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The UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and Cambridge Quantum Computing (CQC) are working together to optimize and commercialize photonic quantum devices including CQC’s Ironbridge quantum random number generator (QRNG). The activity will allow the UK government to validate the operation of Ironbridge, provide a seal of approval and help accelerate commercial adoption.  They will also also provide metrology and testing of this device with other photonic components such as emerging low-loss connectors intended to meet exacting IEC standards to improve the efficiency optical quantum networks. The team also plans to demonstrate Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) over a dedicated fiber link using [...]

With a goal of creating a strong quantum ecosystem in the Paris, France region three organizations, the Paris Region Council, Le Lab Quantique, and GENCI have created the Pack Quantique (PAQ) program to fund quantum projects.  They have started with three projects and an initial funding amount of 1.5 million Euros ($1.8M USD) over three years.  The three selected projects include: AQUARE will team Pasqal (neutral atoms based quantum computing) with giant utility EDF to investigate smart mobility and optimization of charging of shared e-vehicles fleetAQCMED will team Qubit Pharmaceuticals with Pasqal to explore drug discovery and accelerated computational drug design workflows in [...]

Two different quantum networking collaborations have been announced separately in Canada and the Netherlands. The first is called the Canadian Quantum Network (CQN) and will include Xanadu, MaRS (a launchpad for Canadian startups), and the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL). They will start by creating a three node network in the Toronto area connecting the three organizations using fiber optic cables and it is expected to be operational by 2021. A longer term vision is to create a network nationwide across Canada. A quantum network is different from a classical network because the information is encoded in qubits rather than bits. This [...]

The round was led by Comcast Ventures, Pitango and Prelude Ventures, with additional participation from BASF Venture Capital, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, The Engine Accelerator Fund and new investors, including Ahren Innovation Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, Honeywell Venture Capital, ITOCHU Corporation and Merck Global Health Innovation Fund. This new round brings the total company funding to $64 million. As a quantum software company, Zapata has four key research efforts which include the Orquestra workflow management platform, optimizing quantum hardware, benchmarking quantum applications, and advancing quantum machine learning. Although many researchers in the quantum community believe that quantum chemistry or quantum optimization may be the earliest applications to use quantum computing for advantage, Zapata [...]

The funding was was provided by Quantonation, Seed Gipuzkoa, Easo Ventures S.C.R., Mondragon Promotion Fund FCR and Penja Strategy. Multiverse is a quantum software company that specializes in providing hyperefficient software for companies in the financial industry for problems including financial optimization, fraud detection, and artificial intelligence. The company has offices in Donostia, Basque Country, Spain and also Toronto, Canada. They are currently working with Spanish financial companies Bankia and BBVA and have several others in preparation. Additional information about this funding can be found in the news release on the Multiverse web site here. November 16, 2020