Rigetti Computing announced that it was awarded an Innovate UK grant as part of the Feasibility Studies in Quantum Computing Applications competition. The grant will support a project to enhance quantum machine learning methods for money laundering detection, a critical method for identifying and preventing financial crime.
Rigetti UK Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rigetti Computing, will collaborate with HSBC, the Quantum Software Lab (QSL) based at the University of Edinburgh, and the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) in this project. The consortium aims to improve the performance of current-state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms by using quantum computing techniques. The project will focus on extending current anomaly detection quantum machine learning models to detect anomalous behavior indicating money laundering. The project started on September 1, 2023 and will last 18 months.
Money laundering poses a significant threat to financial institutions and society. Machine learning technology has the power to detect and prevent financial crime by flagging suspicious transactions and adapting to ever-changing criminal behavior. Quantum computing has the potential to enhance existing classical computing workflows, and in turn could offer improved machine learning methods.
In addition to leveraging Rigetti’s quantum processing units (QPUs) and quantum software, the consortium will also benefit from HSBC’s deep domain knowledge, benchmarks and classical and quantum machine learning for anomaly detection expertise, with the University of Edinburgh’s quantum algorithm expertise, and the NQCC’s extensive network of quantum computing opportunities and resources. In addition to improving anti-money laundering methods, the consortium aims to substantially strengthen the UK quantum ecosystem and the UK’s global position as a leader in the quantum computing sector.
November 3, 2023