After turning Hyderabad into Cyberabad, Naidu eyes quantum hub in Amaravati

Having turned the old capital of Hyderabad into Cyberabad, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu is now building a quantum-computing hub in Amaravati, the new state capital. This could catapult India into the league of future tech powers, but there are challenges.

  Way back in 1997, when Microsoft founder Bill Gates was on a visit to New Delhi, his team received an unusual request for a meeting — from the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh,  N Chandrababu Naidu. In those days, it was unusual for Indian states to pitch investment opportunities to global business leaders. In the event, a meeting scheduled for 10 minutes got extended to 40. Gates was impressed. 

“You are a politician, you make a better presentation than people in my team,” Gates told Naidu, before establishing Microsoft’s first development centre outside the US in Hyderabad, which was then the capital of undivided Andhra Pradesh, in 1998. The move transformed Hyderabad into modern-day Cyberabad. 

Twenty-eight years on, Naidu is chief minister for the fourth time, but Hyderabad is now the capital of Telangana, which was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. Never mind — Naidu, 75, is scripting yet another future-tech story for the new capital city of Amaravati with his ambitious Quantum Valley project. 

If all goes well, says the state industries ministry, the Amaravati Quantum Valley (AQV) project, developed by IBM, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T), along with the state government, is set to be launched as early as in January 2026. It will manufacture India’s first quantum computers and export them within two years’ time according to Naidu.  The project will drive innovations in the sector and is expected to attract investments of $1 billion by 2029. 

Addressing the 28th National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG) 2025, Naidu said last month: “Now, we want to have an ecosystem for quantum computing. Companies like IBM and TCS are already in. We are creating a mechanism to produce quantum computers. I am assuring you, within two years, India is going to produce quantum computers. We are going to export and meet domestic demand in the near future. That is where we are working,” According to a state government official, the Amravati project will be the world’s first “integrated state-led quantum ecosystem” and has already drawn investor, industry and academic interest, which could see it  becoming a global talent hub too. It has received 134 proposals from 108 institutions for teaching labs, 84 proposals from 55 institutions for algorithm research, as many as 1,127 hackathon ideas from 137 colleges, and 20 startup proposals. 

“Amaravati is building the nation’s first quantum hardware ecosystem, where startups, research institutions, and soon global technology leaders are coming together to create a complete supply chain for quantum innovation. Many more startups are in the pipeline, alongside interest from major companies, making Amaravati the hub where India moves from adopter to global leader in quantum hardware,” the official told Business Standard. 

The state government’s idea is to position Amaravati among the world’s top-five quantum hubs with a full-stack ecosystem. It also wants to build a quantum supply chain spanning cryogenics, semiconductors, hardware, software and applications. There’s a simultaneous focus on skilling in artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, radio frequency engineering, advanced materials and hardware design. AQV is being built on the lines of similar hubs in a handful of cities worldwide, including Boston and Munich. 

Redefining sectors 

It’s an advanced field of computer sciences and physics that uses the principles of quantum mechanics to solve complex problems in a fraction of the time taken by traditional computers. Whereas traditional digital systems are confined to binary logic (0/1), quantum computers harness qubits, which can exist in multiple states at once. This extraordinary property allows quantum systems to tackle problems of staggering complexity with an efficiency that classical machines could never achieve.  Quantum technology is expected to redefine several sectors like biomedical research, finance, climate modeling, logistics and supply chain, and material sciences. Globally, nations such as the US, Germany, China, Japan, and the Netherlands are investing billions to make quantum the decisive frontier of technology and geopolitics. Experts believe quantum hubs in India should focus on developing an entire ecosystem rather than focusing on just the software side of it. 

“It is true that most global efforts are going through a pilot phase. During the IT revolution, we did not develop indigenous hardware but started development of software. These state ecosystems should immediately start software development, as we have so much supremacy in software and algorithms. However, we should simultaneously develop hardware as well,” said Gopi Balasubramanian, chief executive officer and founder of Leipzig-based XeedQ. The company has signed a €30 million deal with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) to develop a scalable quantum computing technology that could deliver a 32-qubit quantum computer by 2026. 

India launched its National Quantum Mission (NQM) in 2023 with the vision of building a full-stack quantum ecosystem, including hardware, software, talent and applications. Several other states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana too are taking steps to develop a quantum ecosystem in India. 

However, some scientists believe the timeline for exports will depend on the development of hardware, human resource, and private sector participation. “As per the NQM, our goal is to make 100-qubit quantum computers in five years. Hence, it may take a bit longer than two years to make an exportable quantum computers. We need more investment and private participation too,” said Arindam Ghosh, a leading expert on quantum technology initiatives and professor of physics at the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore. 

“On the software side, we have advanced quite a bit, and a lot of algorithms are already in place. Globally, hardware is still a challenge. In order to achieve quantum computer exports, we have to build quantum processors in India, and it is an engineering challenge,” said Ghosh.

 

Capital aims 

On May 2 this year, Naidu announced the tie-up with IBM and TCS, indicating that Andhra Pradesh wants to develop a dedicated ecosystem covering hardware, software, algorithms, sensing, standards and talent. The tech park (AQV) will be anchored by an IBM Quantum System Two installation, with a 156-qubit Heron quantum processor, which will be the largest quantum computer in India. 

TCS will support the development of algorithms and applications that will help Indian manufacturers and academia. Targets include testing over 1,000 quantum algorithms annually by 2028, and building 1,000 effective qubits of total quantum capacity by 2029. 

“With its deep hardware base, Amaravati is positioned to export critical quantum components — cryogenics, wiring, amplifiers, and control electronics—to global leaders like Google, Microsoft, IBM, and AWS. This positions Amaravati to become the world’s preferred manufacturing hub for quantum technologies, creating thousands of high-value jobs and embedding India firmly in the global supply chain,” said the government source cited above. As per an industry estimate, a domestic market of around ~2,000 crore for quantum hardware will unfold over the next three years due to the valley, driven by government, academia, and enterprise adoption. 

“The demand for over 100 quantum computers (with 10–25 qubit processors) across India’s universities, research institutions, and industries will catalyze indigenous design and manufacturing in Amaravati,” the source added. 

The AQV will be coming up on a 50-acre plot in the capital city, which can accommodate around 90,000 professionals. The state has floated a new entity called the Amaravati Quantum Computing Company (AQCC) for this. As per available information, QChipIN, India's largest open quantum testbed where researchers and companies can experiment, will be in place soon. This will support pilot projects across sectors. 

The idea is to create a complete supply chain for quantum innovation. According to details that Business Standard got from officials, several academic startups like Dimira Technologies (IIT Bombay), Indrobo Technologies, Qurium, RealistiQ, and Quantrol Sphere are gearing up to power this ecosystem. 

“India has taken a hybrid model, where states are providing infrastructure along with the NQM. To implement these plans, the private sector needs to come in,” added Balasubramanian. Experts like him believe that the ultimate aim of hubs like Amaravati should be to build India’s quantum sovereignty.