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Picture Credit: DigiCert By Joe Spencer The buzz around quantum computing is undeniable. And published reports regularly highlight surges in confidence and investment, with global quantum budgets projected to increase by nearly 20% in 2025. A recent survey suggests that over 65% of organizations feel prepared to adopt quantum technology within the next 2-3 years. This paints a picture of an industry on the cusp of widespread adoption. But is this optimism truly reflective of the current situation, or are we getting ahead of ourselves? A recent survey is based on a survey of 770 quantum experts, researchers, and decision-makers, provides [...]

IQM, a developer of superconducting quantum computers, and DATEV, a German software and IT service provider, have completed a project on the potential of quantum computing for portfolio optimization. They used a 20-qubit quantum system to tailor the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) to optimize DATEV's product portfolio. The project applied the Markowitz model, originally used for selecting investment portfolios with minimized risk, to DATEV's product offerings, aiming for optimal resource allocation. The results, detailed in a published whitepaper, highlight how quantum computing can advance practical applications in real-world use cases. By leveraging IQM's highly connected quantum processor unit (QPU) topology [...]

QDNL Participations has announced a new €60 million ($63M USD) global fund for early-stage quantum technology startups, with an initial close of €25 million ($26M USD). This new fund expands the firm's focus beyond the Dutch quantum ecosystem to support quantum startups worldwide. The firm’s previous fund backed several high-potential Dutch quantum startups. QDNL Participations has grown its team, adding quantum technology experts like Chad Rigetti, Nadia Carsten, Charles Marcus, and specialist quantum VC Kris Kaczmarek. Investors in the new fund include family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and the Quantum Delta NL Foundation. The goal is to become the leading investor in [...]

Quantum Source has partnered with QC Design to leverage its software tool, Plaquette, in order to enhance Quantum Source’s photonic fault-tolerant quantum computing architectures. Plaquette allows for detailed modeling and analysis of hardware imperfections, providing insights into key design parameters. This collaboration supports Quantum Source's mission to scale up its technology for practical, cost-effective photonic quantum computers. Quantum Source's unique technology uses single atoms trapped on a proprietary photonic chip to produce and entangle photons efficiently. The integration of Plaquette into their R&D workflow is expected to refine fault-tolerance strategies and accelerate the commercialization of scalable quantum solutions. Both companies have [...]

We reported earlier this month that D-Wave planned to sell shares in its common stock for an offering amount of up to $150 million. The company has now reported they have completed this sale at an average price per share of $6.10. This brings the company's current cash balance to about $320 million and the company believes that this funding will allow the company to achieve sustained profitability and positive cash flow. The company believes that they are leading the commercialization of quantum computing with customer applications deployed in production and that they may become the first independent, publicly-held quantum computing [...]

3D Rendering of Aurora Laser and Compute Racks. Credit: Xanadu Xanadu has announced a new quantum computing system called Aurora that is contained in four room temperature laser and compute racks along with a cryogenically cooled photon detection system. The system provides 84 squeezed state qubits and 12 physical qubits all connected together with 13 km of fiber optic cable. Aurora is a follow-on to previous generations of Xanadu device including the X8 and Borealis. One of the big advantages of using photonic based qubits is that it make it easy to implement photonic networking to connect multiple modules together. The four rack as [...]

Quantinuum, the world's largest integrated quantum computing company, is opening a new location in New Mexico later this year to advance photonics technologies critical to its trapped ion quantum computing. The specific R&D focus will be to further develop the integrated photonics needed for controlling and manipulating qubits in trapped ion systems. This move leverages New Mexico's leadership in quantum information sciences and photonics, established through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Tech Hubs program. Several organizations with significant expertise in related areas are currently located in New Mexico including Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and universities, such as The [...]

GQI has been working hard to research quantum use cases along with the algorithms that are used and the performance level of the quantum processor required to successfully provide solutions for the use cases. We are making a major effort on this because almost daily we hear the common question of When will we be able to do something commercially useful with a quantum computer? As part of this effort, we have cataloged hundreds of use cases and are adding to this collection on a daily basis. One of the projects in this effort is that we are writing code and [...]

Operations of a Fluxonium Qubit. Credit: Suppressing Counter-Rotating Errors for Fast Single-Qubit Gates with Fluxonium Published on PRX Quantum MIT researchers achieved a record single-qubit fidelity for superconducting based quantum processors of 99.998% using a superconducting qubit called fluxonium. Although ion trapped based qubits have been able to reach this level, this is the highest we have seen for a qubit based upon superconducting technology. The researchers developed two new control techniques to combat errors, particularly counter-rotating errors, which arise when qubits are controlled with electromagnetic waves. The researchers created "commensurate pulses," applying them at precisely timed intervals to make errors [...]

IonQ's Peter Chapman, Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, Gov. Wes Moore and UMD President Darryll J. Pines Touring IonQ's Headquarters A "Capital of Quantum" initiative is being formed as a partnership between the State of Maryland, the University of Maryland, IonQ, and others to attract and grow a quantum industry within the state as part of the governor's 2025 economic growth agenda. He is putting in his FY26 budget proposal to provide $27.5 million in state funding, but is hoping that ultimately, the initiative will be able to obtain additional private and public funding of $1 billion over the next five [...]