Amaravati still under construction, but Quantum Valley project already luring deep tech startups, scientists
But in Amaravati, the newly built capital of Andhra Pradesh, more than a hundred people are working on quantum computing; It’s an emerging experimental technology that is much more powerful than traditional computing and can enable extraordinary advances in fields such as drug discovery and artificial intelligence.
Amaravati’s ambitious project is a technology park called Quantum Valley, which is reminiscent of the historical Silicon Valley in the USA and stands out in this regard. Like the rest of the place, it’s still a dust bowl. But startups, scientists and engineers have already started moving to the shores of Amaravati to work in companies that will become part of the Valley.
Pallavi Kayala is one of the first settlers here. The 22-year-old, who hails from a village in Guntur district, was working as a digital design engineer in the domestic 5G testbed project at IIT-Madras, when he coincidentally found a job opportunity at deeptech company Qbit Force and sent his resume. “I feel lucky to be one of the first few people to work at Quantum Valley,” says Kayala, who left the job a month ago. She took a room in a girls’ hostel in Gannavaram and shared space with young women working at HCL and TechMahindra. On weekends, they go to Vijayawada, 20 km away, to shop and watch movies.
The quantum technology hub, even though it is still in its infancy, is attracting scientific minds from across the country and abroad – young engineers and retired scientists in India, as well as postdoctoral researchers in the US. India’s quantum story is not just taking shape in Amaravati, it is also shaping the contours of the state capital.
A CITY BY THE RIVER
Amaravati is the dream city of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. In 2014-19, during his earlier tenure as CM, he tried to set up a new capital in Guntur district on the banks of river Krishna. The project was shelved after the Telugu Desam Party lost the 2019 elections to the YSR Congress. Now back at the helm, Naidu has again attempted to build Amaravati brick by brick. Besides building a greenfield city from scratch, the challenge is to give it an economic foothold. Unlike other greenfield capitals like Nava Raipur and Gandhinagar, Amaravati, spread over an area of 217 square kilometres, has already found one in the Quantum Valley. It is expected to host advanced quantum computing systems and serve as a hub for research, innovation and collaboration with industries. It will also house India’s first IBM quantum computer.
TOMORROW IS HERE
This is Naidu’s view of the future. While the roads and administrative buildings were just taking shape, the Quantum Valley project came to life. The country’s first state-of-the-art open-access quantum computer test beds have been developed and deployed on the edges of Amaravati.
In these experimental platforms created using domestically developed components, researchers and companies can test quantum computing technologies. Currently, researchers have to take their systems abroad for testing, and even then the queue is long and the process expensive.
1Q testbed and 1S testbed are signposts of tomorrow. The former, developed by Qubitech and Qbit Force, is currently located at Medha Towers, an IT park near Gannavaram airport, while the latter is located at SRM University on the other side.
A number of deep-tech Indian startups such as Qbit Force, Qubitech, QClairvoyance, Quantum Codon, TriQuanta Labs and Pramatra Space have started operations from their temporary locations in Medha Towers.
L Venkata Subramaniam, founder of Qbit Force, says: “I started at Amaravati because it represents India’s transformation from being a consumer to a developer of technology. It was the combination of intent, urgency and openness that convinced me. It was clear that Amaravati was not about committees, reports or photo opportunities, but about building real systems.”
Speed of execution, ecosystem approach and focus on enabling capabilities have made this the right place to build.” Engineers are ready to uproot themselves from metros to work here. Like Kayala, Kalva Nagalakshmaiah is one of the first to settle in this quantum land. “I was working in the defense sector in Hyderabad when I got this opportunity. The future of technology is quantum. So I decided to shift to Amaravati,” says the 36-year-old, who was in the Q1 test bed.
Nagalakshmaiah, an engineer at IIT-Bombay who conducts research on microwave and radio frequency antennas, says Quantum Valley provides an excellent ground for further research. He and his wife moved to Kesarapalle village near his workplace. “I come from a small village near Allagadda town. I am used to living in a small village. And we have Vijayawada just 15 km away, so we have access to malls and cinema halls. The opportunity to work on this groundbreaking technology is unique,” he says, adding that top scientists are involved in India’s quest to create open-access quantum computing test beds.
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION
Pawan K Dhar, founder of Quantum Codon, plans to set up Quantum Biofoundry in Amaravati. He wants to use quantum computing to deliver biological innovations (better drugs and enzymes) more quickly. Dhar, who has a PhD in genetics from Banaras Hindu University, will move to Amaravati in the next three months.
“The reason is simple; this is where the action is. There is no equivalent in India. The attraction for me is the fast pace of the business, the encouragement from the state government and the possibility of meeting big investors,” says Dhar, who now lives in Kochi and continues to travel to Amaravati. Quantum Valley also offers a Swades moment for young professionals like Subhash Kalidindi. He and his wife were living in Newark, where he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Delaware, when he began applying for jobs in his hometown. It was a tough decision to move to Amaravati with a baby on the way.
But Kalidindi, who now works as a senior scientist and director of operations at Qbit Force, says he has always wanted to give back to his country. While he spends all his time in the laboratory, sometimes for days at a time, his pregnant wife lives in Visakhapatnam.
If Kalidindi is taking off in Amaravati, 61-year-old retired scientist Gopal Joshi is also getting his second wind there. He and his wife moved into SRM University’s guest house. “The desire to go local is ingrained in us engineers. Amaravati’s Quantum Valley provided us with an exciting opportunity to offer open-access quantum computing testbeds,” says Joshi.
Joshi had moved to his hometown Jaipur after spending 38 years at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center in Mumbai. But a chance encounter with Subramaniam, founder of Qbit Force, brought him to Amaravati and he decided to make it his new home.
A DREAM AND A CHALLENGE
Amaravati is both a dream and a challenge for Prime Minister Naidu, who has transformed Hyderabad into an IT powerhouse. It is designed as a polycentric city structured around nine distinct, theme-based districts: Government City (with the secretariat and legislature), Justice City (with the supreme court), Finance City, Knowledge City (with educational institutions), Health City (with hospitals), Sports City, Tourism City (entertainment venues), Electronics City (with technology startups) and Media City (with digital media businesses).
Nara Lokesh, minister of IT and electronics and Naidu’s son, says: “After the bifurcation of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, we needed a nerve center that reflected our aspirations. Chandrababu Naiduji envisioned Amaravati as a people’s capital.”
The latest move towards Amaravati came with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization (Amendment) Act in April, which recognized Andhra Pradesh as the new capital of the state. “By officially recognizing Amaravati, we remove uncertainty and send a strong signal of policy continuity. When a capital is backed by legal clarity, it reduces perceived risk and unlocks long-term capital, from infrastructure funds to real estate. Legal sanctity translates directly into financial confidence,” says Lokesh.
DRAW FACTOR?
Can Amaravati attract people to settle as it did with the first batch of engineers and scientists? Architect and urban planner Suptendu P Biswas says: “Greenfield cities need an axis; there must be an economic engine that generates jobs, attracts people and sustains daily social life. Amaravati’s problem is socioeconomic sustainability. When planned over a large area, there is a risk of spatial weakening due to costly infrastructure before settlement.”
Biswas says the capital’s proximity to older and stronger economic hubs Vijayawada and Guntur has further weakened Amaravati’s residential appeal. “As commuting may replace residential living, Amaravati needs compelling economic factors and sufficient functional density to sustain daily urban life.”
Even while Amaravati was being built, Hyderabad was home to many political leaders and bureaucrats. They fly to Hyderabad from the temporary capital, Vijayawada, every Friday. Separating them from Hyderabad and settling them in Amaravati will continue to be a Herculean task for Naidu.
Says Lokesh: “Transitions of this scale require both administrative pressure and social infrastructure. We are building housing, schools, healthcare and urban amenities. Over time, Amaravati will become the natural nerve centre; not by necessity, but by convenience and quality of life. We are building a complete ecosystem for urban living.”
Like Lokesh, Kayala is also hopeful.
Kayala, the daughter of an autorickshaw driver who scored a perfect 600 in Class X and was selected by the government for integrated BTech at IIIT, knows what hope looks like. “HITEC City in Hyderabad was small when it was founded, but look at it now. This is how Quantum Valley will grow and we will be the first settlers.”
