The governments of India and the United States announced that IIT Bombay will join the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE), headquartered at the University of Chicago, as an international partner. Complementing this is a new collaborative science and technology partnership between the University of Chicago and IIT Bombay, which will promote cooperation in fields such as quantum information science, climate and energy, advanced microelectronics, artificial intelligence, and data science.

The announcement was highlighted during a meeting between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in New Delhi, India. It reaffirms the goals of the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) which includes “To elevate and expand our strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of our two countries.”

Reacting to the landmark announcement, Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, IIT Bombay, said, “With a strong bond being built between India and US academia, as evident from the joint declaration by the top leaderships in both the countries, it is a great opportunity for IIT Bombay to work with the University of Chicago on some of the most critical and evolving technologies our nations are facing today. Our collective strength will help bring forth impactful breakthrough innovations benefiting the society.”

A key component of the partnership is that IIT Bombay has joined CQE as one of only five worldwide academic partners. IIT Bombay will anchor the Quantum Information Computing Science & Technology (QuICST) Hub, one of the leading centres for quantum research in India. In addition to quantum, UChicago and IIT Bombay will collaborate and conduct joint research in fields such as climate, energy, advanced microelectronics, artificial intelligence, and data science.

“Strong global partnerships provide the expertise and resources to advance breakthrough innovation and are an essential part of developing a robust quantum ecosystem. We are very excited to be engaged with IIT Bombay in such a significant way,” said David Awschalom, Director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange, the Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago, and senior scientist at Argonne.

The partnership between IIT Bombay and the University of Chicago marks a pivotal moment in the domains of science, technology, and global collaboration. With IIT Bombay’s inclusion in the Chicago Quantum Exchange and the establishment of a wide-ranging science and technology collaboration, both nations stand poised to make profound strides in critical realms – from quantum information science to climate and energy, advanced microelectronics to artificial intelligence and data science. This alliance symbolizes a commitment to innovation and progress that will undoubtedly yield transformative breakthroughs, benefitting societies on a global scale.