The Wellcome Sanger Institute has selected Quantinuum as a technology partner for the Wellcome Leap Quantum for Bio (Q4Bio) challenge. This collaboration aims to develop quantum algorithms to overcome computational bottlenecks in genomics research that are currently beyond the reach of classical computers. The consortium’s overarching goal is to perform a range of genomic processing tasks for complex genomes and sequences.
The central mission for the collaboration is to encode and process an entire genome on a quantum computer, with the bacteriophage PhiX174 as the chosen genome. Quantinuum will provide its quantum computing systems, software, and expertise. The company’s quantum computer, System H2, has a benchmarked Quantum Volume of 8,388,608. The collaboration will leverage Quantinuum’s full stack approach to technology development to help the team explore genomics research with quantum algorithms.
Successfully encoding the PhiX174 genome on a quantum computer would represent a significant milestone for both genomics and quantum computing. The project aims to provide evidence for quantum computing’s readiness for tackling real-world use cases in human health and medicine. The Wellcome Leap Q4Bio challenge funds research to develop quantum algorithms that can overcome current computational bottlenecks in computational genetics.
Read the full announcement from Quantinuum here.
August 29, 2025
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