Old soup factory takes on new high-tech life as quantum computing firm gets $195M federal boost

In the echoey void of a gutted Campbell Soup factory in Toronto's west end, Canada's minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation announced the federal government's biggest bet to date on homegrown technology that could revolutionize artificial intelligence, medical science and a host of other key sectors of the economy.

Against the backdrop of the Canada-U.S. trade war, and U.S. President Donald Trump's frequent threats to Canada's sovereignty, Evan Solomon leaned heavily into patriotism as he announced $195 million in repayable federal funding for Toronto-based Xanadu Quantum Technologies.

"This is absolutely a great day for Canada, for Xanadu, and I think for science around the world," he said on Friday. "It shows what Canadians do best: We build."

Solomon said Canada is going to take "big swings" in that endeavour.

"We are going to not just make a bet on solving the biggest problems in the world, and being the best in the world.... We're going to do it big, fearlessly."

Founded in 2016, Xanadu builds software and quantum computers powered by light instead of electricity. Unlike traditional computers that generate heat as electricity moves through metal wires, Xanadu's chips guide particles of light without electrical friction.