The UK Government has invested £20m for the University of Edinburgh’s Quantum Software Lab (QSL) to accelerate the development of quantum computing software.
The funding will also support the development of applications across healthcare, energy, finance and cyber security. It is set to support a new four-year programme – Quantum Advantage TurboCHarger (QATCH) – led by QSL in collaboration with the National Quantum Computing Centre.
The investment forms part of the UK’s National Quantum Strategy, which sets out a 10-year vision of being the first country in the world to commit to making and deploying quantum computers at scale – backed by £2bn from the government.
A core mission of this strategy is to develop a computer capable of performing around a trillion reliable quantum operations – a milestone that could unlock breakthroughs beyond the reach of today’s most powerful supercomputers.
While quantum hardware is important, the software that tells quantum machines what to do, and verifies that the results can be trusted, is just as crucial. QSL is one of the largest research groups in the world dedicated to quantum software. It brings together expertise across the full quantum computing ecosystem, including algorithms, machine learning, systems, verification and error correction.
Quantum computing could help researchers model complex molecules and biological systems that are difficult to simulate with today’s computers, supporting areas such as drug discovery and biomedical research. It may also enable more accurate modelling of catalysts, battery materials and energy systems, helping design more efficient technologies for manufacturing and the transition to low-carbon energy.
The programme represents a cross-college initiative within the University of Edinburgh, bringing together researchers from multiple schools across the College of Science and Engineering, including Informatics, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and EPCC (formerly the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre).
The new investment will support the recruitment of several positions, from early-career researchers through to senior tenure-track roles. This will be alongside new joint fellowships with industry partners to strengthen collaboration and support the next generation of quantum talent.
Professor Elham Kashefi, chair in quantum computing at the university’s School of Informatics, commented: “To turn this unprecedented hardware investment into provable economic impact, our new QATCH programme will launch the UK’s first full-stack feedback loop, serving as the software engine that translates fundamental theory into verified applications.
“Through daily co-creation between our researchers, hardware vendors, and industry end-users on national testbeds, we are ensuring that software doesn’t just run on these new quantum machines, it actively drives their design and utility forward.”
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall added: “I am determined this country grasps the benefits quantum computing will bring.
“It is only by keeping pace with technological progress that we can deliver the high-paid jobs, cutting-edge public services, and innovations which change lives.”
Meanwhile, independent analysis of the economic impact of ARCHER2, hosted by Edinburgh University, shows it has enabled more than £4.2bn in benefits to the UK economy over its five-year operational period.
This is equivalent to a return of £8.30 for every £1 of public funding since launching in 2021, when compared to costs of £100m to build the supercomputer and £400m of research funding.
The majority of the economic benefits – some £3.7bn – are attributed to academic research and development undertaken on ARCHER2. These benefits arise through activities such as knowledge transfers and the commercialisation of research conducted using the computer, or by facilitating subsequent private sector R&D, the report authors stated.
Further economic benefits of around £517m stem from the formation of spin-out companies, the creation of new products and services, and firms benefitting from staff trained in computational R&D moving into industry.
Jane Nicholson, executive director for research at EPSRC, said: “From advancing treatments for heart disease and tackling antibiotic resistance, to accelerating the development of cleaner aircraft as well as understanding and addressing climate change.
“These outcomes from ARCHER2 usage clearly demonstrate the contribution that access to supercomputing makes both for science and for society as a whole.”
ARCHER2 enables modelling of the world around us that would otherwise be impossible to study using experiments. These include simulations of climate change impacts, how well new drugs might work and the performance of jet engines.
The report by London Economics was commissioned by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It identified more than 2,100 publications, spanning 20 different fields of research, that were enabled through the use of ARCHER2. In total, the publications involved researchers from more than 1,100 different institutions in 88 countries.
ARCHER2 was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Natural Environment Research Council; both part of UKRI.
The analysis of ARCHER2’s economic and scientific impact follows the announcement in June 2025 that the UK’s next national supercomputer will also located at EPCC at the University of Edinburgh. The investment of up to £750m comes as EPCC was named the UK’s first National Supercomputing Centre in July.