Germany Intensifying Effort to Catch Up with US & China in Quantum Technology

(BusinessTimes.cn) The Berlin government is going to put in 650 million euros ($717 million) over two years into IBM, an American computer hardware company that has operations in 170 countries.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is intensifying its move in catching up in technology with the US and China. Angela Merkel, Germany’s Chancellor, was impressed at the technology she saw in China during her visit in 2018. She marked later that for a long time, Germany was the first “to come up with technological innovations” stressing that it isn’t the case anymore and that it “should worry” the country.
Under the new agreement, IBM will work together with Germany’s applied research institute, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. IBM will also put a Q System One quantum computer at one of its facilities in Germany to explore further potentials of quantum computing. President of Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Professor Reimund Neugebauer, said that not only is the alliance of IBM and Germany a landmark, but it is also an important move for German business and research institutions.
Martin Jetter, senior vice president and chairman of IBM Europe, says that these two countries’ efforts are “poised to be a major catalyst for Europe’s innovation landscape and research capabilities.”