News Brief

Ten German corporations have come together to form the Quantum Technology and Application Consortium (QUTAC). The founding members include BASF, BMW Group, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bosch, Infineon, Merck, Munich Re, SAP, Siemens, and Volkswagen and have a goal to develop and promote the application of quantum computers for usable industrial applications. The group is looking for technological sovereignty and will work to bring together researchers and industry together to benefit the German and European economies. Activities of the consortium will be to identify, develop, test, and share applications for quantum computing as well as identify funding needs. The consortium has been endorsed [...]

IonQ's trapped ion quantum computers already had support from many of the major quantum software development kits including IBM's Qiskit, Xanadu's PennyLane, Zapata's Orquestra, Strangeworks QC and others. The addition of Google's Cirq adds another one to the list. This will make it easier for software developers who are familiar with Cirq to utilize IonQ's machines with minimal software changes. And for those who also have access to Google's Sycamore processor, it would allow someone to easily make comparisons between the two machines. Volkswagen worked with Google and IonQ to create an example of something they call the Paint Shop Problem [...]

The funding round was led by Quantonation and Speedinvest with additional participation from Mustard Seed MAZE. KETS is a quantum security company developing chip-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) solutions. They are basing their solutions around an integrated photonics technology which they say will provide them with advantages in size, weight, power, and cost. The company is based in Bristol, UK, and is a spinout from the Quantum Engineering Technology Labs (QETLabs) at the University of Bristol. Additional information about this new funding for KETS is available in the news release posted on their website here. June 10, [...]

Qu & Co, a quantum software company based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, will collaborate with Airbus to investigate the use of quantum computers for flight physics simulations. This area is of particular interest to Airbus and was one of the five problem areas included in their Quantum Computing Challenge contest that they sponsored in 2019-2020. Qu & Co has performed recent research with the University of Exeter on Solving nonlinear differential equations with differentiable quantum circuits that could be applicable to computational fluid dynamics problems such as simulating the airflow over the wing of an aircraft. These problems are very difficult [...]

The round was led by Quantonation and the Defense Innovation Fund, managed by Bpifrance on behalf of the Defense Innovation Agency (AID), with additional participation from Runa Capital, Daphni, Eni Next and including a previously announced commitment by the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund. Paris based Pasqal is using neutral atom technology to develop analog and digital quantum processors with high connectivity and scalability. Control of the neutral atoms is accomplished through the use of optical tweezers using laser light. Their goal is to have a 1000 qubit quantum processor available by 2023. The funding will be used to advance the development [...]

The funding was led by 360 Capital with additional participation from Bpifrance (Digital Venture Fund), Airbus Ventures, BNP Paribas Développement, and Octave Klaba (OVHcloud), and additional grants from Bpifrance and the Ile-de-France Region. Paris based C12 Quantum Electronics is developing a spin qubit quantum device based upon a carbon nanotube technology. They will be building the nanotubes out of isotopically purified 12C  isotope of carbon which has zero nuclear spin to provide better coherence times and performance for the device. The company plans on using these device to provide a range of quantum accelerators that can be integrated with classical supercomputers [...]

Honeywell Corporation announced today that it is spinning off its Honeywell Quantum Solutions (HQS) division and HQS will merge with Cambridge Quantum Computing (CQC) to form a new independent company that hardware and software quantum solutions to customers. Honeywell Corporation will retain a majority stake in the company and will also invest in it an amount between $270 to $300 million. The new company, as yet unnamed, will still have access to certain Honeywell capabilities such as the wafer fab which builds the ion trap chips. The combined company will have a staff of over 300 and about two-thirds comprised of [...]

Eleven Japanese companies known as the Founders Association met at the end of May and are planning to launch this summer a Council for New Industry Creation through Quantum Technology. The Council will promote the application of quantum technologies to the creation of new industries over the medium to long term in Japan. Personnel from industry, academia and government will work together to investigate general trends in quantum technology, materials, and devices, investigate and make recommendations on application of the technology and the required industrial structure, systems and rules. The companies participating in the Founders Association for this council include the [...]

Quantum Delta NL, a collaboration in The Netherlands of five major quantum hubs, to develop quantum technology has announced it is building a new 12,000 square meter (129,000 square feet) headquarters which they are calling "The House of Quantum". It will be located on the TU Delft campus and construction will be completed in 2024. The building will contain a high-tech environment for developing and testing quantum technology and include a cleanroom for fabricating new quantum devices. This announcement follows an announcement in April that the Dutch government had awarded €615 million ($732M USD) to Quantum Delta NL for quantum R&D. This [...]

Softbank is a well-known Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company that also includes a venture capital branch called the Vision Fund. The companies announced that the Softbank Vision Fund 2 will join IonQ's investor base in IonQ's upcoming SPAC transaction that will make it a public company. In addition, Softbank will help IonQ expand access to its machines in areas where Softbank already has exposure and influence. Since Softbank is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, this should give IonQ a significant boost for potential customers in Asia. Additional information can be found in a news release issued by IonQ located here. June 4, [...]