Category Archives: Quantum Computer

ColdQuanta Expands Leadership Team with Promotion of Chris Wood to Chief Technology Officer and Addition of New Top Talent – PR Newswire

Former VP of Photonic Technologies Ascends to CTO; Quantum Ecosystem Leader Welcomes Dr. William Clark as VP of Quantum Development, Laura Hale as VP of Government Programs and Steve Matthews as VP of Business Development for Quantum Information Platforms

BOULDER, Colo., Oct. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ColdQuanta, the global quantum ecosystem leader, today announced it has expanded its leadership team with a stable of quantum experts including: Dr. William Clarkas Vice President of Quantum Development, Laura Haleas Vice President of Government Programs, and Steve Matthews, as Vice President of Sales & Business Development for Quantum Information Platforms. VP of Photonic Technologies, Dr. Chris Wood, has been promotedto Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Acting Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Dana Z. Anderson, will serve as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), guiding the company's long-term quantum strategy.

These appointments come on the heels of several technical milestones, industry partnerships, and growth across the company's entire portfolio of quantum ecosystem solutions. Earlier this year ColdQuanta's quantum matter platform, Albert, launched in beta at the Laser World of Photonics Conference in Munich, where it was honored as the 2022 Prism Award winner for Quantum. Additionally, ColdQuanta announced the commercial beta launch of Hilbert, the world's first cold atom quantum computer. The company made its first acquisition of quantum software company, Super.tech.

"ColdQuanta has grown tremendously this past year, and that momentum is what attracted this talented group of respected and accomplished individuals to the company," said Scott Faris, ColdQuanta CEO. "Chris, William, Laura and Steve each bring a unique perspective and background that together with our existing leadership team will further ColdQuanta's mission to build the most robust and diversified portfolio of quantum devices and platforms."

As CTO, Wood will guide ColdQuanta's technology and new product strategy, which includes overseeing the critical transition from Research to Engineering to Product. He brings extensive familiarity with rugged, field-proven mil-spec and space-qualified solid-state lasers, Telcordia-qualified lasers, Photonic Integrated Circuits, and optical fabrication and coatings from previous jobs at Insight Lidar, Kapteyn-Murnane Laboratories, Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies, and Precision Photonics.

Dr. Clark joins ColdQuanta from General Dynamics Mission Systems, where he was a Senior Engineering Fellow, and the Founder and Director of the Quantum Laboratory and Quantum Center of Excellence, where he explored the practical use of quantum technologies for secure and covert communications, remote sensing and signal processing. His depth of knowledge of quantum science and his passion for seeing quantum technology advance align with our shared views and values. At ColdQuanta, he'll help us transition technology into fielded systems, unlock initial commercialization success, and increase research funding.

In her role as Vice President of Government Programs, Hale brings a rich background in program, product, and systems engineering across multiple domains, including ground, space, and novel environments. Hale's career spans transformational leadership positions with NASA, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, the Space Development Agency, and various elements of the US Department of Defense and Intelligence Community.

Matthews joins ColdQuanta as Vice President of Sales & Business Development for Quantum Information Platforms, bringing 20 years of Enterprise Software Sales experience to his role. He previously worked at quantum computing software company, QC Ware, helping clients gain competitive advantage and prepare for disruption through a mix of professional services and software products.

About ColdQuantaColdQuanta is a global quantum technology company solving the world's most challenging problems. The company harnesses quantum mechanics to build and integrate quantum computers, sensors, and networks. From fundamental physics to leading edge commercial products, ColdQuanta enables "quantum everywhere" through our ecosystem of devices and platforms.Founded in 2007, ColdQuanta grew from decades of research in atomic physics and work at JILA, with intellectual property licensed through the University of Colorado and University of Wisconsin. ColdQuanta's scalable and versatile cold atom technology is used by world-class organizations around the globe and deployed by NASA on the International Space Station. ColdQuanta is based in Boulder, CO, with offices in Chicago, IL; Madison, WI; and Oxford, UK. Find out how ColdQuanta is building the future at http://www.coldquanta.comand on YouTube.

The name ColdQuanta and the ColdQuanta logo are both registered trademarks of ColdQuanta, Inc.

SOURCE ColdQuanta

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ColdQuanta Expands Leadership Team with Promotion of Chris Wood to Chief Technology Officer and Addition of New Top Talent - PR Newswire

Quantum Computing’s Impact Could Come Sooner Than You Think – CNET

In 2013, Rigetti Computing began its push to make quantum computers. That effort could bear serious fruit starting in 2023, the company said Friday.

That's because next year, the Berkeley, California-based company plans to deliver both its fourth-generation machine, called Ankaa, and an expanded model called Lyra. The company hopes those machines will usher in "quantum advantage," when the radically different machines mature into devices that actually deliver results out of the reach of conventional computers, said Rigetti founder and Chief Executive Chad Rigetti.

Quantum computers rely on the weird physics of ultrasmall elements like atoms and photons to perform calculations that are impractical on the conventional computer processors that power smartphones, laptops and data centers. Advocates hope quantum computers will lead to more powerful vehicle batteries, new drugs, more efficient package delivery, more effective artificial intelligence and other breakthroughs.

So far, quantum computers are very expensive research projects. Rigetti is among a large group scrambling to be the first to quantum advantage, though. That includes tech giants like IBM, Google, Baidu and Intel and specialists like Quantinuum, IonQ, PsiQuantum, Pasqal and Silicon Quantum Computing.

"This is the new space race," Rigetti said in an exclusive interview ahead of the company's first investor day.

For the event, the company is revealing more details about its full technology array, including manufacturing, hardware, the applications its computers will run and the cloud services to reach customers. "We're building the full rocket," Rigetti said.

Although Rigetti isn't a household name, it holds weight in this world. In February, Rigetti raised $262 million and became one of a small number of publicly traded quantum computing companies. Although the company has been clear its quantum computing business is a long-term plan, investors have become more skeptical. Its stock price has dropped by about three quarters since going public, hurt most recently when Rigetti announced the delay of a $4 million US government contract that would have accounted for much of the company's annual revenue of about $12 million to $13 million.

The company argues it's got the right approach for the long run, though. It starts in early 2023 with Ankaa, a processor that includes 84 qubits, the fundamental data processing element in a quantum computer. Four of those ganged together are the foundation for Lyra, a 336-qubit machine. The names are astronomical: Ankaa is a star, and Lyra is a constellation.

Rigetti doesn't promise quantum advantage from the 336 qubit machine, but it's the company's hope. "We believe it's absolutely within the realm of possibility," Rigetti said.

Having more qubits is crucial to more sophisticated algorithms needed for quantum advantage. Rigetti hopes customers in the finance, automotive and government sectors will be eager to pay for that quantum computing horsepower. Auto companies could research new battery technologies and optimize their complex manufacturing operations, and financial services companies are always looking for better ways to spot trends and make trading decisions, Rigetti said.

Rigetti plans to link its Ankaa modules into larger machines: a 1,000-qubit computer in 2025 and a 4,000-qubit model in 2027.

Rigetti isn't the only company trying to build a rocket, though. IBM has a 127-qubit quantum computer today, with plans for a 433-qubit model in 2023 and more than 4,000 qubits in 2025. Although qubit count is only one measure of a quantum computer's utility, it's an important factor.

"What Rigetti is doing in terms of qubits pales in comparison to IBM," said Moor Insights & Strategy analsyt Paul Smith-Goodson.

Along with those machines, Rigetti expects developments in manufacturing, including a 5,000-square-foot expansion of the company's Fremont, California, chip fabrication facility now underway, improvements in the error correction technology necessary to perform more than the most fleeting quantum computing calculations, and better software and services so customers can actually use its machines.

Rigetti Computing's plans for improvements to its broad suite of quantum computing technology.

To reach its goals, Rigetti also announced four new deals at its investor event:

Qubits are easily perturbed, so coping with errors is critical to quantum computing progress. So is a better foundation less prone to errors. Quantum computer makers track that with a measurement called gate fidelity. Rigetti is at 95% to 97% fidelity today, but prototypes for its fourth-generation Ankaa-based systems have shown 99%, Rigetti said.

In the eyes of analyst Smith-Goodson, quantum computing will become useful eventually, but there's plenty of uncertainty about how and when we'll get there.

"Everybody is working toward a million qubit machine," he said. "We're not sure which technology is really going to be the one that is going to actually make it."

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Quantum Computing's Impact Could Come Sooner Than You Think - CNET

Are AI and Quantum Computing Infrastructure? The Feds Say Yes – MeriTalk

From the White House to the boathouse, infrastructure has traditionally been narrowly defined as the roads, bridges, waterways, and other projects that allowed a post-industrial America to flourish.

Not anymore.

In the latest sign that the technology revolution is moving in new directions, a six-line law with no name is helping to redefine the traditional notions of infrastructure to include artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and semiconductors.

The legislation, quietly signed by President Biden last month, amended a 2015 law widely known as a highway bill, as befitted its name: the Fixing Americas Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.

A provision of the law provides for expedited Federal environmental and permitting review for covered infrastructure construction projects. Currently, those projects include some of the largest, most complex, and novel infrastructure projects in the U.S., such as massive pipelines and multibillion-dollar renewable energy projects, according to a Federal steering council overseeing them.

Now, with the recent change in the law, the projects potentially qualifying for speeded-up review also encompass semiconductors, artificial intelligence and machine learning, high-performance computing and advanced computer hardware and software, quantum information science and technology, data storage and data management, (and) cybersecurity.

The amended law, titled only An Act, added those computer-related projects.

The legislations sponsor, Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., says his intention is to boost national security, especially by fast-tracking permitting reviews of semiconductor plants expected to be built because of the Chips and Science Act. That law, also signed by Biden last month, provided funding incentives to establish such plants.

I came to Washington to create jobs for the American people and bolster our national security to beattheChinese Communist Partyin the competition that will define the century, Hagerty said after Biden signed the FAST Act law on Aug. 16. His office called the FAST Act legislation a watershed bill that enacts regulatory reform that benefits private-sector companies building products that are essential to American national and economic security.

A technology industry expert familiar with the legislation downplayed its effects, saying that Hagertys bill does not represent a collective movement to recast what critical infrastructure looks like. I think that smartly, what youre starting to see is more the ability to leverage technology as components of broader infrastructure projects. It doesnt make the components themselves infrastructure.

But the official summary of the bill by the respected Congressional Research Service calls AI, semiconductors and the other new technology projects now covered by the FAST Act infrastructure projects.

And infrastructure experts say that redefinition has the potential to fast-track a variety of tech projects beyond the scope of what has long been considered critical infrastructure.

Anthony Lamanna, a professor at the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University, says infrastructure has traditionally been viewed as the built environment for civilization your water, your sewage, your electric.

When he first read the FAST Act revision, Lamanna says, I have a background in concrete and construction, so my gut was that the tech stuff doesnt really fit.

On further reflection, he says, Maybe we start looking at this as the chip manufacturers are part of this future cyber infrastructure I think somebody coming up with this stuff seems to be thinking far into the future. By fast-tracking these projects, were saying this is important to civilization in the future.

Adie Tomer, a senior fellow and infrastructure expert at the Brookings Institution, likened the language in Hagertys bill to last years high-profile Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which he says makes it explicit that the way infrastructure is construed is that broadband and digital technology is considered infrastructure.

Clearly, we are modernizing our definition of physical infrastructure to include digital tech, says Tomer, who supports the change but says it also bears further scrutiny because data storage facilities and other projects potentially covered by Hagertys bill are privately owned.

What should be the Federal relationship with the private owners of those kinds of facilities? Tomer asked. I dont think its necessarily clear yet Its a critical area to watch.

On the day Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act last year, a White House blog post hailing the legislation focused almost exclusively on projects such as roads, bridges, and rail, along with broadband.

But a MeriTalk review of the legislation shows that the word digital appears 144 times, including a Federal requirement to adopt digital management systems on construction sites using state-of-the-art automated and connected machinery and optimized routing software.

The bill also requires the administration to report to Congress on using digital tools and platforms as climate solutions, including AI and blockchain technologies.

The move towards redefining infrastructure for the tech age echoes recent developments in Europe, where the European Union adopted tougher cybersecurity rules for network and information systems. The European Commission, which proposed the measures, defined them as critical infrastructure protection that would make Europe fit for the digital age.

In Washington, the FAST Act legislation was introduced in the Senate by Hagerty and several co-sponsors on Jan. 10 and passed the same day by unanimous consent. After a brief floor debate, it cleared the House in July by a vote of 303-89.

During the debate, Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., called the legislation a commonsense bill that will build on the progress we are already making today with the CHIPS and Science Act.

The bill here simply adds key national security-related technologies, like semiconductors, to the types of projects that are eligible for an existing Federal program that improves the coordination between Federal departments on permitting, Costa added.

That environmental review and permitting process, Hagerty has said, should be much speedier for the tech projects now covered by his bill, dramatically (reducing) the time required to stand up new manufacturing capacity in strategically critical sectors, such as semiconductor fabrication.

The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council oversees that expedited permitting process. When it added another industry to the eligible projects last year, it chose one decidedly more traditional than high tech: mining.

Mining is an important infrastructure sector, the body wrote.

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Are AI and Quantum Computing Infrastructure? The Feds Say Yes - MeriTalk

Moritz Schlick Postdoc, Quantum Computing for excited state chemistry and chemical dynamics job with UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA | 308872 – Times Higher…

Moritz Schlick Postdoc position in the field of Quantum Computing for excited state chemistry and chemical dynamics

The Moritz Schlick early-career programme (MSECP) at the University of Vienna supports early stage postdocs with high potential for an academic career. Participants in the programme receive outstanding financial support as well as training and mentoring to allow them to develop their full potential. Moritz Schlick early-career Postdoc Programm (univie.ac.at)

1. General Description (research group)

The Gonzlez research groups focus (https://theochem.univie.ac.at/) is driven by understanding chemical phenomena using contemporary computational and theoretical methods. In particular, we employ ab initio quantum chemistry to understand relationships between structure and function but we also develop chemical dynamics methods to model and predict chemical and photochemical process of complex systems and to control chemical reactions using light. Prof. Gonzlez's current research focus is put at using highly accurate electronic structure methods, developing molecular reaction dynamical methods and interfacing both fields to achieve basic understanding of chemical processes and structure-function relationships as well as obtain quantitative predictions in molecules, biological systems and materials.

2. Job Description for the Moritz Schlick position

A Postdoc position is available for an early stage researcher at the University of Vienna, Austria, in the field of quantum computing for excited state chemistry and chemical dynamics.

Quantum Chemistry is one of the leading applications for quantum computers. Simple model systems have already been made available on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computers. With the number of qubits growing larger, advanced algorithms of quantum chemistry can be applied to quantum computers.

Future quantum computers will be coupled to classical high-performance computer (HPC) systems and work as accelerators, where the algorithms showing unfavorable scaling on these classical systems will get offloaded onto the quantum devices. Coupling the quantum algorithms with computer codes executed on standard HPC systems is therefore extremely important.

Within this position, the candidate will explore and adapt currently available algorithms for quantum chemistry on quantum computers and combine the electronic structure calculations with our in-house ab initio molecular dynamics code SHARC. Potential applications on photophysical, photochemical or photobiological systems are possible. Exploratory simulations will be carried out on quantum simulators and NISQ type devices, with emphasis on in silico applications aimed at designing photoactive materials for energy conversion and storage.

The applicant will work within in quantum chemistry and chemical dynamics group at the Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, led by Prof. Leticia Gonzalez.

In this position, a one-time financial contribution of 75K will be made available.

3. Qualification profile (minimum)

4. Qualification profile (additional skills, necessary language, IT qualifications etc.)

5. Research Fields (keywords)

6. Mentor

The additional mentor for this position is Christoph Dellago.

7. Earliest Start Date: February, 2023.

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Moritz Schlick Postdoc, Quantum Computing for excited state chemistry and chemical dynamics job with UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA | 308872 - Times Higher...

IQM Quantum Computers and QphoX Partner to Develop Optical Interface for Scaling Superconducting Quantum Processors – Business Wire

DELFT, The Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dutch based quantum transduction startup QphoX and Finnish quantum computer manufacturer IQM Quantum Computers have announced a new collaboration to develop a next generation interface for scaling quantum computers.

IQM is the European leader in building quantum computers and provides on-premises quantum computers for supercomputing data centres and research labs and offers full access to its hardware. IQM delivers these machines as a full-stack system integrator with its own quantum processors using superconducting qubits.

QphoX specializes in photon wavelength conversion for quantum technologies and is working to create the worlds first quantum modem which will allow quantum processors to be networked together. This will unlock new applications like distributed quantum computing between remotely entangled quantum processors, solving one of the biggest scaling challenges facing the industry.

The companies will combine their respective expertise in quantum information processing to create a new, scalable interface for communicating with quantum processors via optical interconnects.

Todays quantum processors will need to substantially grow in size in order to tackle real-world applications. One of the main obstacles is that microwave quantum processors must operate in a demanding cryogenic environment while being controlled via microwave lines and cryogenic amplifiers that generate substantial heat, thus limiting the size of the processor. As manufacturers push towards larger chips it is critical to find scalable approaches that will ultimately allow for computers with hundreds of thousands of qubits.

By leveraging our unique microwave to optical conversion technology, signals can instead be routed through the cryostat via optical fibers. As a result, both the spatial and heat load constraints placed on the cryostat will be reduced, allowing larger processors to be built in a single cryostat. We are very excited about embarking on this new partnership. Over the past several months we have already been working with IQMs processors and have been very impressed with the quality and performance said Frederick Hijazi, COO and Co-Founder, QphoX.

The future large scale quantum computers require technologies for optical communication or cryogenic signal generation, or both. We found QphoXs expertise and technology plans as a promising alternative to communicate the control and readout signal of quantum computer to the qubit chip using optical fiber. This collaboration will become an enabler for systems beyond 1000 qubits through simplifying the cabling and new product innovation said Dr. Juha Vartiainen, COO and Co-founder, IQM Quantum Computers.

ENDS

About IQM Quantum Computers:

IQM is the pan-European leader in building quantum computers. IQM provides on-premises quantum computers for supercomputing data centres and research labs and offers full access to its hardware. For industrial customers, IQM delivers a quantum advantage through a unique application-specific, co-design approach. IQM is building Finlands first 54-qubit quantum computer with VTT, and an IQM-led consortium (Q-Exa) is also building a quantum computer in Germany. This computer will be integrated into an HPC supercomputer to create a quantum accelerator for future scientific research. IQM has over 190+ employees with offices in Paris, Madrid, Munich and Espoo.

About QphoX:

QphoX is developing the worlds first Quantum Modem, a breakthrough device that will allow the quantum computing industry to scale through connectivity and parallelization and unlock the potential of the Quantum Internet. QphoX also provides optical readout and control solutions for quantum processors to address intermediate scaling challenges within single cryostats. QphoX is based in Delft, the Netherlands.

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IQM Quantum Computers and QphoX Partner to Develop Optical Interface for Scaling Superconducting Quantum Processors - Business Wire

10 Breakthrough Technologies That Is Going To Change The Future – Postoast

2020 has been a hectic year with the coronavirus pandemic affecting our lives in an unprecedented manner. However, with scientists and researchers working tirelessly, it was a great year for technological advancements and achievements. The breakthrough technologies mentioned in the article will surely affect our lifestyle in the years to come.

These are gifts of technology that have been the highlight of the first year of this decade:

You may be aware of the fact that the internet we use today is extremely vulnerable to hacks and exploits by people with questionable intentions. For the past few years, data scientists and analysts have been working on creating the first quantum internet that would be completely secure from hackers.

The Delft University of Technology, one of the big organizations working on this project, has successfully developed this technology. In a presentation, Physicist Ronald Hanson at the Delft University of Technology along with his collaborators linked three devices in such a way that any two devices in the network ended up with mutually entangled quantum bits.

These quantum bits are used for transmitting information and communicating with other devices the use of entanglement makes it almost impossible for hackers to snoop around the user devices.

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In this digital age, the use of cash is continuously declining. Cash transactions need intermediaries and in each stage, there is a considerable markup. On the other hand, digital money, like Libra by Facebook exists only in its digital form, which can lead to a breach of financial privacy.

Digital money can be beneficial for instantaneous transactions and may also mean that parties would have to go through minimal or no intermediaries at all. Like cryptocurrencies using blockchain technology, which is decentralized, digital currency can potentially break the global financial system into small fragments.

Though many have dreamed of it, using a quantum computer to outperform classical computers cannot be implemented daily just yet. Google has developed a Sycamore quantum processor, which can be used to achieve quantum supremacy.

In a test, Sycamore could determine a set of randomly distributed numbers in three minutes and 20 seconds, which would have taken 10,000 years for a classical computer. Even though the results of the tests and calculations were impressive, we are still years away from using quantum computers to solve problems that classical computers cannot handle.

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Differential privacy can help organizations collect and share collected user data while keeping their identities private. The 2020 US Census, which is the largest-scale application would use differential privacy while distributing population data.

This technology aims to maximize data usage without disclosing the user identity. Differential privacy ensures the unavailability of raw data to database managers or data scientists and allows organizations to tackle privacy-related problems and build trust.

With the help of improved computing capabilities of newly developed processors, scientists can now make proper reports of how climate changes can affect severe weather events. Civilians and the military can now prepare in advance in case of natural disasters due to weather conditions.

Further, it also gives enough evidence to hold responsible authorities and the government responsible for not taking necessary steps when needed. Climate change can cause immeasurable loss of lives and properties, and proper climate change attributions would help the people take proper and necessary precautionary measures.

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With thousands of people worldwide having unique ailments and disorders, traditional medication cannot help them all. Have you ever wondered how this problem can be solved by producing medication for a particular case? This way, scientists and doctors can help cure rare genetic disorders and rare diseases.

The dream of achieving hyper-personalized medication is not too far and will bring hope and joy to several people all over the world. Medicines tailored to the exact needs of a single patient will treat and cure ailments that went untreated earlier. This was without a doubt, one of the best technological advancements in the field of medicine.

Aiming to provide high-speed internet services all over the world, satellite mega-constellations projects were a great success. It is the much-awaited solution to unreliable WiFi signals and fluctuating cellular networks. Satellite mega-constellations would enable global connectivity for almost everyone with a proper device.

However, the development and implementation of this technology bring a few major concerns. Space will be littered with several small satellite mega-constellations to bring unhindered connectivity to everyone.

Also, in the absence of a set of international rules and regulations and authority to enforce them, major industry leaders can end up exploiting its uses. This would lead to major problems and lead to unbridled chaos.

Long gone are the days when users would have to depend on heavy computer setups to use powerful AI algorithms. Nowadays, handheld devices like mobile phones and household appliances are capable of using AI programs without even interacting with the cloud.

With the development of tiny AI, developers and software enthusiasts can work to shrink the size of existing and new AI models without losing their efficiency and functionalities. Accessing AI models from our devices involve no latency due to the lack of interaction with the cloud and hence there are fewer privacy-related concerns.

Currently, big tech companies like Google, Apple, Amazon as well as IBM are leading the market with the application and implementation of tiny AI technology.

Since ancient times, adventurers, researchers, and philosophers have spent their lives finding the answer to their aging problems. The wait is almost over as doctors and scientists have developed drugs that can help slow down your aging.

These drugs can be very useful for patients suffering from diseases like cancer, dementia, and heart-related problems by slowing down the aging process. Though a lot of research has not been conducted yet, initial trials have proved these drugs to be safe for humans.

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Working with technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence, scientists and data scientists are using AI to discover molecules that can affect the healthcare industry greatly.

With the discovery of the antibiotic Halicin using Artificial Intelligence, medical science has gained a golden opportunity to develop exponentially. Though using AI for healthcare is not new, this was the first time AI has identified a completely new antibiotic variety without any human intervention or assumptions.

Though this may be a very expensive process due to the rarity of the molecules in question, AI can help bring down the cost of production to a great extent. It can evaluate and use molecules effectively and efficiently, which might not be possible for human scientists.

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10 Breakthrough Technologies That Is Going To Change The Future - Postoast

Resolving the ancient question of age vs experience – RedShark News

David Shapton on how an understanding of the modern world can often need an appreciation of the ancient one from all of, oh, a few decades ago.

While you're reading this, you might have a reasonable expectation that I've written about something I understand. Sorry to disappoint you, but this week, I'm writing an entire article about something I don't understand at all. But stay with me, because I'm hoping by the end of the article, you won't understand it either.

Am I alone in thinking that the last few years - no, scratch that; the last fewdecades- have whizzed past almost unnoticed? It's not that nothing has happened in that time span; it's just that it's gone past so quickly. I'm not aware of a gold standard to measure this against, and it's undoubtedly subjective, but by the time you get to my age, there's a sense of "What happened? Where did all those years go?".

In a way, this is new. With longer lifespans thanks to antibiotics, vaccines, better sewage, etc., you're statistically likely to live longer after retirement and in good health and mobility. That's a huge benefit for individuals but a societal problem as the median age shifts towards higher numbers. Eventually, we get old, and then we need, on average, more help from others than we can give (although that's a complex equation).

I'm increasingly aware that I have friends who have reached their late 50s and early 60s who can't get jobs anymore. Many have worked hard for their entire lives but haven't built up a solid retirement income for diverse reasons. So they want to keep working. And my question is: why shouldn't they? After all, they come pre-loaded with massive experience.

So I'm going to play devil's advocate here. What might be the objections?

Paradigm change could be one of them, perhaps the biggest. There are multiple versions of this argument, but one might be that we're in a state of constant change. Whatever experience an older person comes with, it will be out of date.

First, if paradigm changes come so frequently, then the same could be said to apply to anyone over thirty (an arbitrary figure, but humour me). What if you've spent the last ten years learning how to operate professional editing suites based on tape-to-tape and an edit controller? Of course, I'm not talking about the present day. But this was an actual situation when non-linear editing came along. A 30-year-old who'd never used a computer before isn't much different from a 55-year-old who's never used a computer before, except that the more mature person would have been through several paradigm changes previously.

Some would say that younger people are likely to have had a more relevant education. But I don't think that's an argument that has much force. Many, if not most, in our industry didn't study anything relevant to their current jobs. Most of us learn as we go along, and older people will have spent more time learning astheywent along.

There's a stereotype, perhaps even a prejudice, which says that older people don't understand new technology: that they're not so good at computers. To which I'd say, "look at the timeline". People much older than me not only understand computers, theyinventedthem, for heaven's sake. It's true that desktop PCs - mass-market computers affordable by ordinary people (as opposed to those who worked in universities etc.) didn't come along until around thirty years after the first viable computers. But that was 40 years ago! People retiring now are very likely to have routinely shovelled a pile of thirty-two floppy disks into their computer while installing Microsoft Office.

Don't sneer. If that sounds primitive, don't be tempted to suggest that any skills acquired back then aren't helpful now simply because we don't have to do that anymore. It's easy to forget that computing back then was incredibly difficult, especially if it was anything to do with audio or video. PCs weren't media savvy in those days. Even editing a stereo audio track was a monumental technical and logistical challenge - not to mention a financial one. You'd have to install extra hardware into your computer at a time when "plug and play" wasn't even a rumour. You'd need to know the vagaries of early versions of SCSI, when the cables were as thick as a hosepipe. And to format a disk, you'd have to understand hard disk architecture in a way that's long been abstracted out of reach.

If you could figure out how to do this stuff, you'd have no trouble with today's technology, which is typically easier to configure. But you would also bring decades of fault-finding and hands-on problem-solving experience to the table. It doesn't matter how advanced media tech has become; a bad cable is still a bad cable. Dropped samples or frames are still likely to be a clock issue. Even the most advanced network architectures aren't too hard to grasp, especially since anyone approaching conventional retirement is expected to have spent the last two decades at least helping other people fix their computer and network problems.

You can't just "become experienced" overnight. Older professionals have lived through so many changes (Valves/Tubes to transistors, transistors to Integrated Circuits (ICs), ICs to microprocessors and so on). Today, we're on the threshold of an AI-dominated creative workflow and, after that, quantum computing - and there's no reason why a younger person would find quantum computing more intuitive than an older person. They're all challenges; they're all disruptive. But it's easier to cope with this kind of change if you've been through changes of a similar magnitude before.

Experience is not just about knowing how to plug this into that. It's about taking a perspective on the current issues, being able to take a more expansive view of a company, and it's about the confidence to deal with whatever your professional life throws at you.

I'm not sure quite how it happened, but I spend some of my time giving advice and writing about the metaverse. I find that I sometimes literally know more about it than people working in the field (because I'm a generalist and not a specialist). But I wonder if it's because, for 40 years, I've been watching the antecedent technologies growing in capability and relevance. Without that historical perspective, and with a subject as significant, all-embracing and potentially disruptive as the metaverse, it's harder to understand the implications - and the practical measures needed to make it work - if you're entirely new to all of this.

I'm lucky, and happy with my work life. But so much talent is being washed down the drain because of an arbitrary perception of usefulness versus age.

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Resolving the ancient question of age vs experience - RedShark News

The U.S., China, and Europe are ramping up a quantum computing arms race. Heres what theyll need to do to win – Fortune

Every country is vying to get a head start in the race to the worlds quantum future. A year ago, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia teamed up todevelopmilitary applications of digital technologies, especially quantum computing technologies. That followed the passage in 2019 of the National Quantum Initiative Act by the U.S. Congress, which laid out the countrys plans to rapidly create quantum computing capabilities.

Earlier, Europe launched a $1 billion quantum computing research project, Quantum Flagship, in 2016, and its member states have started building a quantum communications infrastructure that will be operational by 2027. In like vein, Chinas 14th Five Year Plan (2021-2025) prioritizes the development of quantum computing and communications by 2030. In all, between 2019 and 2021 China invested as much as $11 billion, Europe had spent $5 billion, the U.S. $3 billion, and the U.K. around $1.8 billion between to become tomorrows quantum superpowers.

As the scientific development of quantum technologies gathers momentum, creating quantum computers has turned into apriority for nations that wish to gain the next competitive advantage in the Digital Age. Theyre seeking this edge for two very different reasons. On the one hand,quantum technologies will likely transform almost every industry, from automotive and aerospace to finance and pharmaceuticals. These systems could create fresh value of between $450 billion and $850 billion over the next 15 to 30 years, according to recentBCG estimates.

On the other hand, quantum computing systems will pose a significant threat to cybersecurity the world over, as we argued in an earliercolumn.Hackers will be able to use them to decipher the public keys generated by the RSA cryptosystem, and to break through the security of any conventionally-encrypted device, system, or network. It will pose a potent cyber-threat, popularly called Y2Q (Years to Quantum), toindividuals and institutions as well as corporations and country governments. The latter have no choice but to tacklethe unprecedented challenge by developing countermeasures such as post-quantum cryptography, which will itself require the use of quantum systems.

Countries have learned the hard way since the Industrial Revolution that general-purpose technologies, such as quantum computing, are critical for competitiveness. Consider, for instance, semiconductor manufacturing, which the U.S., China, South Korea, and Taiwan have dominated in recent times. When the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors led to a sudden fall in production over the last two years, it resulted in production stoppages andprice increases in over 150 industries, including automobiles, computers, and telecommunications hardware. Many countries, among the members of theEuropean Union, Brazil, India, Turkey, and even the U.S., were hit hard, and are now trying to rebuild their semiconductorsupply chains. Similarly,China manufacturesmost of the worlds electric batteries, with the U.S. contributingonly about 7% of global output. Thats why the U.S. has recently announcedfinancial incentivesto induce business to create more electric battery-manufacturing capacity at home.

Much worse could be in store if countries and companies dont focus on increasing their quantum sovereignty right away. Because the development and deploymentof such systems requires the efforts of the public and private sectors, its important for governments to compare their efforts on both fronts with those of other countries.

The U.S. is expected to be the global frontrunnerin quantum computing, relying on its tech giants, such as IBM and Google, to invent quantum systems as well as numerous start-ups that are developing software applications. The latter attract almost 50% of the investments in quantum computing by venture capital and private equity funds, according toBCG estimates. Although the U.S. government has allocated only $1.1 billion, it has created mechanisms that effectively coordinate the efforts of all its agencies such as the NIST, DARPA, NASA, and NQI.

Breathing down the U.S.s neck: China, whose government has spent more on developing quantum systems than any other. . Those investments have boosted academic research, with China producing over 10% of the worlds research in 2021, according toour estimatessecond only to the U.S. The spillover effects are evident: Less than a year after Googles quantum machine had solved in minutes a calculation that would have taken supercomputers thousands of years to unravel, the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) had cracked a problem three times tougher. As of September 2021, China hadnt spawned as many startups as the U.S., but it was relying on its digital giants such as Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent to develop quantum applications.

Trailing only the U.S. and China, the European Unionsquantum computing efforts are driven by its member states as well as the union. The EUsQuantum Flagshipprogram coordinates research projects across the continent, but those efforts arent entirely aligned yet. Several important efforts, such as those ofFranceandGermany,run the risk of duplication or dont exploit synergies adequately. While the EU has spawned several startups that are working on different levels of the technology stacksuch as FinlandsIQM and FrancesPasqalmany seem unlikely to scale because of the shortage of late-stage funding. In fact, the EUs startups have attracted only about one-seventh as much funding as their American peers,according toBCG estimates.

Finally, the U.K. was one of the firstcountries in the world to launch a government-funded quantum computing program. Its counting on itseducational policiesand universities;scholarships for postgraduate degrees; and centers for doctoral training to get ahead. Like the EU, the U.K. also has spawned promising start-ups such asOrca,which announced the worlds smallest quantum computer last year. However, British start-ups may not be able to find sufficient capital to scale, and many are likely to be acquired by the U.S.s digital giants.

Other countries, such as Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, and Russia are also in the quantum computing race, and could carve out roles for themselves. For instance, Canada is home to several promising startups, such asD-Wave, a leader in annealing computers; whileJapanis using public funds to develop a homegrown quantum computer by March 2023. (For an analysis of the comparative standings and challenges that countries face in quantum computing, please see the recentBCG report.)

Meanwhile, the locus of the quantum computing industry is shifting to the challenges of developing applications and adopting the technology. This shift offers countries, especially the follower nations, an opportunity to catch up with the leaders before its too late. Governments must use four levers in concert to accelerate their quantum sovereignty:

* Lay the foundations.Governments have to invest more than they currently do if they wish to develop quantum systems over time, even as they strike partnerships to bring home the technology in the short run. Once they have secured the hardware, states must create shared infrastructure to scale the industry. The Netherlands, for instance, has set upQuantum Inspire, a platform that provides users with the hardware to perform quantum computations.

* Coordinate the stakeholders.Governments should use funding and influence to coordinate the work of public and private players, as theU.S. Quantum Coordination Office, for instance,does. In addition, policymakers must connect stakeholders to support the technologys development. Thats how the U.S. Department of Energy, for instance, came to partner with the University of Chicago; together, theyve set up anacceleratorto connect startups with investors and scientific experts.

* Facilitate the transition. Governments must support businesss transition to the quantum economy. They should offer monetary incentivessuch as tax credits, infrastructure assistance, no- or low-interest financing, and free landso incumbents will shift to quantum technologies quickly. TheU.K., for instance, hasrecently expanded its R&D tax relief scheme to cover investments in quantum technologies.

* Develop the business talent.Instead of developing only academics and scientists, government policies will have to catalyze the creation of a new breed of entrepreneurial and executive talent that can fill key roles in quantum businesses. To speed up the process, Switzerland, for instance, has helped create amasters programrather than offering only doctoral programs on the subject.

Not all general-purpose technologies affect a countrys security and sovereignty as quantum computing does, but theyre all critical for competitiveness. While many countries talk about developing quantum capabilities, their efforts havent translated into major advances, as in the U.S. and China. Its time every government remembered that if it loses the quantum computing race, its technological independence will erodeand, unlike with Schrdingers cat, theres no doubt that its global competitiveness will atrophy.

ReadotherFortunecolumns by Franois Candelon.

Franois Candelonisa managing director and senior partner at BCG and global director of the BCG Henderson Institute.

Maxime Courtauxis a project leader at BCG and ambassador at the BCG Henderson Institute.

Gabriel Nahasis a data senior scientist at BCG Gamma and ambassador at the BCG Henderson Institute.

Jean-Franois Bobier is a partner & director at BCG.

Some companies featured in this column are past or current clients of BCG.

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The U.S., China, and Europe are ramping up a quantum computing arms race. Heres what theyll need to do to win - Fortune

How reality gets in the way of quantum computing hype – VentureBeat

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Baidu is the latest entrant in the quantum computing race, which has been ongoing for years among both big tech and startups. Nevertheless, quantum computing may face a trough of disillusionment as practical applications remain far from reality.

Last week, Baidu unveiled its first quantum computer, coined Qian Shi, as well as what it claimed is the worlds first all-platform integration solution, called Liang Xi. The quantum computer is based on superconducting qubits, which is one of the first types of qubits, among many techniques that have been investigated, that became widely adopted, most notably in the quantum computer which Google used to proclaim quantum supremacy.

Qian Shi has a computing power of 10 high-fidelity qubits. High fidelity refers to low error rates. According to the Department of Energys Office of Science, once the error rate is less than a certain threshold i.e., about 1% quantum error correction can, in theory, reduce it even further. Beating this threshold is a milestone for any qubit technology, according to the DOEs report.

Further, Baidu said it has also completed the design of a 36-qubit chip with couplers, which offers a way to reduce errors. Baidu said its quantum computer integrates both hardware, software and applications. The software-hardware integration allows access to quantum chips via mobile, PC and the cloud.

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Moreover, Liang Xi, Baidu claims, can be plugged into both its own and third-party quantum computers. This may include quantum chips built on other technologies, with Baidu giving a trapped ion device developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences as an example.

With Qian Shi and Liang Xi, users can create quantum algorithms and use quantum computing power without developing their own quantum hardware, control systems or programming languages, said Runyao Duan, director of the Institute for Quantum Computing at Baidu Research. Baidus innovations make it possible to access quantum computing anytime and anywhere, even via smartphone. Baidus platform is also instantly compatible with a wide range of quantum chips.

Despite Baidus claim of being the worlds first such solution, the Liang Xi platform is reminiscent of Israels Innovation Authority approach, which is also aimed at being compatible with various types of qubits.

Although this is Baidus first quantum computer, the company has already submitted over 200 patents throughout the last four years since the founding of its quantum computing research institute. The patents span various areas of research including quantum algorithms and applications, communications and networks, encryption and security, error correction, architecture, measurement and control and chip design.

Baidu claims its offering paves the way for the industrialization of quantum computing, making it the latest company to make grandiose claims about quantum computing being on the verge of widespread adoption. Some quantum startups have already amassed staggering valuations of over $1 billion.

However, real applications for quantum computers, besides encryption, have yet to emerge. And even if they do, its expected that those will require thousands, which is far from what has anyone yet been able to achieve. For example, this scalability concern led Intel to stop pursuing the popular superconducting qubit approach in favor of the less mature silicon and silicon-germanium qubits, which are based on transistor-like structures that can be manufactured using traditional semiconductor equipment.

Nevertheless, voices are already emerging to warn of overhyping the technology. In the words of the Gartner Hype Cycle, this may mean that quantum computing may approach its trough of disillusionment.

The other main challenge in quantum computing is that real qubits tend to be too noisy, leading to decoherence This leads to the necessity of using quantum error correction, which increases the number of qubits far above the theoretical minimum for a given application. A solution called noisy intermediate scale quantum (NISQ) has been proposed as a sort of midway, but its success has yet to be shown.

The history of classical computers is filled with examples of applications that the technology enabled that had never been thought of beforehand. This makes it tempting to think that quantum computing may similarly revolutionize civilization. However, most approaches for qubits currently rely on near-absolute zero temperature. This inherent barrier implies quantum computing may remain limited to enterprises.

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How reality gets in the way of quantum computing hype - VentureBeat

Quantum Computing Market to Expand by 500% by 2028 | 86% of Investments in Quantum Computing Comes from 4 countries – GlobeNewswire

Westford, USA, Aug. 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quantum computers touted as next big thing in computing. Major reliance on quantum computers could mean we're soon entering a new era of artificial intelligence, ubiquitous sensors, and more efficient drug discovery. While quantum computers are still in the earliest stages of development, growing interest in their capabilities means that they are likely to become a central part of future computing systems. This has created a growing demand for quantum computing market and software, with providers already reporting strong demand from major customers.

The promise of quantum computing is that it can solve complex problems much faster than traditional computers. This is because quantum computers are able to exploit the properties of subatomic particles such as photons, which are able to ferry information around extremely fast. So far, quantum computing market has been witnessing a demand coming mainly for scientific and research purposes.

However, this is set to change soon as there is growing demand for quantum computers market for various applications such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and data analytics. Artificial intelligence (AI) is one application that could benefit greatly from the speed and accuracy of quantum computing. AI relies on algorithms that are trained on large data sets and are able to learn and improve upon their skills with repeated use. However, classical computer databases can take hours or even days to train an AI algorithm.

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Only 4 Countries are Responsible for 86% of Total Funding Since 2001

Quantum computing market is heating up. Companies like Google and IBM are racing to develop the technology, which could one day lead to massive improvements in artificial intelligence and other areas of cybersecurity. As per SkyQuests analysis, $1.9 billion public funding was announced in the second half of the year 2021, which, in turn, took the total global funding to $31 billion from year 2001. It was also observed that most of the private and public funding is coming from the US only, which account for around 49% of the private fundings, which is followed by UK (17%), Canada (14%), and China (6%).

In 2021, the global quantum computing market witnessed an investment of around $3 billion, out of which $1.9 billion came in the second of the year. All this investment is coming from both private and public domain to feast on the upcoming opportunity of generating around $41 billion revenue by the year 2040 at a CAGR of more than 30%. The market is projected to experience a significant surge in the demand for quantum sensing and Quantum communication in the years to come. As a result, investors have started pouring money to take advantage of rapidly expanding field. For instance, in 2021 alone, $1.1 billion out of $3 billion were invested in these two technologies. To be precise, $400 million and $700 million respectively.

SkyQuest has done deep study on public and private investment coming into global quantum computing market. This will help the market participants in understanding who are the major investors, what is their area of interest, what makes them to invest in the technology, investors profile analysis, investment pockets, among others.

IonQ, Rigetti, and D-Wave are Emerging Players in Global Quantum Computing Market

As quantum computing market becomes more mainstream, companies like IonQ, Rigetti and D-Wave are quickly proving they are the top emerging players in the field. IonQ is has been working on developing ionic quantum computer technology for several years now. IonQs flagship product is the IonQ One, which is a single-core quantum computer that can process quantum information.

The IonQ One has already been deployed at a number of institutions around the global quantum computing market including NASA.

Rigetti is another company that has been making significant strides in the development of quantum computing technology. Rigettis flagship product is the Rigetti Quilter, which is a scalable two-qubit quantum computer. The Rigetti Quilter is currently undergoing Phase II testing at NASAs Ames Research Center. D-Wave has also been making significant progress in the development of quantum computing technology. D-Waves flagship product is the D-Wave Two, which is a five-qubit quantum computer. The D-Wave Two was recently deployed at Google physicists to help accelerate the discovery of new phenomena in physics.

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Regetti has secured a total funding of around $298 million through 11 rounds until 2022 in the global quantum computing market. As per our analysis, the company has secured its last funding through post IPO equity. Wherein, Bessemer Venture Partners and Franklin Templeton Investments are the major investor in the company.

As per SkyQuests findings, these three organizations have collectively generated revenue of around $32 million in 2021 with market cap of more than $3 billion. However, at the same time, they are facing heavy loss. For instance, in 2021, they faced collective loss of over $150 million. Our observation also noticed that billions of dollars are poured into building the quantum computers, but most of the market players are not earning much in revenue in terms of ROI.

SkyQuest has published a report on global quantum computing market and have tracked all the current developments, market revenue, companys growth plans and strategies, their ROI, SWOT analysis, and value chain analysis. Apart from this, the provides insights about market dynamics, competitive landscape, market share analysis, opportunities, trends, among others.

Machine Learning Generated Revenue of Over $189 Million in 2021

Today, machine learning is heavily used for training artificial intelligence systems using data. Quantum computing market can help to speed up the process of training these systems by vastly increasing the amount of data that can be processed. This potential advantage of quantum computing is the ability to perform Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) calculations millions of times faster than classical computers. This is important for tasks like image processing and machine learning, which rely on fast FFT algorithms for comparing data sets.

A huge potential of quantum computing market has led to the development of several machine learning applications that use quantum computers. Some of these applications include fraud detection, drug discovery, and speech recognition. As per SkyQuest, fraud detection and drug discovery market were valued at around $25.1 billion and $75 billion, respectively. This represents a huge revenue opportunity for quantum computing market.

This technology has been used for a variety of purposes, including predicting the stock market and automating tasks such as decision making and recommendations. In machine learning, generating revenue is a major challenge through traditional processing. Wherein, traditional computer processing can only handle a small amount of data at a time. This limits how much data can be used in machine learning projects, which in turn limits the accuracy of the predictions made by the ANNs.

Quantum computing solves this problem by allowing computers to perform multiple calculations at the same time. This makes it possible to process vast amounts of data and make accurate predictions. As a result, quantum computing has already begun to revolutionize machine learning market.

SkyQuest has prepared a report on global quantum computing market. The report has segmented the market by application and done in-depth analysis of each application in revenue generation, market forecast, factors responsible for growth, and top players by applications, among others. The report would help to understand the potential of global market by application and understand how other players performing and generating revenue in each segment.

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Top Development in Global Quantum Computing Market

Top Players in Global Quantum Computing Market

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Quantum Computing Market to Expand by 500% by 2028 | 86% of Investments in Quantum Computing Comes from 4 countries - GlobeNewswire