Insider Brief
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation, in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen, has launched an initiative to develop Denmark’s first fully functional quantum computer by 2034.
- The project aims to revolutionize life sciences and address global challenges like climate change, leveraging quantum computing’s potential for advanced drug discovery and understanding complex biological systems.
- The program will build on Copenhagen’s quantum mechanics heritage and collaborate internationally, positioning it as a global leader in quantum technologies.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation has announced an initiative to develop Denmark’s first fully functional quantum computer by 2034. This ambitious program, launched in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen, aims to change the game in life sciences and tackle critical global challenges such as climate change.
Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, shared the vision behind the project in a video by the foundation: “The emerging field of quantum computing holds a massive potential for finding solutions that demand extreme computational power, for instance within human and planetary health.”
He underlined how quantum computing could unlock new insights into the origins of diseases and the complexity of the microbiome, dramatically advancing drug discovery.
The program is set to build on Copenhagen’s rich heritage in quantum mechanics, following in the footsteps of Niels Bohr and his pioneering colleagues.
“The new program will build on this heritage and combine it with strong national and international competences within the life sciences,” Thomsen remarked. This combination, he believes, will pave the way for creating “one of the world’s first fault-tolerant and fully functional quantum computers.”
Hosted by the University of Copenhagen, the initiative will collaborate with leading researchers from countries such as the United States, the Netherlands, and Canada, making it an international powerhouse in quantum technologies. As Thomsen put it: “The Novo Nordisk Foundation Quantum Computing Program will represent an international powerhouse in quantum technologies on a scale not seen in many other places in the world.”
