Top Quantum Industry Collaborations During April

Insider Brief

• Many important collaborations and partnerships were announced in April.
• These partnerships were spread out globally and across research and commercial domains, as well as industry agnostic.
• We also note the need for both public and private partnerships to make the incredibly complex, quickly evolving quantum ecosystem.

Quantum computing has been gaining momentum and April illustrates the need for local and global partnerships. It als shows This month we’ve seen major advancements driven by collaborative efforts between industry leaders, academic institutions, and government bodies.

The partnerships are tracked and update in The Quantum Insider Market Intelligence Platform.

Key Takeaways

We will list some of April’s key partnership announcements below. But here are the overarching themes in these collaborations:

Think Local, Grow Global: The quantum computing industry is increasingly focused on international collaborations. Partnerships — and we’ll call out those between PsiQuantum and Mitsubishi Chemical Group, or IonQ and Oak Ridge National Laboratory — highlight how companies and institutions from different countries are joining forces to advance quantum technology.

Diverse Applications: Quantum computing is being applied to a wide variety of industries, including energy, healthcare and finance. The partnership between Kromek and the University of Manchester focuses on improving breast cancer detection, while Quindata.io and QCentroid are working on bringing quantum computing capabilities to sectors such as finance and retail.

Practical and Tactical: Many of the collaborations are working on the creation of practical solutions and applications for quantum technology.  One good example of this is GRID-Q project under DOE’s Grid Modernization Initiative with IonQ and Oak Ridge National Laboratory aims to improve power grid control, while the collaboration between Microsoft and Quantinuum has advanced error correction capabilities in quantum computing.

Modular Approach: Horizon Quantum Computing’s collaboration with Rigetti Computing and Quantum Machines showcases a modular approach, allowing for the integration of different software and hardware configurations. This approach could suggest companies are looking to build adaptable systems that can evolve over time, ensuring longevity and flexibility for various quantum applications.

Public and Private: Partnerships to build quantum tech isn’t a private-only or public-only thing. And this is a global trend. We see partnerships between companies and government institutions, such as the Saudi Accelerated Innovation Center or the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council and Quantum Circle, indicate strong support from both the public and private sectors. This trend is likely due to the complexity of quantum technology — navigating it requires a range of resources and expertise to accelerate progress in quantum technology.

Technical Challenges = Practical Opportunities: The partnerships reveal ongoing efforts to address technical challenges in quantum computing, such as error correction and stability. Microsoft’s collaboration with Quantinuum demonstrates advancements in logical qubit reliability, reducing error rates by 800x. These efforts highlight the industry’s focus on overcoming obstacles that have hindered quantum computing’s commercialization, paving the way for broader applications and breakthroughs.

Competition or Collaboration: We are accustomed in quantum to see partnerships that stretch across industries, particularly because of the wide spread of potential quantum use cases. Interestingly, companies within the quantum industry that one might consider competitors are forging deep collaborations — the Quantinuum, Microsoft collab is one such example.

Key Collaborations

Here are just some of the key partnerships that we’ve been tracking that are shaping the quantum technology landscape:

AIST, QuEra, NVIDIA

QuEra has been awarded a 6.5 Billion JPY — or about $41 million US — contract by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. The computer will be installed on-premises alongside the NVIDIA-powered ABCI-Q supercomputer.

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Equinix and Quside
Quside has partnered with Equinix to make quantum random number generation (QRNG) technology available to neighboring businesses. This integration allows Quside’s entropy solution to be accessible through Equinix’s global platform. Equinix’s data centers will provide the necessary infrastructure, security, and connectivity to support quantum cryptography and entropy generation systems, making this technology accessible across various industries.

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IonQ and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
ORNL is collaborating with IonQ to drive critical U.S. infrastructure improvements. The partnership includes the GRID-Q project under DOE’s Grid Modernization Initiative and ORNL’s Quantum Computing User Program. This collaboration provides access to state-of-the-art quantum computers for real-world applications like power grid control.

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Rigetti Computing, Quantum Machines, and Horizon Quantum Computing
Horizon Quantum Computing has chosen in-class components from Rigetti Computing and Quantum Machines, creating a modular approach to integrate its software stack with various hardware configurations. The initial system is based on Rigetti’s 9-qubit Novera quantum processor and Quantum Machines’ OPX1000 processor-based quantum controller, aiming to be operational by early 2025.

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Aramco and King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM)
KFUPM has partnered with Aramco on projects ranging from Hydrogen Mobility, Renewable Energy, and Artificial Intelligence. Aramco is listed as a partner on the university’s website.

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Saudi Accelerated Innovation Center
King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KAUST) and Aramco, together with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Saudi Arabia (MCIT), have launched the Saudi Accelerated Innovation Center. This initiative focuses on enhancing quantum technologies and developing 5G and 6G communications networks.

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University of Manchester and Kromek
Kromek is working with the University of Manchester on the Quantum Digital Tomosynthesis (QDT) project. This initiative aims to improve early breast cancer detection for women with dense breasts through advanced imaging technology.

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Munich Quantum Valley and DATEV eG
DATEV has joined the Munich Quantum Valley (MQV) “Bench-QC” project to develop a framework for comparing different quantum computing approaches for industrial problems.

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Quantum Circle and Belgian Presidency of the EU Council
Belgium, which holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from January to June 2024, is a member of the Quantum Circle consortia.

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Quindata.io and QCentroid
Quindata.io has partnered with QCentroid to bring quantum computing capabilities directly to businesses across industries like finance, retail, mobility, and cleantech.

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Novonesis and Kvantify
Kvantify and Novonesis have completed the world’s first quantum calculation of an enzymatic reaction using the FAST-VQE algorithm. This allows for a deeper understanding of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase, which is critical for many organisms. Learn More Here