News Brief

Nu Quantum is a quantum networking startup that was formed as a spinout of the Cavendish Lab at the University of Cambridge. They are focusing on providing the technology that will allow multiple quantum processors to be hooked together in a quantum network with a product they call the Quantum Networking Unit (QNU). The funding The round was led by Amadeus Capital Partners, Expeditions Fund, and IQ Capital, with additional participation from Ahren Innovation Capital; Seraphim Capital; University of Cambridge and Martlet and new investors including Presidio Ventures backed by Sumitomo Corporation, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), and Deeptech [...]

Multiverse Computing, Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), and Moody's Analytics will team up to develop two-dimensional hydrodynamical models that numerically solve Shallow Water Equations (SWE) to improve to flood risk assessment and help make management of flood conditions better and more accurate. These calculations are too complex for traditional classical techniques to make accurately so the team will be looking at Quantum Physics-Informed Neural Network (QPINN) and Variational Quantum Circuit (VQC) algorithms with hybrid classical/quantum processing to see if that approach can do it better. Moody's estimates that flood losses cost £700 million ($850M USD) in the UK every year. In this [...]

Earlier in October we reported that Aliro Quantum had received a Series A venture investment from Accenture Ventures and Flybridge Leaders Fund. The round has now been joined by Cisco Investments. Cisco is a very large company involved with classical computer networking and has been watching the quantum networking space for some time. They have now decided to make their first quantum investment with Aliro Quantum that provides customers with a product called AliroNet, the world’s first full-stack multi-purpose end-to-end entanglement-based secure network solution. Unlike standalone venture capital firms, Cisco Investments is participating as a strategic investor and can additionally contribute expertise in [...]

As drones and other low flying objects like drones and flying cars proliferate, the sky will face increasing complex air traffic control issues as there may be hundreds or thousands of them travelling at a low altitude in the same geographic area. One thing to remember is that the problem might be even more complex than terrestrial traffic control because this scenario needs to work in three dimensions while automobile traffic only travels in two dimensions. In 2021, the Sumitomo Corporation in Japan formed a Quantum Transformation Project (QX-PJ) to research this problem and has now turned to PASQAL in what [...]

BlueQubit, a California based quantum software company, has received an award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as part of DARPA's Imagining Practical Applications for a Quantum Tomorrow (IMPAQT) program. The company will be focusing on finding hybrid classical/quantum algorithms that will maximize the potential of full NISQ devices to find solutions without requiring fault-tolerant quantum computers. This will include areas where classical methods fall short, particularly in Gibbs sampling. For this project, BlueQubit will be collaborating with QuEra to use QuEra's neutral atom computer to execute the quantum programs. BlueQubit's press release announcing the award can be accessed [...]

QMware is a European base provider of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) that provides a hybrid quantum cloud that includes classical high-performance computing capabilities, quantum simulators, and quantum processors in a secure private quantum runtime environment. The target a broad spectrum of European customers across research, industry, and academia as potential clients. In this new development, QMware will be integrating QuEra's 256 Aquila-class machines and FPQA™️ technology with their platform to offer end users a hybrid quantum/classical capability that can also offer customers an analog quantum computing capability. Additional information is available in a press release posted on the QMware website here and also [...]

Earlier this month, we reported on the launch of the Open Quantum Institute (OQI) supported by UBS, the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator Foundation (GESDA), CERN, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Swiss universities ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). The purpose of the institute will be to accelerate the usage of quantum computing to support implementation of six of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). PASQAL has now signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GESDA to support OQI's activities. The support will include providing cloud access to PASQAL's quantum devices, providing tools [...]

As part of the U.S. Chips and Science Act signed in August 2022, $10 billion was allocated for programs that extend from Fiscal Year 2023 through Fiscal Year 2027 to create 20 geographically distributed regional technology and innovation hubs. Colorado will be announced as one of the 20 recipients for quantum technology. The twenty recipients of Tech Hub awards were selected from a total of 192 applications in 10 different categories. As an initial step, the Colorado Tech Hub will receive a planning grant of up to $500,000 and subsequently be able to apply for an implementation grant of $50 to [...]

Quantum Machines has introduced a next generation modular, PCB-based cryogenic sample holder as a follow-on to the original QBoard sample holder introduced by its QDevil subsidiary in 2020. This new sample holder improves upon the previous generation with more compact dimensions, new PCB, interposer, and daughterboard designs, and the addition of a shielding lid for better signal integrity and radiation protection. It includes connectors that can support RF signals as high as 8 Ghz as well as a number of lines for DC. The product is targeted for use by experimenters working with low-temperature spin-qubit chips, superconducting circuits, and general transport [...]

PASQAL along with its partners at Sorbonne Université, Pixel Photonics GmbH (PIX), The Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), and Institut d'Optique Théorique et Appliquée (IOTA) have received a four year grant to research a new type of photonic quantum computer funded by the Pathfinder-2023 challenge grant of the European Innovation. Council. This photonic based processor would be completely different from the ones currently being developed by companies such as PsiQuantum and Xanadu because it leverages some of the technology, such as optical tweezers and neutral atoms, that PASQAL has developed for its standard neutral atom computers. It also works significantly different [...]