Despite the jubilant release of our first-generation device OQC Toshiko, we are taking a moment to say thank you to our second-generation quantum computer, OQC Lucy. To acknowledge and celebrate OQC Lucy’s contribution to quantum computing, we’re taking a look at her life and anecdotes from the team that worked on her over the years… 

But first, why ‘Lucy’?

Years of researching and working on this incredible technology made us feel it was worthy of a name that matched its excellence…

Lucy Mensing was a German physicist renowned for her groundbreaking contributions to the field of quantum mechanics.

Born on March 15, 1902, in Munich, Germany, Lucy exhibited an innate curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. Her academic journey led her to the University of Göttingen, where she pursued a degree in theoretical physics and engaged with the emerging theories and debates surrounding quantum mechanics.

Lucy’s pioneering work was instrumental in unravelling the enigmatic nature of subatomic particles. Her research, conducted in the 1920s, delved into the nuances of wave-particle duality and the probabilistic nature of quantum events. In collaboration with fellow physicists of her era, Lucy played a pivotal role in developing the matrix mechanics formulation of quantum mechanics. Her contributions to this theoretical framework were instrumental in solidifying the mathematical underpinnings of quantum mechanics revolutionising our comprehension of the subatomic world.

Lucy’s journey through the frontiers of quantum mechanics was marked by intellectual courage, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to pursuing knowledge. As a true pioneer, her legacy inspires generations of physicists, reminding us that curiosity and determination can lead to remarkable breakthroughs that reshape the very fabric of our reality.

Second generation, but the world’s first

OQC’s Lucy is a testament to our relentless pursuit of excellence; emerging onto the quantum landscape as an 8-qubit quantum processor in December 2021, her arrival onto the global stage marked a pivotal moment in our mission to bring quantum computing to the heart of enterprises and facilitated groundbreaking advancements across industries.

From her very inception, OQC Lucy embodied the fusion of cutting-edge technology and visionary thinking. Impressively, her hardware worked for the first time. Our Quantum Systems Lead, Jonathan Burnett recalls how “OQC Lucy was the first output which involved literally the whole company and for many parts of the company that involvement was not small… After Sophia, Lucy marked a gear-change in system understanding and almost worked out the box”.

However, to get Lucy ready to launch there was plenty of diligence and determination required from the OQC team as outlined by Owen Arnold, Lead Software Engineer: “The whole integration side of the launch was a rollercoaster for a number of the technical teams… The level of tenacity to get the launch done by the end of Q1 2022 was incredible from a huge number of people from across the company and, on top of bringing Lucy online, we were heavily scaling the business”

Getting a full stack quantum computer up and running in a few months is difficult: with the hurdles that came with the launch, there were also some incredible moments from the team, including the first quantum computer public launch outside of North America.

In line with the launch of OQC Lucy, OQC also saw a progression to an ‘as a service’ identity from pre-launch and beyond. OQC has growth and ultimately, oriented around OQC Lucy’s chip, she has provided a revenue stream, investor opportunities and our team has built numerous engineering releases across the stack around her. The organisation itself is almost unrecognisable from launch till now: Lucy and OQC’s core values, have remained the two constants that have created what the company is today. 

Post-launch saw an abundance of success and learning with Lucy, with some of the team’s highlights including surviving defcon, twice, supporting capture-the-flag events as part of the Quantum Village as well as many NQCC and AWS hackathons.

Pioneering Europe with QCaaS 

One of the most remarkable aspects of Lucy’s introduction was her unique positioning as a pioneer in a quantum computing-as-a-service (QCaaS) platform in Europe. In February 2022, we became the first company to be featured on Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Europe, following the launch of OQC Lucy. 

By offering quantum computing capabilities through both braket QCaaS  and OQC public QCaaS, we could provide our customers access to quantum computing power. Enterprises, researchers, and innovators could now harness the immense potential of quantum computing without the need for prohibitive upfront investments in complex hardware.

A track record to be proud of

Over the past 18 months, OQC Lucy has consistently demonstrated her reliability and prowess. Operating seamlessly through her cloud environments, OQC Lucy has steadfastly served a diverse clientele, enabling them to delve into the uncharted territories of quantum computing.

OQC Lucy’s uptime on AWS Braket will exceed 2 years, and demonstrates our commitment to developing enterprise-ready quantum solutions. A year of dependably cold quantum computing was an existing milestone unlocked by OQC Lucy: this reliability is a testament to the meticulous design and dedication that went into crafting her.

We engineered Lucy to be one of the most cost-efficient quantum systems globally, this strategic approach to pricing not only makes quantum capabilities more accessible but also underscores our dedication to driving quantum adoption across various industries.