The Week in Quantum Computing - July 31st
Issue #146
The Week in Quantum Computing. Brought to you by Sergio Gago (@piratecto).
Quick Recap
Alright, buckle up folks for the last ship before the end of July. Because we will be talking about Superconductors and LK-99! So, like last year (and years before) there is a new claim of a mateiral that can reach superconducting state at room temperature. If that were to be true, forget about ChatGPT, Web3 or anything else, because that would be the true hype of the decade. Among many applications, something like that could truly take quantum computing all the way to the scalable and usable range. BUT as you can imagine there is a lot of skepticism on it. You can read more about it on Quantum Zeitgeist on LK99.
Besides that this week in quantum news has more twists and turns than a rambunctious electron in a superposition! Quantum algorithms are tackling maze-solving. US sanctions could be pushing the Russian and Chinese collaboration further, leading to epic brain signal detecting quantum sensors and potentially new materials. And, who knew healthcare had a need for speed? NTT Data sure did! They're pioneering a marriage between quantum and classical computing to assemble genomes faster than you can say "deoxyribonucleic acid".
Over in teleportation news, a team has juiced up metropolitan quantum teleportation to the hertz rate, using a low-Earth orbit Micius satellite. Silicon Quantum Computing which collected $50.4 million in series A, a little shy from their $130 million target. And Q-CTRL raised a cool $54 million in their series B. At the same time Zapata Computing (recently positioning themselves as the Quantum Generative AI company, a mouthful!) got a $4.8 million boost in non-equity financing. SemiQon and Qblox have secured a sweet €2.5 million funding from the European Innovation Council.
Unilever is looking to quantum computing to give their beauty innovation a facelift (pun intended!). Meanwhile, Atom Computing and NREL are joining forces to optimize the electric grid, which means we might just keep the AC running all summer long. PASQAL, on the other hand, is offering €50,000 to the best quantum solution for sustainable energy in a hackathon. The insurance industry is already bracing itself for the quantum computing challenge. Will insurance companies consider the cybersecurity risk in their risk calculations? Well, at least NISQ added 50 new algorithms for their Post Quantum strategy, given that the first 4 are possible not enough.
The Week in Quantum Computing
To Move Fast, Quantum Maze Solvers Must Forget the Past
Quantum algorithms can find their way out of mazes exponentially faster than classical ones, at the cost of forgetting the paths they took. A new result suggests that the trade-off may be inevitable. Introduction Imagine you visit a maze with some friends.
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July 23, 2023 at 02:31PM
Quantum entanglement: how US-led sanctions are turning Russia’s genius scientists to China for collaboration
Quantum physicists gain huge scientific advances through cooperation despite US-led sanctions. Maxim Ostras’ quantum sensor can detect brain signals with record-high sensitivity. Backed by the largest bank in Russia, he plans to take the sensor to commercial production and enter the Chinese market.
Alexey Akimov is intrigued by some anomalies in the periodic table that he believes could lead to the discovery of new materials. He gave up a tenure position in the United States last year and returned to Russia to pursue his dream of a quantum simulator, in which some critical components were sourced from China.
Link: https://ift.tt/COinhIL
July 23, 2023 at 05:30PM
Quantum computing could be used to solve health problems
New research by NTT Data suggests a combination of quantum and classic computers gave the best results when assembling a genome, giving hope that these machines can benefit healthcare.
Link: https://ift.tt/YxR1DKZ
July 24, 2023 at 11:30AM
Team boosts metropolitan quantum teleportation to hertz rate
Quantum teleportation allows quantum information to be transferred to a remote location by using quantum entanglement and classical communication. It has been achieved with varying rates of independent photons of quantum light, from tabletop experiments to real-world demonstrations.
Using a low-Earth orbit Micius satellite, researchers have now achieved quantum teleportation over 1200 km. To date there has been no quantum teleportation system whose rate can reach the order of hertz, which hinders future applications of quantum internet.
Link: https://ift.tt/MT4NiP1
July 25, 2023 at 01:30PM
Silicon Quantum Computing Closes $50.4 Million Series A, Falls Short of Initial $130 Million Goal
Insider Brief Silicon Quantum Computing reportedly closed a $50.4 million (AUS) in Series A. Last year, company executives said they were shooting for around $130 million.
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July 26, 2023 at 03:30AM
Q-CTRL Adds Morpheus Ventures to Record Setting Series B Funding Round with Total of $54 million USD Raised
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, July 25, 2023 – Q-CTRL, a global leader in developing useful quantum technologies through quantum control infrastructure software, today announced the addition of Morpheus Ventures as a new investor in their record-setting Series B funding round, which has raised $54 million USD.
Morpheus Ventures, known for its expertise in backing disruptive technologies, has joined forces with Q-CTRL to accelerate their growth trajectory and leverage their collective strengths in shaping the future of quantum technology. Morpheus Ventures has a track record of supporting innovative startups across various sectors, including technology, healthcare, artificial intelligence, biotech, and more.
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES, July 25, 2023/EINPresswire.
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July 26, 2023 at 01:30PM
Discovery may lead to terahertz technology for quantum sensing
"There is a notable gap in mid- and far-infrared light, roughly the frequencies of 5-15 terahertz and wavelengths ranging from 20-60 micrometers, for which there are no good commercial products compared with higher optical frequencies and lower radio frequencies," said Rui Xu, a third-year doctoral student at Rice and lead author on an article published in Advanced Materials. […]
"Optical technologies in this frequency region—sometimes called 'the new terahertz gap' because it is far less accessible than the rest of the 0.3-30 terahertz 'gap'—could be very useful for studying and developing quantum materials for quantum electronics closer to room temperature, as well as sensing functional groups in biomolecules for medical diagnosis," Zhu said.
Link: https://ift.tt/pcvfKuJ
July 26, 2023 at 01:30PM
Paper: The First Room-Temperature Ambient-Pressure Superconductor
For the first time in the world, we succeeded in synthesizing the room-temperature superconductor (Tc≥400 K, 127∘C) working at ambient pressure with a modified lead-apatite (LK-99) structure. The superconductivity of LK-99 is proved with the Critical temperature (Tc), Zero-resistivity, Critical current (Ic), Critical magnetic field (Hc), and the Meissner effect. The superconductivity of LK-99 originates from minute structural distortion by a slight volume shrinkage (0.48 %), not by external factors such as temperature and pressure. The shrinkage is caused by Cu2+ substitution of Pb2+(2) ions in the insulating network of Pb(2)-phosphate and it generates the stress. It concurrently transfers to Pb(1) of the cylindrical column resulting in distortion of the cylindrical column interface, which creates superconducting quantum wells (SQWs) in the interface. The heat capacity results indicated that the new model is suitable for explaining the superconductivity of LK-99. The unique structure of LK-99 that allows the minute distorted structure to be maintained in the interfaces is the most important factor that LK-99 maintains and exhibits superconductivity at room temperatures and ambient pressure.
Link: https://ift.tt/yJaWrx7
July 27, 2023 at 05:30AM
Multi-qubit quantum computing using discrete-time quantum walks on closed graphs
Universal quantum computation can be realised using both continuous-time and discrete-time quantum walks. We present a version based on single particle discrete-time quantum walk to realize multi-qubit computation tasks.
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July 27, 2023 at 02:30PM
Why Unilever thinks quantum computing could be the future of beauty innovation
By Amanda Pauley 26-Jul-2023 Unilever is researching quantum computing’s potential in R&D in the hopes it could compute ambiguity in data that current models are unable to do Despite it sounding like something that belongs in a sci-fi movie, quantum computing is becoming a talking point in the bea
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July 27, 2023 at 02:30PM
Atom Computing and NREL Exploring Electric Grid Optimization Using Quantum Computing
Atom Computing and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced a collaboration to explore how quantum computing can help optimize electric grid operations.
Link: https://ift.tt/J18d2gT
July 27, 2023 at 02:30PM
PASQAL Announces €50,000 Hackathon for Quantum Sustainability Solutions
Paris, July 24, 2023 – Quantum computing company PASQAL today announced a hackathon dedicated to generating ideas for quantum-based solutions that can accelerate the sustainable energy transition: The Blaise Pascal [re]Generative Quantum Challenge.
Link: https://ift.tt/ZTWbfQi
July 27, 2023 at 02:30PM
Zapata Computing Receives $4.8 Million in Non-Equity Financing
In a Form D filing earlier this month with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Zapata Computing it has received to date $4,857,000 million in either a loan or option or warrant financing.
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July 27, 2023 at 05:30PM
Quantum Computing: The Cyber Insurer’s Next Challenge?
Quantum computers can exploit quantum mechanical effects and their properties to accelerate calculations, to usher in a new era of computing that brings both new opportunities – and risks – to many industries, including insurance.
Link: https://ift.tt/I2dTa0B
July 28, 2023 at 11:30AM
SemiQon and Qblox secure €2.5 million EIC Transition funding
The European Innovation Council has approved a €2.5 million grant funding to SemiQon, a leading developer of silicon-based quantum processors and Qblox, a leading provider of scalable and modular qubit control stacks.
Link: https://ift.tt/pjXvdnr
July 28, 2023 at 12:30PM
NIST Announces Additional Digital Signature Candidates for the PQC Standardization Process July 17, 2023
In response to a September 2022 announcement calling for additional Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) Digital Signature Schemes, NIST received 40 candidates that met all submission requirements. See the PQC: Digital Signature Schemes project for the list of algorithms and their submission details.
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July 28, 2023 at 02:30PM
Quantum boost for global supply chains
It then found it could move higher amounts of cargo more rapidly than if it just relied on conventional computing. Speedy and accurate decision-making with voluminous data amid such complexities requires higher computation capabilities than conventional computers can handle.
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July 29, 2023 at 06:30PM
Department of Energy Announces $11.7 Million for Research on Quantum Computing
Newswise — WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $11.7 million in funding for six collaborative projects to improve our understanding of whether, when, and how quantum computing might advance the frontiers of computational science.
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July 29, 2023 at 06:30PM