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Is Europe poised to be quantum tech's new frontier? | Welcome to the seventh issue of the Tech Wrap-Up Europe newsletter.
Every fortnight, we'll be sharing interesting stories and expert insights from LinkedIn members.
In this issue, Sam Shead and Orlando Crowcroft look at the quantum computing startups with the most money in Europe, the new Google DeepMind entity, and how to avoid being caught out by AI scams.
When James Palles-Dimmock is asked what he does for a living he says he is making the most powerful computer that the world has ever seen. Either that, or he tells people he's in electronics.
Palles-Dimmock is CEO of Quantum Motion, a British quantum computing startup that raised £42 million in February in an equity round led by Bosch Ventures (RBVC) and the British government's National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF).
Quantum Motion is not alone in managing to raise significant funds in what is undoubtedly a tough environment for startups. A Paris-based quantum computing startup, Pasqal, raised €100m in January while Quantum Machines, based in Tel Aviv, raised another $20m, bringing its total Series B funds, originally announced in September 2021, to $50bn, TechCrunch reported.
McKinsey & Company reported earlier this year that worldwide investment in quantum technology startups reached their highest levels in 2022, at $2.35bn, a 1% increase since 2021. It also revealed that about 68% of total investment in quantum technology has come in the past two years, demonstrating the growing investor confidence in its future commercial applications.
Unlike classical computers – which solve problems using binary code (0s and 1s) – quantum computers use the theory of quantum mechanics, first set out by Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg and others a century ago. Instead of bits, quantum computers operate on 'qubits', making it possible for them to solve in seconds complex problems that would be impossible for classical computers.
In a nutshell, while classical computers operate on binary code, quantum computers use complex numbers, vastly expanding the scope of what they can do. But qubits are notoriously unstable and currently need to be kept at minus 273C, colder than deep space, in order to function.
Even the most liberal estimates posit that to be able to perform useful algorithms on a quantum computer, [url=https://alice-bob.com/2023/02/16/quantum-computers-could-be-60-times-smaller/#:~:text=More on this in a,qubits%2C something like 20 million.]we would need 350,000 qubits[/url]; a more conservative estimate is 20 million. The biggest quantum computer currently in existence, from IBM, has just 433 qubits.
But while the challenge is significant, so are the potential rewards. The most powerful computer the world has ever seen could potentially synthesise new wonder-drugs, help us reverse climate change, or develop and manage better and more responsible artificial intelligence models, Ilyas Khan, founder and chief product officer of Quantinuum, told LinkedIn News Europe.
"If the last century was defined by the atomic age, the space race and the invention of the internet, this century will be defined by quantum computing," Khan said.
If the trajectory of any firm demonstrates the excitement quantum computing is generating in 2023 it is Quantinuum, established in 2021 when a British startup, Cambridge Quantum, merged with Honeywell Quantum Solutions, a spin-off from US conglomerate Honeywell International. The deal leaves Quantinuum as the best funded quantum tech firm in Europe, worth $449m, according to publicly-disclosed information.
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