Paid

QAI Ventures just celebrated its first anniversary as a $50 million, early-stage venture fund and startup accelerator. Anca Albu is the chief marketing officer at QAI Ventures and works with entrepreneurs to help them craft compelling stories about their work. She helped build the largest and most active angel investor network in Switzerland, so she knows what it takes to build a community of funders, mentors and supporters around a new industry. In this episode, she explains lessons learned after one year, the importance of storytelling for quantum leaders, and what’s next for her team. Transcript Veronica Combs: Hello, and welcome [...]

Google Quantum AI along with additional support from the Geneva Science Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) Foundation is sponsoring a 3 year, $5 million prize competition to encourage development of novel algorithms, new applications, or ways of implementing enhanced performance of quantum solutions that can help solve real-world challenges. The contest will be administered by the XPRIZE Foundation, a non-profit set up in 1994 to host public competitions intended to encourage technical breakthroughs. As stated in the contest guidelines: To win the prize, teams must develop a new (or meaningfully improved) application of quantum computers that addresses a computationally complex problem and demonstrate [...]

Maybell Quantum, a quantum infrastructure company, has secured $25M in Series A funding led by Cerberus Ventures. The funding will enable Maybell to scale manufacturing and open a new production facility in 2024. Maybell, founded in 2021, provides quantum infrastructure products such as their cryogenic platforms, the Fridge and the Big Fridge. In 2023, they launched MayQ Labs, quantum research spaces in Denver and Copenhagen, to democratize and accelerate quantum innovation. Chris Darby, Global Head of Venture Investments at Cerberus, will join Maybell’s Board of Directors. Darby emphasizes that breakthrough technologies and the infrastructure that enables them are integral to national [...]

Picture of the Direc-3 Entropy Quantum Computer. Credit: QCI Quantum Computing Inc. (QCi) has launched Dirac-3, a quantum optimization platform designed to solve complex problems using nonlinear quantum optics. The system encodes a problem into its photonic architecture and modulates the interaction between variables, ultimately finding an optimal solution. Unique to Dirac is its ability to solve integer problems using up to 964 quantum digits (qudits) with each qudit capable of 200 discrete modes, expanding the use of quantum technology beyond quantum bits (qubits). The system is designed to solve complex problems using nonlinear quantum optics. It encodes a problem into [...]

SBQuantum, a company developing diamond quantum magnetometers, and Silicon Microgravity, a company developing innovative inertial and gravity sensors, have partnered to accelerate mining exploration using quantum sensing. Their project, QUAMINEX (Quantum Accelerated Mining Exploration), involves the development of a drone-based system of sensors that combine magnetics and gravimetry. This system will improve the location and analysis of underground mineral deposits, reducing the time and capital required for field operations and improving 3D geological readouts. The dual sensor systems can be deployed via drone to detect underground deposits of strategic minerals such as cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, platinum, and rare earths. The [...]

The BioInnovation Institute (BII), is an international non-profit foundation in Denmark that incubates and accelerates world-class life science research. They have just announced that twelve companies have been selected to join their 12 month Venture Lab acceleration program which supports startup companies with business acceleration, scientific, and team development. The program also provides each startup with a €500 thousand ($541K USD) convertible loan and access to BII's labs and offices in Copenhagen. Of the twelve companies, three of them work in quantum technology including Alea Quantum Technologies, a company developing quantum random number generators, DiaSense, a company working on diamond-magnetic microscopes for [...]

Rigetti Computing's UK subsidiary has secured a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) grant from Innovate UK, in collaboration with the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), to develop and deliver a 24-qubit quantum computing system. This system, based on Rigetti's fourth-generation Ankaa™-class architecture, will be deployed at NQCC's Harwell Campus. The proposed technology promises faster gate times, higher fidelity, and greater connectivity compared to previous quantum processing units (QPUs). Rigetti's software development tools, including pyQuil®, Quilc™, and Quil-T™, will be integrated with the system, alongside Riverlane's Quantum Error Correction Stack. Once operational, the quantum computer will be accessible to NQCC researchers for [...]