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Few would argue that 2023 has been the year of AI. But it's not the only deep tech worth your attention.

The ecosystem in quantum technology is rapidly evolving thanks to government investment and infrastructure, academic partnerships, university spinouts, and industry traction.

The race is on to scale quantum tech from conceptual to a solver of broader societal and economic impact.

Currently, the UK is the world's third largest quantum developing country, after the USA and China, attracting more startups and capital investment than any other European state.

But one investment company has its sights on a far smaller country with the potential to become a world leader in quantum technology Denmark.

Quantum Exponential is the UK's first venture capital firm specialising in quantum technology, and recently opened its first European office in Copenhagen.

And according to Stuart Woods, CSO of Quantum Exponential, Denmark is the place to watch for the next explosion of quantum innovation and it goes way beyond the supercomputers that captivate many journalists.

I spoke to Woods to learn more about why the company has its sights set on Denmark and about what this all means regarding the commercialisation of quantum computing and Europe's wider quantum strategy in Europe.

But first let's take a look at what's interesting about Denmark.

To date, 17 countries have invested in national quantum technology research and development programs, with an estimated spending of over $30 billion.

Denmark announced the second part of its National Quantum Strategy last month, focusing on the commercialisation, security and international collaboration in the field of quantum technology.

Besides this framework on paper, the country has the necessary, and proven, trinity that interconnected relationship between academia, government, and enterprise/industry with real commercial use cases that turn the technology into something tangible.

According to Woods:

"The quantum field in Denmark is experiencing momentum, and we are excited to be at its epicentre.

Recent global dynamics and our deepened understanding of quantum technology make Copenhagen an ideal location for nurturing the next generation of quantum technology."

The government has allocated 161 million from 2024-2027 to strengthen Denmark's quantum ecosystem. It doesn't look all that impressive compared to the investments of the UK government, especially considering some of the big raises in the commercial that we've seen recently. Still, it's pretty good for a three-year project in a far smaller country.

Last year, the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen also became the home of a new NATO Center for Quantum Technologies. The Center offers an accelerator site and incubator where companies can mature their technology and bring it to market, as well as test centres for developing components in quantum sensors, quantum encryption devices and quantum computers.

The new centre is also part of NATO's Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), developing dual-use (civilian and defence) deep tech, which helps solve challenging defence and security problems.

Further, 2022 saw research from the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen receive a grant of $200 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation to build a full-scale generally applicable quantum computer before the end of 2034. The project will run for 12 years in collaboration with research groups from leading universities and industries, including from the United States, the Netherlands, Canada and Denmark.

Part of the project includes a fabrication unit, "The Quantum Foundry P/S" to develop, engineer and build the parts needed for one of the world's first fully functional, fault-tolerant and generally applicable quantum computers a huge boost for innovation in hardware engineering.

Additionally, Denmark is home to strong multidisciplinary sectors such as photonics, material science, nanotechnology, and computer science, which complement quantum research.

Quantum Exponential is one of two 100 percent quantum investment funds in the world the other is Quantonation in France.

Since its launch in 2021, it has invested in seven quantum companies.

According to Woods, broadly, a third of investments has been in quantum computing, a third in quantum sensing, and the final third in network and encryption:

"While the media focuses on large quantum computers, we believe very strongly that quantum sensing will be much larger than quantum computing over the next two to three years, to the point where the word quantum will be dropped and it will become known simply as sensing."

Quantum sensing leverages quantum states for precision measurement.

Applications include timing, , navigation, subsurface mapping, and below-cell-level medical imaging, enabling less invasive diagnostics.

These individual quantum states have further enhanced sensitivity, which with the right infrastructure, can be leveraged for new medical understanding , advanced clock systems for mega data centres, and positioning technologies (e.g., for autonomous drones) to the detection of valuable raw materials deposits.

I was curious about Quantum Exponential's investment thesis. Woods explained:

"We focus on businesses a lot of what we see might well be a product line that might not be a business.

So we try to focus on the innovative elements of the investment side and think about how this particular element or technology will be a company and not just a product line of something bigger."

He cites examples in the company's current portfolio such as Oxford Quantum Circuits and Universal Quantum.

Woods expects in the next year to see more quantum spin outs, as well as relocations and consolidations.

Over the last few years in Europe, there have been only a few.

Quantinuum acquired Cambridge Quantum Computing (UK) for an undisclosed amount in 2021.

January 2022 saw a merger between Pasqal, a developer of neutral atom-based quantum technology, and Qu&Co, a quantum algorithm and software developer.

Then, Danish company QDevil was acquired by Israeli company Quantum Machines in March 2022 for an undisclosed amount.

"So I think we'll have more spinouts, but also have more positive and constructive consolidations." "

He describes the quantum ecosystem as "patient" capital, but notes,

"However, at the same time, we are seeing other business models that are developing quite quickly.

We're seeing quantum computers now moving into data centres being put alongside cloud computing servers, simply because there is now a need and a business model, independent of the qubit count, actually to run and have access to that as a service.

We're looking at a cliff face. And we don't know how fast it's changing, but I think in the next year, we'll be surprised at just how fast things have changed and how far the industry has moved."

Sparrow Quantum is focused on advancing light-matter interfaces for quantum technologies. The company is widely recognised as a leader in single-photon sources, demonstrating the world's highest light-matter coupling efficiency.

In May this year, the company raised 4.1 million to expand its team and increase its products and services.

Hafnium Labs supports chemicals, energy, and pharma companies by addressing a significant challenge in chemistry: swiftly obtaining dependable physical properties.

The company has developed a system for combining state-of-the-art predictive methods, such as quantum chemistry and AI, with experimental physical property data.

Called Q-propsit selects and qualifies all available data and applies quantum chemistry and molecular simulation fully automated, intelligent and transparently.

Use cases include drug discovery, process design, and troubleshooting production issues faster and creating truly predictive digital twins.

Molecular Quantum Solutions develops computational tools to accelerate research & development efforts by the pharma, biotech and chemical industry. Its tools use super- and quantum-computers with computational models and algorithms to calculate the properties of materials and chemicals quickly and efficiently.

Users can, for example, screen for new materials for batteries, green solvents, new drugs and biodegradable plastics instead of conducting costly experiments in the laboratory.

The company raised 600,000 in Pre-Seed funding in July this year.

NKT Photonics supplies high-performance fibre lasers and photonic crystal fibres such as supercontinuum white light lasers, low-noise fibre lasers, ultrafast lasers, and a wide range of speciality fibres.

They are used in quantum and nanotech, medical and life sciences, industrial applications, and aerospace and defence. In quantum tech, the hardware is used in quantum computing, sensing, and metrology.

Kvantify is a quantum and high-performance computing technology firm selling SaaS solutions based on cloud-native, quantum and high-performance computing, enabling businesses to access computer power without significant in-house investments. It helps clients find alternatives for all sorts of challenges in life sciences, financial services, logistics, and other functional areas.

For example, it has built solutions in pharmaceuticals and life sciences with built-in scaling capabilities and an HPC backend fully prepared to leverage quantum computing once the technology matures.

Since its founding in 2022, it has raised 2.5 million in funding and recently expanded its reach to the UK, where the team will work on using physical simulations and machine learning in drug discovery.

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Why Denmark is at the forefront of the quantum tech revolution - Tech.eu

BERKELEY, Calif., Oct. 31, 2023 Rigetti Computing, Inc., a pioneer in full-stack quantum-classical computing, today announced that it has appointed Thomas J. Iannotti as Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Iannotti succeeds Cathy McCarthy in the role of Chair, with Ms. McCarthy continuing to serve as a member of the Board of Directors.

Mr. Iannotti currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Applied Materials, Inc., a role which he has held since 2017.

Mr. Iannotti joins Rigetti with extensive leadership experience in the technology and computing industries, most recently serving as Senior Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Services, for Hewlett-Packard Company, a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. Prior to that role, Mr. Iannotti held various executive positions at Hewlett-Packard, including Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Enterprise Business Group, Americas. He also worked at Digital Equipment Corporation, a vendor of computer systems and software, and at Compaq Computer Corporation, a supplier of personal computing systems, following its acquisition of Digital Equipment Corporation.

We are privileged to have Toms impressive technology sector and governance experience at Rigetti. We believe his vast background at some of the leading global computer companies will be an asset to Rigetti, and we look forward to his contributions to the Company and our board, says Dr. Subodh Kulkarni, Rigetti CEO.

Quantum computing has great promise to help tackle the worlds most challenging problems. I am thrilled to join Rigettis Board of Directors as Chairman, and to support the Company as it continues to advance superconducting quantum computing. From the Companys preeminent fabrication capabilities to its in-house quantum software and algorithm expertise, Rigetti is at the forefront of the field and I am excited to see the team achieve success and drive the technology forward, says Mr. Iannotti.

Id like to thank Cathy for her valuable contributions to our board during her time as chairperson. We are fortunate to benefit from Cathys executive leadership experience, and look forward to continuing to work alongside her as we pursue our mission of building the worlds most powerful computers to help solve humanitys most important and pressing problems, says Dr. Kulkarni.

About Rigetti

Rigetti is a pioneer in full-stack quantum computing. The Company has operated quantum computers over the cloud since 2017 and serves global enterprise, government, and research clients through its Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform. The Companys proprietary quantum-classical infrastructure provides high performance integration with public and private clouds for practical quantum computing. Rigetti has developed the industrys first multi-chip quantum processor for scalable quantum computing systems. The Company designs and manufactures its chips in-house at Fab-1, the industrys first dedicated and integrated quantum device manufacturing facility.

Source: Rigetti

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Rigetti Computing Appoints Thomas J. Iannotti as Chairman of the ... - HPCwire

Quantum Computing is arguably the biggest revolution in computing since the 1950s, according to Luke Ibbetson, Head of Research & Development at Vodafone. Thats why Vodafone and IBM have joined forces to explore this technology and the possibilities it brings.

While todays computers can collect, store and analyse data effectively, the promise of quantum computing takes processing power to the next level.

However, we wont see quantum computers necessarily replace traditional computers.

Its a way of computing that will complement classical computers to be able to solve problems that we cant solve today, explains Lory Thorpe, IBM Quantum.

Watch as Luke and Lory tell us more.

Starting our partnership with IBM last year, were working together to assess a diverse set of Vodafone use cases which may allow us to gain a quantum advantage and result in a better and more secure experience for our customers.

We see two main areas at the moment, says Luke. One around machine learning, one around optimisation.

In optimisation, quantum computers could help us solve very complex challenges which are difficult to solve by traditional means. For example, helping us decide where best to place our antennas and base stations or where to deploy broadband fibre cables to maximise the customer experience, drive better coverage and reduce costs.

In machine learning, quantum computers could help us to detect patterns in data, which we otherwise cannot observe; from anomaly detection in our networks, through to predictive allocation of computing resources which improves energy efficiency. We also use machine learning for fraud detection, helping keep customers and their data safe.

These are just initial areas we see benefitting from this technology. Another key field is in security.

While Quantum Computing holds immense potential for good, as they become more powerful, they could break industry standard encryptions and digital signature algorithms.

Cryptography is used everywhere. For the telecoms industry, it provides the building blocks that are used to secure networks, devices, and systems. Thats why were already working with IBM to build Quantum-Safe Cryptography that will protect traditional data and systems from future quantum computers.

Stay tuned for our next discussion with Luke and Lory when we will talk about the Quantum-Safe solutions were developing.

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Quantum computers can help us give the best experience to our ... - Vodafone

BUFFALO, N.Y. In the field of materials science, disorder gets a bad rap.

Disorder imperfections in a materials structure is typically something to be avoided, especially when synthesizing quantum materials whose exotic properties offer great potential for superconductors and ultrafast computers.

Yet every material has some amount of disorder, and, for some, disorder may explain why they exhibit their exciting properties in the first place.

University at Buffalo condensed matter physicist Herbert Fotso, PhD, is the principal investigator on a recent $225,967 grant from the Department of Energy to study quantum materials and how disorder affects their behavior.

We hope to fill a vacuum of information that can enable breakthroughs in materials science and even guide the synthesis of new materials, says Fotso, associate professor in the UB Department of Physics, within the College of Arts and Sciences.

In this collaborative project with Hanna Terletska, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Middle Tennessee State University, Fotso will create computational models to better understand the role of disorder in quantum materials that also have strong interactions between their electrons when driven away from equilibrium.

Very often, studies of quantum materials have considered strong interaction between electrons and disorder separately, Fotso says. We're proposing methods to study the interplay of interaction and disorder, evaluating what happens when both of these are important in a given material.

For example, metal-to-insulator transitions can be driven by both disorder and interaction. Some materials that should conduct electricity instead act as insulators due to some level of disorder. In other cases, a material may act as an insulator because the interactions between its electrons are so strong that they cannot move freely.

So what happens when these two elements are present in the same material? This interplay gives rise to a number of rather interesting and sometimes surprising behaviors, Fotso says.

Typically, scientists analyze a materials properties by increasing its charge concentration. However, this process often also creates some disorder in the material. In some cases, disorder may ultimately be more responsible for the observed properties than the increased charge concentration.

Fotso says precise, well-behaved materials are the foundation of materials science and the development of materials for quantum computing in particular, so scientists need an accurate understanding of why materials behave the way they do.

When you're running experiments, you want to be able to anticipate your results. Those expectations are guided by theory, and that theory must factor in the key parameters of the system, he says. If you don't have all of the key parameters, you will miss out on what exactly is happening in that material.

Fotso and Terletskas computational models will be released as open-source tools, allowing other research groups to take advantage and enable studies of quantum materials that were previously inaccessible.

Ideally, as a community, we do not want research groups across the world to be duplicating efforts because time is valuable, says Fotso, who joined UB in 2022. Increasingly, many of the problems that are relevant to future technologies will involve many different subfields of not only science, but even subfields within physics and within condensed matter physics.

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Imperfections may affect quantum materials' unusual behavior more ... - University at Buffalo

LEESBURG, Va., Sept. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantum Computing Inc. ("QCi" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: QUBT), an innovative, quantum optics and nanophotonics technology company, today announced the signing of a strategic sales and teaming agreement with AI-empowered cybersecurity assessment, continuous detection, and mitigation company, Assured Cyber Protection Ltd ("Recyber").

The key objective of the strategic sales and teaming agreement between QCi and Recyber is to coordinate efforts to market and deliver both companies' proprietary cyber security technologies and products. This initiative is a key step in the product roadmap to achieve a Zero-Trust (as defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology) network environment using quantum authentication and Post Quantum Cryptography solutions. The companies believe that these solutions will have a near immediate global impact on the state-of-play in cyber security.

The companies believe that the novel and innovative technologies they each offer are complementary and provide opportunities to deliver cutting-edge solutions in a growth area, ahead of the curve. To launch the relationship, the companies have initially identified 13 sales opportunities with large, well-known international organizations within the healthcare, education, government, and banking sectors, and have advanced cross-sector discussions with several longstanding relationships. The terms of the teaming agreement require that the party initiating a client engagement receives 10% of the gross revenue generated on the engagement, over the term of the teaming agreement, with the remaining revenue to be divided up based on the tasks and technology solutions implemented. The length of the agreement is for one year with automatic renewable terms of one-year periods.

Recyber, based in London and Geneva, is a privately held cybersecurity company that combines automation, artificial intelligence, and advanced technology to reduce a business' cybersecurity risk by analyzing and modifying organizational and human behavior patterns and processes. Its endpoint, agent-based software platform accurately monitors, evaluates, detects, and mitigates cyber risk, resulting in a scalable and easy-to-use solution.

The Recyber proprietary offerings include a snapshot of an organization's cyber vulnerabilities through a taxonomic software, called Republic, that assesses employee cyber behaviors and enhances employee cybersecurity knowledge. The software platform also includes a monitoring service calledReview that provides a continuous cyber risk scoring and diagnostic monitoring service and measures organizational security culture. Together, these services combine automated scanning with human-led penetration testing to prioritize the most critical vulnerabilities and offer immediate remediation guidance. Established in 2018,Recyber has successfully protected over 100 companies and has estimated preventing damages exceeding $100 million. Recyber, through its partnership with QCi, will become one of the first companies in Europe to offer quantum authentication and encryption solutions as part of its portfolio of cybersecurity technology offerings.

QCi's patented core technology is based on non-linear quantum optics and nanophotonic technologies used to condition, manipulate and measure single photons in the optical region to leverage the inherent stochastic behavior of quantum systems in cyber security applications. The technology is designed to work directly with existing telecom lasers and fiber-based communication systems to minimize the redesign of existing network architectures. The underlying methodology utilizes high efficiency photon entanglement sources and strict quantum mechanical measurement protocols in a layered architecture to create both secure transport layers (quantum networks) and endpoints (quantum authentication) whichQCi believes will contribute greatly to holistic cybersecurity protection, beyond encryption.

Traditional security models typically operate under the assumption that anything inside the network is trustworthy and, as a result, strict authentication is often overlooked. QCi has developed and created a unique "Zero-Knowledge Proof Quantum Communication Protocol" that addresses this authentication vulnerability security gap. When coupled with an additional quantum encryption layer, the network can operate in a "zero trust" environment that assumes no inherent trust in any user, device, or system, regardless of whether they are inside or outside of the organization's network perimeter. This allows verification of transactions/communications without disclosing sensitive information, providing privacy and security in interactions, and enabling trustless decentralized systems, essentially creating a "zero trust" environment.

Commenting on the strategic sales and teaming agreement, Robert Liscouski, QCi's CEO stated, "The business community is recognizing that the cybersecurity threat is increasingly complex and building rapidly. The time to prepare and defend against these threats is now. QCi's technology and product offerings in this area make a strong case for partnership with leading cyber security companies to bring their clients the best cyber protection possible." Liscouski added, "We have known the founders of Recyber for many years and have watched their company grow into one of the most highly regarded and innovative experts in cybersecurity in Europe. The Recyber team's knowledge of the market and high-level relationships with some of the world's largest audit and compliance firms, makes Recyber an ideal partner for QCi. Recyber and QCi are jointly implementing business development plans and identifying opportunities that will showcase our technology solutions and introduce the benefits of quantum authentication and encryption to key companies outside the U.S. that have a sense of urgency to address cyber vulnerabilities."

Mitch Scherr, CEO and co-founder of Recyber, stated, "Recyber's proprietary cyber security platform coupled with QCi's quantum technology will deliver a powerful combination to bring significant benefit and value to our customers. Recyber has always been regarded as a leading-edge provider of cybersecurity capabilities providing customers with a high level of protection and confidence. Our platform is proven to be highly effective in uncovering cyber vulnerabilities, in both technical and human dimensions andQCI's products will greatly enhance that capability. When we identify security issues, our customers want an immediate and effective remedy, and we believe that QCi's innovative hardware will provide the best available quantum cyber security solutions."

In addition to the current partnership focusing on growth initiatives in the cybersecurity market, Recyber and QCi will explore sales and global expansion into the markets for QCi's other quantum intelligence, sensing, imaging, and computing technology platform products. As such,Recyber would support these sales as a value-added reseller (VAR) of QCi technologies in those regions.

For additional information on QCi's suite of solutions, please visit our websiteor contact our team directly.

About Quantum Computing Inc. (QCi)Quantum Computing Inc. (QCi) (Nasdaq: QUBT)is an innovative, quantum optics and nanophotonics technology company on a mission to accelerate the value of quantum computing for real-world business solutions, delivering the future of quantum computing, today. The company provides accessible and affordable solutions with real-world industrial applications, using nanophotonic-basedquantum entropy that can be used anywhere and with little to no training, operates at normal room temperatures, low power and is not burdened with unique environmental requirements. QCi is competitively advantaged delivering its quantum solutions at greater speed, accuracy, and security at less cost. QCi's core nanophotonic-based technology is applicable to both quantum computing as well as quantum intelligence, cybersecurity, sensing and imaging solutions, providing QCi with a unique position in the marketplace. QCi's core entropy computing capability, the Dirac series, delivers solutions for both binary and integer-based optimization problems using over 11,000 qubits for binary problems and over 1000 (n=64) qubits for integer-based problems, each of which are the highest number of variables and problem size available in quantum computing today.Using the Company's core quantum methodologies, QCi has developed specific quantum applications for AI, cybersecurity and remote sensing, including its Reservoir Photonic Computer series (intelligence), reprogrammable and non-repeatable Quantum Random Number Generator (cybersecurity) and LiDAR and Vibrometer (sensing) products. For more information aboutQCi, visitwww.quantumcomputinginc.com.

About Assured Cyber Protection Ltd. (Recyber)Recyber, a UK and Swiss based cybersecurity company, is dedicated to fostering a cyber-civilized world, starting with the workplace. With a human-centric approach, Recyber strives to democratize cybersecurity technologies, making them accessible to businesses of all sizes. By focusing on user-friendly products and solutions, Recyber ensures that organizations can implement effective cybersecurity measures. Simplifying complex concepts and emphasizing the significance of secure cyber behaviours, Recyber empowers decision-makers, including SME owners, finance professionals, HR managers, and IT experts, to navigate the cyber landscape confidently.For more information about Recyber, visithttps://recyber.com/

Important Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forecasts involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the near future. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations ofQCi and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements.

QCi undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed conditions. Statements in this press release that are not descriptions of historical facts are forward-looking statements relating to future events, and as such all forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements may contain certain forward-looking statements pertaining to future anticipated or projected plans, performance and developments, as well as other statements relating to future operations and results. Words such as "may," "will," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "intends," "goal," "objective," "seek," "attempt," "aim to," or variations of these or similar words, identify forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in Item 1A inQCi's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other factors as may periodically be described in QCi's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Quantum Computing, Inc

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Quantum Computing Inc. and European-Based Assured Cyber ... - PR Newswire