IQM Quantum Computers (IQM) the European leader in building superconducting quantum computers, today announced that it has raised 39 M in Series A funding, bringing the total amount of funding raised to date to 71 M.

This ranks among the highest fundraising rounds by a European deep-tech startup within a year. MIG Fonds has led this round, with participation from all existing investors including Tesi, OpenOcean, Maki.vc, Vito Ventures, Matadero QED. New investors Vsquared, Salvia GmbH, Santo Venture Capital GmbH, and Tencent, have also joined this round.

"IQM has a strong track record of research and in achieving high growth. They continue to attract the best global talent across functions and have exceeded their hardware and software milestones. We are thrilled to lead this round and continue to support IQM as the company accelerates its next phase of business and hardware growth," said Axel Thierauf, Partner at MIG Fonds, and Chairman of the Board of IQM.

Since 2019, IQM has been among the fastest-growing companies in the quantum computing sector and already has one of the world's largest quantum hardware engineering teams. This funding will be used to accelerate IQMs hardware development and to co-design application-specific quantum computers. A significant part of the funding will also be used to attract and retain the best global talent in quantum computing, and to establish sales and business development teams.

"Today's announcement is part of our ongoing Series-A funding round. I am extremely pleased with the confidence our investors have shown in our vision, team, product, and the ability to execute and commercialize quantum computers. This investment also shows their continued belief in building the future of quantum technologies. This is a significant recognition for our fantastic team that has achieved all our key milestones from the previous round. We're just getting started," said Jan Goetz, CEO of IQM.

"It is impressive to be a part of the IQM journey and see the progress of their technology. We're proud to see another startup from Finland making a global impact. IQM will have a lasting impact on the future of computing, and consequently will help solve some of the global challenges related to healthcare, climate change and development of sustainable materials among many others," said Juha Lehtola, Head of Direct VC Investments at Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment).

IQM delivers on-premises quantum computers for research laboratories and supercomputing centers. For industrial customers, IQM follows an innovative co-design strategy to deliver quantum advantage based on application-specific processors, using novel chip architectures and ultrafast quantum operations. IQM provides the full hardware stack for a quantum computer, integrating different technologies, and invites collaborations with quantum software companies.

"We want to invest in deep technology startups that shape the future and advance society. IQM is the perfect example of a company that is on top of its game; their work on quantum computing will make an impact for generations to come," said Herbert Mangesius, Founding Partner at Vsquared and Vito Ventures.

While quantum computing is still under development, governments and private organizations across the world are investing today to retain their competitive edge and become quantum-ready for the future.

The next decade will be the decade of quantum technology, and we will see major breakthroughs with real-world applications using quantum computers in healthcare, logistics, finance, chemistry and beyond.

About IQM Quantum Computers:

IQM is the European leader in superconducting quantum computers, headquartered in Espoo, Finland. Since its inception in 2018, IQM has grown to 70+ (TBC) employees and has also established a subsidiary in Munich, Germany, to lead the co-design approach. IQM delivers on-premises quantum computers for research laboratories and supercomputing centers and provides complete access to its hardware. For industrial customers, IQM delivers quantum advantage through a unique application-specific co-design approach. IQM has also received a 3.3 M grant from Business Finland and has been awarded a 15 M equity investment from the EIC Accelerator program.

For more information, visit http://www.meetiqm.com

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Europe Is on Its Way To Quantum Leadership, IQM Raises 39 M in Series A Funding - Embedded Computing Design

Quantum particle, quantum mechanics . 3d illustration

In last weeks podcast, Enrique Blair on quantum computing, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks talks with fellow computer engineer Enrique Blair about why quantum mechanics is so strange. But scientists have learned to work with QM, despite many questions, like how to work with particles that can be in two different places (quantum superposition):

[Starts at approximately 13:16.] The Show Notes and transcript follow.

Excerpts from the transcript:

Robert J. Marks: Whats superposition? Whats going on there?

Enrique Blair: Quantum superposition is really a mathematical description. We use wave functions to describe these particles. Theres a wave function for the photon going through Slit One and a wave function for the photon going through Slit Two. To describe it going through both slits, we have a linear combination of those two wave functions and so you have a more general wave function. Thats the heart of quantum computing because in classical computing, we have bits like zero or one. And in quantum computing, we like to use these superpositions of zero and one. Its not one or the other, its something of both.

Robert J. Marks: Its kind of like Invisible Boy (pictured) in Mystery Men. When you dont look, zero and one are both there.

Note: Invisible Boy is a resident of Champion City who spent most of his adolescent life ignored even by his own father. Eventually he discovered that after years of being overlooked, he had developed the power of invisibility, but it only works as long as no one (including himself) is looking at him. Mystery Men Fan Wiki

Enrique Blair: Thats right. Oddly enough, there is no mathematical definition that rigorously describes measurement. Its one we havent quite figured out yet.

Robert J. Marks: Tell us what a wave function is.

Enrique Blair: A wave function describes the state of a quantum system and it contains everything we can know about that quantum system. But we manipulate these things or we extract meaning from them using quantum mechanical operators. These operators describe things like time evolution or the total energy of the system, or some observable quantity like position or momentum.

The wave function itself is not the probability density. You have to take the magnitude squared. And then you get probabilities.

Note: It amounts to doing mathematics with probabilities rather than exact figures. In the experiments about atomic events we have to do with things and facts, with phenomena that are just as real as any phenomena in daily life. But the atoms or the elementary particles themselves are not as real; they form a world of potentialities or possibilities rather than one of things or facts. ( Werner Heisenberg, a quantum mechanics pioneer, Physics and Philosophy, p. 186)

Enrique Blair (pictured): Okay. The wave functionwhen you take its magnitude squared you get the probabilities of various outcomes for measurement when you also use an operator. But really, the stunning thing is thats all you get.

You get probabilities for outcomes. You cant predict with certainty which outcome is going to result when you make a measurement. Thats the subject of one of the papers we wrote recently, just using quantum mechanics to make something thats a truly random number generator.

You know well that computers cant generate random numbers because theyre deterministic.

Robert J. Marks: Which is really surprising because you see random numbers used a lot in gaming machines, like in casinos.

And theyre not random numbers, theyre pseudo-random numbers. They actually use an algorithm.

Physics and engineering professor Craig Lent has talked about randomness and the ability of quantum mechanics to generate true randomness. In fact, this is the only pure source of randomness there is. He said you can go to amazon.com and buy yourself a random number generator based on quantum mechanics that really spits out 100% random numbers. Thats amazing.

Note: Heres a random number generator (RNG) for sale at Amazon. Why cant we just think up and write down random numbers? That doesnt really work because humans always think in patterns, whether we notice them or not. And if we try to write an algorithm to produce random numbers, that is a pattern too. Quantum mechanics can, however, generate random numbers because there is no specific prior position.

Robert J. Marks: In the quantum world, when you measure something, you kind of mess around with the wave equation when you measure it. And then it collapses in accordance to its probability. Is that kind of the way it is?

Enrique Blair: Yeah, thats true. Like I said, the Schrdinger equation describes the time evolution of the system if you dont measure it or dont look at it or dont interact with it. But then once you measure it, you get one of these probabilities and you radically change the wave function and its in the state that corresponds to the result that you got. Previous to that, its a quantum superposition of many different states.

Note: Is quantum mechanics practical? Quantum computers, as their name implies, operate on the bizarre principles of quantum mechanics to manipulate information, and are poised to revolutionize our computing capabilities. With companies like IBM and Google already building the first prototypes, they are expected to propel technology forward with greater speed, accuracy, and security by completing tasks that would be otherwise impossible for ordinary computers to handle. Advanced Science News More on how that works later.

Next: The Truth about Schrdingers cat.

Previous: Heres why the quantum world is just so strange. It underlies our universe but it follows its own rules, which dont make sense to the rest of us. Computer engineer Enrique Blair explains to Robert J. Marks the simple experiment that shows why so many scientists find the quantum world mind-blowing.

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How Scientists Have Learned To Work With the Quantum World - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence

The company has divested non-core exploration tenements during 2020 to fund its advance materials business with a focus on quantum computing.

() (FRA:38A) executive chairman Greg English told the Annual General Meeting today that, despite the havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company hadachieved considerable progress in the transition away from mineral exploration and toward materials technology.

He said: In less than two years since announcing the commencement of our 12CQ project, we have made substantial progress on creating a new culture and identity, while maintaining our habit of doing high-quality work cost-effectively.

During the year we delivered all that we announced at the start of the year and more.

We further sharpened Archer's strategic focus on quantum technology, human health and reliable energy.

English said: We continued to divest non-core exploration tenements and assets as a means of funding the Advanced Materials Business, and on July 2, 2020, completed the divestment of the Leigh Creek Magnesite Project for $2.8 million.

The companys exploration tenements are no longer core to its materials technology strategyand Archer will continue to sell mineral exploration projects to fund the Advanced Materials Business.

English said: Our primary focus during the past 12 months has been on the development of the room temperature quantum computer chip.

We believe that over the next few years that quantum computing will move from the high-tech lab to mainstream commercial use, representing the next major breakthrough in modern IT.

Quantum computing represents a sweeping technological breakthrough that is set to change so much of the way we work and interact.

English said: Our most notable transaction during the year was the collaboration agreement with IBM ().

As part of the contract between Archer and IBM, Archer is the first Australian company building a quantum computing qubit processor to join the global IBM Q Network as an ecosystem partner.

We have already begun accessing IBM's quantum computing expertise and resources, and opensource Qiskit software and developer tools.

During the year, the company also continued to develop IP associated with a potential solution to graphene-based biosensors capable of complex detection of disease having designed a set of new graphene materials that could be directly applied for enhanced biosensing.

English said: Technologically, we have made considerable progress with developing the biosensing interface, data processing, and design and fabrication of materials electrodes critical to the biosensor technology function and will continue this work in 2021.

English said: In building a deep tech company, we have not limited our vision to the next quarter or even to the following two but are re-shaping the company for the next 20 or 30 years.

By developing our advanced materials business, we have laid the foundation for a new era of technology and business.

We are now the only ASX-listed company that offers shareholders exposure to the ever-growing world of quantum computing.

While the company has made considerable progress in a short amount of time, English said it was easy to forget that Archer was still in the early stages of a long cycle of a technological revolution.

He said: With our advanced materials business, we have deliberately selected technologies that we believe can make a real contribution to society and help to find solutions to global challenges.

We believe that this strategy will enable us to optimise value for our shareholders and have a long-term positive impact on the company.

In line with the transition, the company's market cap has increased to $120.3 million.Since March shares have traded from 12cents to a record of 81.5 cents and today have been as much as 55 cents.

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Archer Materials makes strong progress in shifting focus to Advanced Materials Business and technology - Proactive Investors USA & Canada

01 Communique to Present at the Benzinga Global Small Cap Conference on December 8 ACCESSWIRE 2020-11-30

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE /November 30, 2020 /01 Communique Laboratory Inc. (TSXV:ONE)(OTCQB:OONEF) (the "Company") one of the first-to-market, enterprise level cybersecurity providers for the quantum computing era today announced that the Company will be presenting at the upcoming virtual Benzinga Global Small Cap Conferenceon Tuesday, December 8th at 12:00PM ET and will also be hosting virtual one-to-one investor meetings with management. Complimentary investor registration and virtual one-to-one meeting requests can be accessed through the conference link above.

The inaugural Benzinga Global Small Cap Conference is planned for December 8th and 9th in an entirely virtual setting. Designed to bridge the gap between publicly traded companies, investors and traders, the Conference will enable small-cap companies to network and communicate with a broad and diverse investor base.

About IronCAP and IronCAP X:

IronCAP is at the forefront of the cyber security market and is designed to protect our customers from cyber-attacks. IronCAP's patent-pending cryptographic system is designed to protect users and enterprises against the ever-evolving illegitimate and malicious means of gaining access to their data today as well as in the future with the introduction of powerful quantum computers. Based on improved Goppa code-based encryption it is designed to be faster and more secure than current standards. It operates on conventional computer systems, so users are protected today while being secure enough to safeguard against future attacks from the world of quantum computers. An IronCAP API is available which allows vendors of a wide variety of vertical applications to easily transform their products to ensure their customers are safe from cyber-attacks today and from quantum computers in the future.

IronCAP X, a new cybersecurity product for email/file encryption, incorporating our patent-pending technology was made available for commercial use on April 23, 2020. The new product has two major differentiations from what is in the market today. Firstly, many offerings in today's market store users secured emails on email-servers for recipients to read, making email-servers a central target of cyber-attack. IronCAP X, on the other hand, delivers each encrypted message end-to-end to the recipients such that only the intended recipients can decrypt and read the message. Consumers' individual messages are protected, eliminating the hackers' incentive to attack email servers of email providers. Secondly, powered by our patent-pending IronCAP technology, we believe IronCAP Xis the world's first quantum-safe end-to-end email encryption system; secured against cyberattacks from today's systems and from quantum computers in the future. Consumers and businesses using our new products will have tomorrow's cybersecurity today.

About 01 Communique

Established in 1992, 01 Communique (TSX-V: ONE; OTCQB: OONEF) has always been at the forefront of technology. The Company's cyber security business unit focuses on post-quantum cybersecurity with the development of its IronCAP technology. IronCAP's patent-pending cryptographic system is an advanced Goppa code-based post-quantum cryptographic technology that can be implemented on classical computer systems as we know them today while at the same time can also safeguard against attacks in the future post-quantum world of computing. The Company's remote access business unit provides its customers with a suite of secure remote access services and products under its I'm InTouch and I'm OnCall product offerings. The remote access offerings are protected in the U.S.A. by its patents #6,928,479 / #6,938,076 / #8,234,701; in Canada by its patents #2,309,398 / #2,524,039 and in Japan by its patent #4,875,094. For more information, visit the Company's web site at http://www.ironcap.ca and http://www.01com.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking" statements which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, such statements use such words as "may", "will", "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "plan", "intend", "are confident" and other similar terminology. Such statements include statements regarding the business prospects of IronCAP X, the future of quantum computers and their impact on the Company's product offering, the functionality of the Company's products and the intended product lines for the Company's technology. These statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the matters discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, a delay in the anticipated adoption of quantum computers and a corresponding delay in Q day, the ability for the Company to generate sales, and gain adoption of, IronCAP X, the ability of the Company to raise financing to pursue its business plan, competing products that provide a superior product, competitors with greater resources and the factors discussed under "Risk and Uncertainties" in the company's Management`s Discussion and Analysis document filed on SEDAR. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

INVESTOR CONTACT:

Brian Stringer Chief Financial Officer 01 Communique (905) 795-2888 x204 Brian.stringer@01com.com

SOURCE:01 Communique Laboratory, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/618717/01-Communique-to-Present-at-the-Benzinga-Global-Small-Cap-Conference-on-December-8

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01 Communique to Present at the Benzinga Global Small Cap Conference on December 8 - IT News Online

The term quantum computing gained momentum in the late 20thcentury. These systems aim to utilize these capabilities to become highly-efficient. They use quantum bits or qubits instead of the simple manipulation of ones and zeros in existing binary-based computers. These qubits also have a third state called superposition that simultaneously represents a one or a zero. Instead of analyzing a one or a zero sequentially, superposition allows two qubits in superposition to represent four scenarios at the same time. So we are at the cusp of a computing revolution where future systems have capability beyond mathematical calculations and algorithms.

Quantum computers also follow the principle of entanglement, which Albert Einstein had referred to as spooky action at a distance. Entanglement refers to the observation that the state of particles from the same quantum system cannot be described independently of each other. Even when they are separated by great distances, they are still part of the same system.

Several nations, giant tech firms, universities, and startups are currently exploring quantum computing and its range of potential applications. IBM, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and other companies are investing heavilyin developing large-scale quantum computing hardware and software. Google and UCSB have a partnership to develop a 50 qubits computer, as it would represent 10,000,000,000,000,000 numbers that would take a modern computer petabyte-scale memory to store. A petabyte is the unit above a terabyte and represents 1,024 terabytes. It is also equivalent to 4,000 digital photos taken every day. Meanwhile, names like Rigetti Computing, D-Wave Systems, 1Qbit Information Technologies, Inc., Quantum Circuits, Inc., QC Ware, Zapata Computing, Inc. are emerging as bigger players in quantum computing.

IEEE Standards Association Quantum Computing Working Group is developing two technical standards for quantum computing. One is for quantum computing definitions and nomenclature, so we can all speak the same language. The other addresses performance metrics and performance benchmarking to measure quantum computers performance against classical computers and, ultimately, each other. If required, new standards will also be added with time.

The rapid growth in the quantum tech sector over the past five years has been exciting. This is because quantum computing presents immense potential. For instance, a quantum system can be useful for scientists for conducting virtual experiments and sifting through vast amounts of data. Quantum algorithms like quantum parallelism can perform a large number of computations simultaneously. In contrast, quantum interference will combine their results into something meaningful and can be measured according to quantum mechanics laws. Even Chinese scientists are looking to developquantum internet, which shall be a more secure communication system in which information is stored and transmitted withadvanced cryptography.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University used quantum algorithms to transform MRI scans for cancer, allowing the scans to be performed three times faster and to improve their quality by 30%. In practice, this can mean patients wont need to be sedated to stay still for the length of an MRI, and physicians could track the success of chemotherapy at the earliest stages of treatment.

Laboratoire de Photonique Numrique et Nanosciences of France has built a hybrid device that pairs a quantum accelerometer with a classical one and uses a high-pass filter to subtract the classical data from the quantum data. This has the potential to offer an highly precise quantum compass that would eliminate the bias and scale factor drifts commonly associated with gyroscopic components. Meanwhile, the University of Bristolhas founded a quantum solution for increasing security threats. Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine are working to uncover the potential quantum computers hold to help understand genetic diseases.Scientists are also using quantum computing to find a vaccine for COVID and other life-threatening diseases.

In July 2017, in collaboration with commercial photonics tools providerM Squared, QuantIC demonstrated how a quantum gravimeter detects the presence of deeply hidden objects by measuring disturbances in the gravitational field. If such a device becomes practical and portable, the team believes it could become invaluable in an early warning system for predicting seismic events and tsunamis.

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What is Quantum Computing, and How does it Help Us? - Analytics Insight

Quantum computing is a rapidly developing field, with everyone trying to build the perfect hardware, find new applications for current algorithms, or even develop new algorithms. Because of that, the near-future demand for quantum programmers and researchers will increase shortly.

Many governmental and industrial institutions have set aside substantial funds to develop quantum technologies. The Quantum Daily (TQD) estimated the current market for quantum computing to be around $235 million. This number is predicted to grow substantially to $6.25 billion by 2025.

This incredible amount of funds leads to an increase in the number of academia, government, and industry positions. Almost all technology companies are changing their business model to adapt to when quantum technology makes an impact.

TQD also adds that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that in 2020 so far, there are around 1.4 million more quantum software development jobs than applicants who can fill them.

In 2019, MIT published an article called Q&A: The talent shortage in quantum computing that addressed the different challenges the field faces right now. Afterward, it developed MIT xPRO, a group addressing the reality that students arent the only people interested in learning about the different aspects of quantum information.

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4 Reasons Why Now Is the Best Time to Start With Quantum Computing - Medium

Kiran Raj, Principal Disruptive Tech Analyst at GlobalData, comments: Qubits can allow to create algorithms for the completion of a task with reduced computational complexity that cannot be achieved with traditional bits. Given such advantages, quantum computers can solve some of the intractable problems in cybersecurity, drug research, financial modelling, traffic optimization and batteries to name a few.

An analysis of GlobalDatas Disruptor Intelligence Center reveals various companies in the race to monetize quantum computing as an everyday tool for business.

IBM's latest quantum computer, accessible via cloud, boasts a 65-qubit Hummingbird chip. It is an advanced version of System Q, its first commercial quantum computer launched in 2019 that has 20 qubits. IBM plans to launch a 1,000-qubit system by the end of 2023.

Alphabet has built a 54-qubit processor Sycamore and demonstrated its quantum supremacy by performing a task of generating a random number in 200 seconds, which it claims would take the most advanced supercomputer 10,000 years to finish the task. The company also unveiled its newest 72-qubit quantum computer Bristlecone.

Alibabas cloud service subsidiary Aliyun and the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly launched an 11-qubit quantum computing service, which is available to the public on its quantum computing cloud platform. Alibaba is the second enterprise to offer the service to public after IBM.

Not just big technology companies, well-funded startups have also targeted the quantum computing space to develop hardware, algorithms and security applications. Some of them are Rigetti, Xanadu, 1Qbit, IonQ, ISARA, Q-CTRL and QxBranch.

Amazon, unlike the tech companies competing to launch quantum computers, is making quantum products of other companies available to users via Braket. It currently supports quantum computing services from D-Wave, IonQ and Rigetti.

Mr Raj concludes: Albeit a far cry from the large-scale mainstream use, quantum computers are gearing up to be a transformative reality. They are highly expensive to build and it is hard to maintain the delicate state of superposition and entanglement of qubits. Despite such challenges, quantum computers will continue to progress into the future where companies may rent them to solve everyday problems the way they currently rent cloud services. It may not come as a surprise that quantum computing one day replaces artificial intelligence as the mainstream technology to help industries tackle problems they never would have attempted to solve before.

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Race for quantum supremacy gathers momentum with several companies joining bandwagon, says GlobalData - Quantaneo, the Quantum Computing Source

A fast-growing UK startup is quietly making strides in the promising field of quantum photonics. Cambridge-based company Nu Quantum is building devices that can emit and detect quantum particles of light, called single photons. With a freshly secured 2.1 million ($2.71 million) seed investment, these devices could one day underpin sophisticated quantum photonic systems, for applications ranging from quantum communications to quantum computing.

The company is developing high-performance light-emitting and light-detecting components, which operate at the single-photon level and at ambient temperature, and is building a business based on the combination of quantum optics, semiconductor photonics, and information theory, spun out of the University of Cambridge after eight years of research at the Cavendish Laboratory.

"Any quantum photonic system will start with a source of single photons, and end with a detector of single photons," Carmen Palacios-Berraquero, the CEO of Nu Quantum, tells ZDNet. "These technologies are different things, but we are bringing them together as two ends of a system. Being able to controllably do that is our main focus."

SEE: Hiring Kit: Computer Hardware Engineer (TechRepublic Premium)

As Palacios-Berraquero stresses, even generating single quantum particles of light is very technically demanding.

In fact, even the few quantum computers that exist today, which were designed by companies such as Google and IBM, rely on the quantum states of matter, rather than light. In other words, the superconducting qubits that can be found in those tech giants' devices rely on electrons, not photons.

Yet the superconducting qubits found in current quantum computers are, famously, very unstable. The devices have to operate in temperatures colder than those found in deep space to function, because thermal vibrations can cause qubits to fall from their quantum state. On top of impracticality, this also means that it is a huge challenge to scale up the number of qubits in the computer.

A photonic quantum computer could have huge advantages over its matter-based counterpart. Photons are much less prone to interact with their environment, which means they can retain their quantum state for much longer and over long distances. A photonic quantum computer could, in theory, operate at room temperature and as a result, scale up much faster.

The whole challenge comes from creating the first quantum photon, explains Palacios-Berraquero. "Being able to emit one photon at a time is a ground-breaking achievement. In fact, it has become the Holy Grail of quantum optics."

"But I worked on generating single photons for my PhD. That's the IP I brought to the table."

Carmen Palacios-Berraquero and the Nu Quantum team just secured a 2.1 million ($2.71 million) seed investment.

Combined with improved technologies in the fields of nanoscale semi-conductor fabrication, Palacios-Berraquero and her team set off to crack the single-photon generation problem.

Nu Quantum's products come in the form of two little boxes: the first one generates the single photons that can be used to build quantum systems for various applications, and the other measures the quantum signals emitted by the first one. The technology, maintains the startup CEO, is bringing quantum one step closer to commercialization and adoption.

"Between the source and the detector of single photons, many things can happen, from the simplest to the most complex," explains Palacios-Berraquero. "The most complex one being a photonic quantum computer, in which you have thousands of photons on one side and thousands of detectors on the other. And in the middle, of course, you have gates, and entanglement, and and, and and. But that's the most complex example."

A photonic quantum computer is still a very long-term ambition of the startup CEO. A simpler application, which Nu Quantum is already working on delivering commercially with the UK's National Physical Laboratory, is quantum random number generation a technology that can significantly boost the security of cryptographic keys that secure data.

The keys that are currently used to encrypt the data exchanged between two parties are generated thanks to classical algorithms. Classical computing is deterministic: a given input will always produce the same output, meaning that complete randomness is fundamentally impossible. As a result, classical algorithms are predictable to an extent. In cryptography, this means that security keys can be cracked fairly easily, given sufficient computing power.

Not so much with quantum. A fundamental property of quantum photons is that they behave randomly: for example, if a single photon is sent down a path that separates in two ways, there is no way of knowing deterministically which way the particle will choose to go through.

SEE: What is the quantum internet? Everything you need to know about the weird future of quantum networks

The technology that Nu Quantum is developing with the National Physical Laboratory, therefore, consists of a source of single photons, two detectors, and a two-way path linking the three devices. "If we say the right detector is a 1, and the left detector is a 0, you end up with a string of numbers that's totally random," says Palacios-Berraquero. "The more random, the more unpredictable the key is, and the more secure the encryption."

Nu Quantum is now focusing on commercializing quantum random number generation, but the objective is to build up systems that are increasingly complex as the technology improves. Palacios-Berraquero expects that in four or five years, the company will be able to start focusing on the next step.

One day, she hopes, Nu Quantum's devices could be used to connect quantum devices in a quantum internet a decade-long project contemplated by scientists in the US, the EU, and China, which would tap the laws of quantum mechanics to almost literally teleport some quantum information from one quantum device to the next. Doing so is likely to require single photons to be generated and distributed between senders and receivers, because of the light particles' capacity to travel longer distances.

In the shorter term, the startup will be focusing on investing the seed money it has just raised. On the radar, is a brand-new lab and headquarters in Cambridge, and tripling the size of the team with a recruitment drive for scientists, product team members and business functions.

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Quantum computing: Photon startup lights up the future of computers and cryptography - ZDNet

In a bid to accelerate this countrys efforts in quantum computing, 24 Canadian hardware and software companies specializing in the field are launching an association this week to help their work get commercialized.

Called Quantum Industry Canada, the group says they represent Canadas most commercial-ready technologies, covering applications in quantum computing, sensing, communications, and quantum-safe cryptography.

The group includes Burnaby, B.C., manufacturer D-Wave Systems, Vancouver software developer 1Qbit, Torontos photonic quantum computer maker Xanadu Quantum Technologies, the Canadian division of software maker Zapata Computing, Waterloo, Ont.,-based ISARA which makes quantum-safe solutions and others.

The quantum opportunity has been brewing for many years, association co-chair Michele Mosca of the University of Waterloos Institute for Quantum Computing and the co-founder of two quantum startups, said in an interview, explaining why the new group is starting now. Canadas been a global leader at building up the global opportunity, the science, the workforce, and we didnt want this chance to pass. Weve got over 24 innovative companies, and we wanted to work together to make these companies a commercial success globally.

Its also important to get Canada known as a leader in quantum-related products and services, he added. This will help assure a strong domestic quantum industry as we enter the final stages of quantum readiness.

And while quantum computing is a fundamental new tool, Mosca said, its also important for Canadian organizations to start planning for a quantum computing future, even if the real business value isnt obvious. We dont know exactly when youll get the real business advantage you want to be ready for when quantum computers can give you an advantage.

Adib Ghubril, research director at Toronto-based Info-Tech Research Group, said in an interview creation of such a group is needed. When you want to foster innovation you want to gain critical mass, a certain number of people working in different disciplines it will help motivate them, even maybe compete.

Researchers from startups and even giants like Google, Microsoft, Honeywell and IBM have been throwing billions at creating quantum computers. So are countries, especially China, but also Australia, the U.K., Germany and Switzerland. Many big-name firms are touting projects with experimental equipment, or hybrid hardware that does accelerated computations but dont meet the standard definition of a quantum computer.

True quantum computers may be a decade off, some suggest. Ghubril thinks were 15 years from what he calls reliable, effective quantum computing. Still, last December IDC predicted that by 2023, one-quarter of the Fortune Global 500 will gain a competitive advantage from emerging quantum computing solutions.

Among the recent signposts:

Briefly, quantum computers take the theory of quantum mechanics to change the world of traditional computation of bits represented by zeros and ones. Instead, a bit can be a zero or a one. In a quantum computer, such basic elements are called qubits. With their expected ability to do astonishing fast computations, quantum computers may be able to help pharmaceutical companies create new drugs and nation-states to break encryption protecting government secrets.

Companies are taking different approaches. D-Wave uses a quantum annealing process to make machines it says are suited to solving real-world computing problems today. Xanadu uses what Mosca calls a more circuit-type computing architecture. Theres certainly the potential that some of the nearer-term technologies will offer businesses advantage, especially as they scale.

We know the road towards a full-fledged quantum computer is long. But there are amazing milestones in that direction.

Ghubril says Canada is in the leading pack of countries working on quantum computing. The momentum out of China is enormous, he said, but it looks like the country will focus on using quantum for telecommunications and not business solutions.

From his point of view companies are taking two approaches to quantum computers. Some, like D-Wave, are trying to use quantum ideas to optimize solving modelling problems. The problem is not every problem is an optimization problem, he said. Other companies are trying for the Grand Poobah the real (quantum) computer. So the IBMs of the world are going for the gusto. They want the real deal. They want to solve the material chemistry and biosynthesis and so on. Theyve gone big, but by doing so theyve gone slower. You cant do much on the IBM platform. You can learn a lot, but you cant do much. You can do more on a D-Wave, but you can only do one thing.

Ghburil encourages companies to dabble in the emerging technology.

Thats Infotechs recommendation: Just learn about it. Join a forum, open an account, try a few things. Nobody is going to gain a (financial) competitive advantage. Its a learning advantage.

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Canadian quantum computing firms partner to spread the technology - IT World Canada

The Dutch and the Finnish are doing their part in shedding the dystopian sci-fi rep that AI gets usually. These European nations often show up on the top when it comes to initiatives that take the human aspect seriously. Now they are at it again. Amsterdam and Helsinki are making moves to make sure that transparency of AI applications is established. Not only that but these cities want their citizens to play an active role going forward. In what can be a more sci-fi sounding announcement, quantum computing industry leader DWave opens up their tech for business applications making it the first to do so. There is more to news, thanks to Google and find out why in this weeks top news brought to you by Analytics India Magazine.

VMware and NVIDIA are coming together to offer an end-to-end enterprise platform for AI along with a new architecture for data center, cloud and edge; services that use NVIDIAs DPUs. We are partnering with NVIDIA to bring AI to every enterprise; a true democratization of one of the most powerful technologies, said Pat Gelsinger, CEO of VMware.

The full stack of AI software available on the NVIDIA NGCTM hub will be integrated into VMware vSphere, VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware Tanzu. This in turn will help accelerate AI adoption across the industru and allows enterprises to deploy AI-ready infrastructure across the data centers, cloud and edge.

On Thursday, Googles CEO Sundar Pichai announced that they would be sparing $1 billion for enabling high quality journalism. In a blog post penned by Pichai, underlined Googles mission to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful. Googles News Showcase features the editorial curation of award-winning newsrooms to give readers more insight on the stories that matter, and in the process, helps publishers develop deeper relationships with their audiences. Google has already signed partnerships for News Showcase with nearly 200 leading publications across Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, the U.K. and Australia and will soon be expanding to India, Belgium and the Netherlands.

On Tuesday, D-Wave Systems, the Canadian quantum computing company announced the general availability of its next-gen quantum computing platform that flaunt new hardware, software, and tools to enable and accelerate the delivery of in-production quantum computing applications. The company stated that the platform is available in the Leap quantum cloud service and includes the Advantage quantum system, with more than 5000 qubits and 15-way qubit connectivity. In addition to this, there is an expanded hybrid solver service that can run problems with up to one million variables. Together, these services enables users to scale to address real-world problems with enabling businesses to run real-time quantum applications for the first time.

The PyTorch has announced that developers can leverage its libraries on Cloud TPUs. The XLA library, SAID pYtoRCH, has reached general availability (GA) on Google Cloud and supports a broad set of entry points for developers. It has a fast-growing community of researchers from MIT, Salesforce Research, Allen AI and elsewhere who train a wide range of models accelerated with Cloud TPUs and Cloud TPU Pods.

According to PyTorch, the aim of this project was to make it as easy as possible for the PyTorch community to leverage the high performance capabilities that Cloud TPUs offer while maintaining the dynamic PyTorch user experience. To enable this workflow, the team created PyTorch / XLA, a package that lets PyTorch connect to Cloud TPUs and use TPU cores as devices.

Github announced that the code scanning option, CodeQL is now generally available to all developers. With this new option developers get prompts It scans code as its created and surfaces actionable security reviews within pull requests and other GitHub experiences you use everyday, automating security as a part of your workflow. This helps ensure vulnerabilities never make it to production in the first place.Code scanning is powered by CodeQLthe worlds most powerful code analysis engine and will enable developers to use the 2,000+ CodeQL queries created by GitHub and the community, or create custom queries to easily find and prevent new security concerns.

No two palms are alike. Thats the idea behind Amazon One, a new service by the e commerce giant which allows customers to pay with their palm. Contactless payments were all the rage this pandemic and Amazon wants to step up their technology at one of their stores. All you need is a credit card, your mobile number, and of course, your palm. Once youre signed up, you can use your palm to enter, identify, and pay where Amazon One is available. Governments around the world started to ease the restrictions for public spaces like malls and stadiums and services like Amazon One might see a huge rise in demand because touching surfaces is so 2019!

On Monday, Amsterdam and Helsinki launched AI registries to detail how the respective governments use algorithms to deliver services. AI Register is a window into the artificial intelligence systems used by these cities through the register, citizens can get acquainted with the quick overviews of the citys artificial intelligence systems or examine their more detailed information based on your own interests. They can also give feedback and thus participate in building human-centred AI.

I have a master's degree in Robotics and I write about machine learning advancements. email:ram.sagar@analyticsindiamag.com

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Google's Billion Dollar News, Commercial Quantum Computers And More In This Week's Top News - Analytics India Magazine