The Week in Quantum Computing - February 3rd - IonQ & UAE, Alice&Bob, Softbank & Quantinuum, Entrust & Sectigo
Issue #220
Quick Recap
This week is about (not cooper) pairs. IonQ and the UAE, Softbank and Quantinuum, Entrust and Sectigo, Alice & Bob… (ok that last one was a bad pun).
IonQ formed a strategic alliance with the UAE’s Technology Innovation Institute to advance quantum hardware. Alice & Bob raised €100 million led by Future French Champions, AXA Venture Partners, and Bpifrance for its “cat qubits,” praised by Holger Mueller of Constellation Research as a stride for Europe’s quantum sector. SoftBank Corp. and Quantinuum sealed a partnership to accelerate quantum adoption and define revenue models. Infinity’s 2025 energy report underscored how BP and Alliander, with Kvantify, Xanadu, and others, are driving quantum solutions. The European Commission committed €3 million to develop a GeSi chip merging electronics and photonics, and Entrust sold its public certificate business to Sectigo to meet urgent post-quantum cybersecurity needs.
Research advances included the unveiling of Wave Photonics and Conrnerstone’s SiNQ platform, featuring a 1056-element PDK spanning 493–1550 nm, which the CEO likened to “assembling Lego blocks.” A hybrid quantum–classical framework tackled the “undruggable” KRAS protein in Nature Biotechnology, while a new paper from Nu Quantum on hyperbolic Floquet codes marked progress in error correction. Chen’s team at AIP introduced a technique to measure parasitic losses in superconducting resonators, potentially boosting qubit coherence.
Buf, that was a mouthful.
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The Week in Quantum Computing
Revolutionizing Quantum Technology! Unveiling the Game-Changing SiNQ Process
Wave Photonics and CORNERSTONE have unveiled the new SiNQ platform in 2024, attracting wide attention with its 493–1550 nm operational range. Fueled by a £500,000 Innovate UK award, SiNQ’s 1056-element PDK includes advanced fabric-aware S-Parameters for high-precision circuit design, marking a leap in quantum circuit modeling. Wave Photonics’ CEO calls it “like assembling Lego blocks,” referencing its streamlined user experience. This innovation is pivotal for quantum computing, easing photonic integration challenges and offering more flexible emitter solutions. Its broad software compatibility with GDSFactory and Siemens L-Edit underscores its accessibility for developers. As quantum systems continue to expand, SiNQ’s efficient design process points to a future of more scalable, reliable quantum computing applications.
IonQ, Inc. Announces Agreement with the United Arab Emirates Technology Innovation Institute
IonQ, Inc. announced a strategic agreement with the UAE’s Technology Innovation Institute. This partnership, revealed on January 27, 2025, is significant for quantum computing in 2024, as it signals increased global investment in advanced quantum hardware research. The Technology Innovation Institute aims to accelerate groundbreaking work on secure communications, cryptography, and data processing by leveraging IonQ’s expertise. As quantum capabilities evolve, such collaborations could expedite real-world applications and broaden the technology’s impact worldwide.
Alice & Bob Closes €100M Series B Led by Future French Champions, AVP and Bpifrance
Alice & Bob SAS raised €100 million in a Series B led by Future French Champions, AXA Venture Partners, and Bpifrance to develop the world’s first error-resistant quantum computer by 2030. Its “cat qubits,” referencing Schrödinger’s cat, protect against decoherence via error correction across multiple particles, tackling fragile qubit issues that have plagued Google and IBM. “Cat qubits are unique, as they make scaling quantum computers practical,” said CEO Théau Peronnin. Holger Mueller of Constellation Research praised the development, noting Europe’s rise in quantum innovation. AVP’s François Robinet said the sector is entering an “industrial phase” suitable for real-life applications. In 2024, cat qubits hold promise to accelerate error-resistant quantum breakthroughs across multiple industries.
https://alice-bob.com/newsroom/alice-bob-100m-series-b-fundraising-press-release/
SoftBank Corp. and Quantinuum Announce Groundbreaking Partnership Toward Practical Application of Quantum Computing
SoftBank Corp. and Quantinuum announced a “groundbreaking partnership” (SoftBank Corp., 2025) to accelerate practical quantum computing beyond classical AI limits. This alliance aims to reduce high initial costs and clarify viable revenue models, critical challenges for widespread quantum adoption. “By combining their respective strengths,” the companies plan to identify specific commercial use cases, focusing on areas like quantum chemical calculations and advanced machine learning. The partnership also emphasizes innovations in hybrid CPU-GPU-QPU systems and error mitigation strategies. With the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology approaching in 2025, this move is expected to spur business potential. Such synergy reflects rising hopes in 2024 for quantum’s large-scale commercial viability.
Team uses AI and quantum computing to target 'undruggable' cancer protein
In 2024, researchers employed a hybrid quantum–classical framework to design drug candidates for the elusive KRAS protein, often dubbed “undruggable.” The scheme, highlighted in Nature Biotechnology (2025), DOI: 10, integrates AI-driven molecular generation with quantum computing’s power. “Team uses AI and quantum computing to target ‘undruggable’ cancer protein,” states the project team, reflecting synergy between next-generation technologies to accelerate oncology breakthroughs. By refining ligand design in silico, they aim to overcome a key barrier for KRAS-targeted therapies.
https://phys.org/news/2025-01-team-ai-quantum-undruggable-cancer.html
Quantum Guide to Commercial Acceleration, the Energy Industry
In Infinity’s new sector-specific report for 2025, energy leaders bp and Alliander collaborate with quantum pioneers Kvantify, Xanadu, TNO, and Deloitte, plus academics from Stanford and NTNU, to showcase how the energy industry is embracing quantum. Infinity’s report states, “Quantum computing is the most active field of research among energy companies, but quantum sensing provides more near-term commercial use cases.” The research calls for deeper collaboration, increased startup investment, and university-industry engagement to accelerate breakthroughs. Additional skilled workers—technical and commercial—are deemed essential.
https://www.infinityqd.nl/resources/quantum-guide-to-commercial-acceleration-the-energy-industry
Distributed Quantum Error Correction: theory breakthrough from Nu Quantum charts pathway for quantum computing scale-out
A newly released theory paper from Nu Quantum, “Distributed quantum error correction based on hyperbolic Floquet codes,” shows that interconnected processors with ~99.5% entanglement fidelity can support modular QEC, enabling large-scale fault-tolerant systems. High-rate QEC codes and feasible networking requirements reveal a viable approach to scale quantum machines by adding identical processors that strengthen performance as they grow.
Ironing out kinks in quantum computing
Chen and colleagues from institutions including AIP revealed new methods to measure parasitic loss in superconducting resonators, crucial for quantum computing progress in 2025. “We introduce a hybrid approach that extracts certain resonator parameters from high-power measurements,” said author Cliff Chen. Their technique eliminates the need for nonlinear multi-parameter fitting, boosting accuracy and efficiency. This research supports advanced transmon qubits, whose performance suffers from unintentional two-level systems (TLS) formed during fabrication. The team’s approach addresses measurement noise in single-photon regimes, paving the way for improved coherence times and reduced losses. “Our new methodology…will help expedite the development of better superconducting qubits,” added Chen. This breakthrough underscores mounting efforts to refine superconducting quantum devices.
https://ww2.aip.org/scilights/ironing-out-kinks-in-quantum-computing
New chip to solve quantum computing roadblocks
The European Commission invests €3 million to build the first quantum chip merging electronics and photonics via Germanium-Silicon, or “GeSi,” technology. Led by the ONCHIPS consortium under the Quantum Flagship, this project unites top European institutions. “One major issue of scalability is that qubits are often limited in their ability to interact,” says Professor Floris Zwanenburg, noting that bringing spin qubits and photonic communication together could be “a total game-changer.” By using a hexagonal form of GeSi that efficiently emits light, researchers aim for faster, more practical quantum processors suited for crucial applications like drug discovery, cybersecurity, and AI in 2024. This signals a vital push towards tackling real-world challenges with advanced quantum computing solutions.
https://qt.eu/news/2025/2025-01-23_new-chip-to-solve-quantum-computing-roadblocks
Entrust sells public certificate business to Sectigo
Entrust sold its public certificate business to Sectigo, responding to rising cybersecurity demands amid 2024’s quantum computing surge. The deal underscores urgent calls for post-quantum cryptography and more specialized certificate authorities. Both companies cited growing pressure to protect next-generation infrastructures, though no direct quotes were publicly provided. Entrust’s pivot suggests a sharpened focus on holistic cryptographic solutions, while Sectigo gains expanded capabilities to address new quantum threats. Researchers warn that quantum breakthroughs could potentially break classical encryption, driving this industry realignment. By transferring public certificate responsibilities, Entrust shifts official stewardship to a company aiming to innovate in quantum-safe certificates, reflecting how preparations for quantum-era security have become a critical priority.
https://www.entrust.com/company/newsroom/entrust-sells-public-certificate-business-to-sectigo
Paper: Hybrid Tree Tensor Networks for Quantum Simulation
The simulation of quantum many-body systems (QMBSs) is crucial across various disciplines like condensed-matter physics, quantum chemistry, materials science, and high-energy physics. Despite the availability of powerful classical numerical methods, which allow a wide array of quantum systems to be tackled, the investigation of the most intriguing and practically relevant problems in QMBS often exceed the capabilities of conventional computers.
In this work, we investigate the possibility of augmenting tensor networks (TNs)—a systematic approach for simulating correlated wave functions classically–with quantum states prepared on a quantum computer to improve the description of complex quantum states not accessible by TNs alone. The resulting computational scheme is a hybrid quantum-classical TN approach that aims at leveraging the advantages of the two computational paradigms: the highly optimized classical TN algorithms and the potential of quantum computers for preparing highly complex quantum states. The field of hybrid quantum-classical algorithms is still in its infancy and therefore many aspects regarding their design, optimization, and implementation are still poorly understood. In our work, we address some of these open issues by introducing a novel algorithm for optimizing loop-less hybrid TNs, which has the potential of scaling up to system sizes that cannot be handled by purely classical approaches, opening up new avenues towards quantum utility-scale experiments. Future research directions will include the extension of our approach to the study of time-evolution problems in QMBSs.
https://journals.aps.org/prxquantum/abstract/10.1103/PRXQuantum.6.010320
‘Europe is falling behind’: Cofounder of world’s best-funded quantum startup on why the region risks losing out in the sector
Europe is falling behind in quantum computing due to weaker funding strategies compared to the US and Australia, says PsiQuantum cofounder Mark Thompson. While public-private partnerships drive major investments elsewhere—such as PsiQuantum's $600M deal with Australia and a US joint venture—Europe’s approach is more like academic research funding, spreading money too thin. Despite strong quantum talent and promising startups like IQM, European firms struggle to secure the massive capital needed for hardware development. However, Thompson sees an opportunity in quantum software, where Europe could be more competitive. Demand for quantum talent is rising, and 2025 is expected to be another record year for funding.
https://sifted.eu/articles/psiquantum-europe
Flow Across Scales with a Quantum Computing Boost
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Xiangyu Li calls turbulence “everywhere,” highlighting its complexity in fluid dynamics. A team including Johannes Mülmenstädt, Margaret Cheung, Gregory Schenter, Jaehun Chun, and Nathan Wiebe devised a quantum-based solution to simulate turbulence across scales. Published in Physical Review Research, this breakthrough tackles a key limitation: classical machines, even exascale supercomputers, struggle with high-fidelity fluid simulations. By merging expertise in physics, quantum computing, chemistry, and atmospheric science, the researchers aim to advance cloud modeling and other complex systems. “One of the grand challenges is to connect molecular details to the continuum,” says Schenter, underscoring the significance of such quantum approaches for unlocking precise, efficient simulations in 2024 and beyond.
https://www.pnnl.gov/news-media/flow-across-scales-quantum-computing-boost
Telefonica Tech and IBM Sign a Collaboration Agreement for Quantum-Safe Technology
Telefónica Tech and IBM signed a collaboration agreement to integrate IBM’s quantum-safe technology into Telefónica Tech’s cybersecurity services. Incorporating tools such as IBM Guardium Quantum Safe, they aim to help organizations address risks posed by potential cryptographically relevant quantum computers. Raquel Ruiz Lozano, Telefónica Tech’s Global Head of Strategic Partnerships, said, "Quantum computing offers incredible opportunities, but it could also pose a significant challenge…" IBM co-developed two of the three post-quantum cryptography standards published by NIST. Adolfo Hernández Pulido, Technology Managing Director for Telefónica at IBM, emphasized their pride in leading new quantum-safe technologies.
Key Takeaways of the PQC Conference in Austin
2,191 participants engaged in Austin’s PQC Conference, highlighting an urgent need for quantum readiness by 2035. NIST’s Andrew Regenscheid emphasized, “The best thing we can all do is start work now,” echoing Bill Newhouse’s (NCCoE) call to prioritize PQC over incremental RSA upgrades. Morgan Stern (NSA) cited 10-year hardware lifespans needing immediate attention, while Alessandro Amadori (TNO) urged “discovery and inventory” first. Luke Valenta (Cloudflare) noted internet challenges, though Panos Kampanakis and Mila Anastasova indicated user impact might be minimal. Experts from Wells Fargo, Banco Santander, and IBM emphasized sector-specific transitions. Amid accelerating quantum advances in 2024, disregarding these migration efforts risks leaving current cryptographic infrastructure dangerously unprepared.
https://pkic.org/2025/01/30/key-takeaways-of-the-pqc-conference-in-austin/
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