Xanadu Secures C$195 Million for Toronto Photon Factory Construction

Xanadu has secured a repayable contribution of C$195 million from the Canadian federal government to build a photon factory in Toronto. The agreement covers the deployment and operation of the facility over the next five years, with significant co-investment from the company. Despite the new support, Xanadu will continue to outsource most of its chip packaging and assembly work to contractors in other countries. The new factory aims to internalize some of the work, reducing the turnaround time from a maximum of three months to eight hours. The facility, named Inception, occupies the former Campbell's Soup building in Etobicoke, covering an area of 158,000 square feet. The property was vacated in 2019 and subsequently renovated by QuadReal Property Group. The federal contribution accounts for about half of the maximum C$390 million the company sought from the federal and Ontario provincial governments. This application is part of Project OPTIMISM, which has a planned valuation of C$893 million and is expected to create up to 275 high-skilled jobs. Xanadu plans to begin using the facility early next year and expand its team of 320 through recruitment in advanced manufacturing, engineering, and science. The first quantum data center to utilize these components is expected to be completed by 2029.