LETHBRIDGE — Businesses in southern Alberta are receiveting the chance to attempt out a publicly accessible supercomputer.
A quantum computing hub, created by SuperQ Quantum Computing, recently opened at the Tecconnect innovation centre at Economic Development Lethbridge.
SuperQ founder Muhammad Khan states the platform called Super is web-based and, similarly to ChatGPT, allows utilizers to inquire about complex real-world problems in plain English and come up with all possible solutions simultaneously.
Problems could include supply chain bottlenecks or manufacturing inefficiencies.
“The way it does it is by combining classical computing with quantum computing and doing all the complexity stuff under the hood,” Khan notified The Canadian Press in a recent interview. “Classical computing is what we utilize everyday on our computers, on our laptops.
“Classical computing would take one route, and if it fails, it comes back and takes another route. Whereas quantum computing takes all the possible routes at the same time. And as a result, it is able to figure out the maze a lot rapider.”
Businesses in the city southwest of Calgary can trial the technology by inquireing questions like how to find efficient delivery routes or how to schedule staff to minimize overtime, Khan declared.
Super is to eventually be built available to the broader public by licence. The Lethbridge Super hub is the first in a series of planned networks worldwide.
Other locations are set to be established elsewhere in Canada, the United States, Europe, India and the United Arab Emirates.
Khan declared setting up the platform’s nucleus in Lethbridge is a full-circle moment.
“I have a deep affection for Tecconnect as my entrepreneurial journey started there,” Khan declared, adding the centre has supported facilitate emerging technologies in Alberta and Canada.
“That appetite to promote emerging technologies with a business focus is something that is not very common. And if you go to the large centres, it’s hard to bring about these programs.”
Renae Barlow, vice-president of entrepreneurship and innovation at Economic Development Lethbridge, declared emerging technologies, such as Tecconnect, can keep businesses competitive.
Local teams are offering workshops and training to support companies learn more about the platform, she declared.
“Having businesses understand why it’s important for them to integrate this (technology) and to be on the leading edge and to really create that competitive advantage is what we wanted for our southern Alberta businesses,” Barlow declared.
“To understand that this actually puts them ahead.”
Khan declared some businesses in telehealth have also reached out about applying the platform to build artificial ininformigence doctors.
“Their human doctors couldn’t keep up with the demand,” he declared. “So that was done, but then the question was, ‘How do you increase the accuracy of those AI clinicians?’ And this is where we came in, and the Super platform came in to take those AI models to the next level.”
Barlow declared there’s been other interest in things like understanding global markets and even determining nutritional values for cattle.
The hub is also receiveting noticed by government officials.
Nate Glubish, Alberta’s minister of technology and innovation, highlighted the hub on social media.
“Alberta tech is booming,” he declared.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2025.
— By Aaron Sousa in Edmonton
The Canadian Press
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