At Dell Tech World 2026, we saw an Equal1 quantum computer. The significance of this is that it combines quantum computing in a standard rack form factor. That means the quantum computer can be integrated into existing data center footprints. For some important context, many quantum computers require giant cooling plants or other form factors, so fitting this all into a 19″ rack is different.
Equal1 Single Rack Quantum Computer at Dell Tech World 2026
On the show floor, there was an Equal1 demo running live. Equal1 uses silicon spin qubits fabricated using CMOS. That allows the entire system to be integrated into a single chip.
Since this was Dell Tech World, there were Dell PowerEdge servers providing the classical compute. Then there were the RF controls, and then there was the cylinder to keep the chip cool. The chip needs to be cooled to below 1 Kelvin. For some context, although I have never been to confirm, deep space is around 2.7 degrees K.
If you are wondering, the chip is near the bottom of the cylinder.
Moving to the back, there is a good chance this rack was put together by a STH reader. You can see the MikroTik CRS518-16XS-2XQ-RM at the top.
Part of the neatness of this design is that everything for the system was contained in the rack. I remember the first D-Wave system I saw at USC, perhaps a decade ago, where the parking lot had a giant cooling plant.
This is also a much smaller system than if you have seen the IBM computer, for example. That is really the appeal of being able to place it in a standard data center.
Final Words
I was walking around with Wendell from Level1Techs one morning, and we spotted this one. Take this more as a lab project at this point rather than something that is ready for mass deployment. Still, it was a neat showcase. One fun fact is that this system had to be shipped powered on, or it would have taken too long to bring the chip down to the required temperature.
