SQC’s Watermelon™ Chip Named to TIME Best Inventions 2026

‍Sydney, Australia – 16 October 2026 – Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC), a pioneer in quantum computing and atomic-precision manufacturing, today announced that its quantum-enhanced AI system, Watermelon™, has been named to TIME Best Inventions 2026. The annual list features the products, services and breakthroughs reshaping industries and changing lives.

TIME featured Watermelon in the Artificial Intelligence category alongside innovations from NVIDIA and Anthropic. While AI has unlocked unprecedented computational capabilities, it now faces an urgent challenge: its escalating energy demands and a need to deliver return on investment. Since launch in October 2025, Watermelon has demonstrated the ability to deliver AI faster with fewer resources, uncovering complex relationships in sparse, noisy and time-series data where classical approaches degrade.  

Watermelon is a world-first commercial quantum reservoir computer, made possible through SQC’s proprietary atomic-precision chip manufacturing capabilities. The system generates quantum features that, when used alongside classical machine learning, deliver superior results in model training and time-series prediction.  

“Building Watermelon required us to solve a problem that has no precedent in modern computing,” said Sam Gorman, Head of Quantum Systems Engineering at SQC. “Current state-of-the-art CMOS chips operate with distances on the order of tens of nanometers. We needed to develop control techniques that worked repeatably over a fraction of that distance, engineering individual electrons at the atomic scale with extraordinary precision. This excellence in semiconductor fabrication, uniquely developed at SQC, is what makes Watermelon successful.”

Unlike approaches that require customers to rebuild datacenter infrastructure, Watermelon is designed to integrate directly with existing compute frameworks. It is the only quantum-enhanced AI product built using atomically engineered silicon, enabling SQC to deliver measurable value on real enterprise data for customers like Schneider Electric.

“Data centers are consuming energy at an unprecedented rate,” said Michelle Simmons, Founder and CEO of SQC. “Finding more efficient ways to perform AI workloads is critical to reducing both operating costs and environmental impact. Watermelon has demonstrated the ability to address this challenge today, and the recognition from TIME highlights the growing importance of innovation in this area.”

To compile this year's list, TIME solicited nominations from TIME editors and correspondents around the world, and through an online application process, paying special attention to growing fields—such as health care and AI. TIME then evaluated each contender on a number of key factors, including originality, efficacy, ambition and impact.

See the full list here: ti.me/best-inventions

About Silicon Quantum Computing

Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC) is at the forefront of global efforts to deliver a commercial-scale quantum system. Backed by 25 years of technological leadership, SQC holds a singular advantage: exclusive capability to manufacture silicon chips with atomic precision, enabling quantum computing systems with world-leading algorithmic fidelity. With in-house QPU manufacturing, SQC iterates new chips weekly while delivering quantum-enhanced AI and materials simulation systems to customers today. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.