques for e-commerce and data centers, as well as to enhancing computing performance. Both parties will jointly promote the research, development, dissemination and application of quantum computing to lay a strong and stable technical foundation for China to push the envelope on quantum computing.
“The CAS - Alibaba Quantum Computing Laboratory will undertake frontier research on systems that appear the most promising in realizing the practical applications of quantum computing. The laboratory will combine the technical advantages of Aliyun in classical calculation algorithms, structures and cloud computing with those of CAS in quantum computing, quantum analog computing and quantum artificial intelligence, so as to break the bottlenecks of Moore’s Law and classical computing,” said Professor Pan. Pan is a CAS member, and spearheads a group of experts who have played a key role in enabling China to become an international research hub in the field of quantum theory.
Aliyun is committed to identifying opportunities that are special to participate in the world of advanced science and technology. Jian Wang of Alibaba Group said, "This investment in the development and application of quantum computing reflects the scale and clarity of our long-term vision to collaborate with partners in an ecosystem model towards the sustained development of the economy and society. New discoveries in information security and computing capacity based on quantum computing could be as significant in the future as big data technologies are today.”
As China’s premier scientific research institution, CAS will leverage its and USTC’s resources, including infrastructure for large-scale quantum communications, to foster innovation and build a pipeline for talent. Aliyun will bring a cutting-edge cloud computing platform and an excellent multi-disciplinary research and development team to the collaboration.
The laboratory will recruit top-notch talent to build a “dream team” for quantum computing research. The team will consist of internationally-recognized scientists who will strengthen the scientific community in China, and also put the laboratory on the world map for quantum theory with the publication of significant scientific research.
