Category Archives: Quantum Computing

Brings Extensive Track Record of Successfully Commercializing Innovative Technology

LEESBURG, Va., Sept. 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quantum Computing Inc. (the company or QCI) (Nasdaq: QUBT), a leader in bridging the power of classical and quantum computing, has appointed renowned business and technology leader William J. McGann, Ph.D., to serve on the companys board of directors.

McGann brings over 30 years of executive leadership, technology, and science experience, strengthened by an underlying passion for turning emerging technology into practical solutions for solving some of the worlds greatest challenges. Throughout his career, he has contributed to the advancement of research and technology development and has authored over 70 research proposals for the U.S. government, dozens of scientific publications, and 26 patents in the areas of nuclear, chemical and biological detection technologies.

I am pleased and genuinely excited to be given the opportunity to sit on the Board of Directors at Quantum Computing, Inc. said McGann. The development and application of quantum-based models and methodologies to solve the worlds most complex, classical problems provides a tremendous opportunity for the talented, focused and energized team at QCI. I am looking forward to supporting the business in its critical mission to provide powerful and quantum-ready software business solutions to the world.

Since 2019, McGann has served as the Chief Technology Officer for the Security, Detection and Automation business at Leidos Corp., a civil, defense, health, and intelligence innovator. In this role, he is focused on the creation of innovative customer solutions driven by a strong portfolio of physics, chemistry and software-based products. He is responsible for leading innovation and technology development across the aviation and ports and borders market segments, as well as driving an externally focused business strategy with global markets.

In addition to his business responsibilities at Leidos, McGann also serves the company as a Technology Fellow. In this role, his passions align with the companys mission, which is centered on delivering leading edge technology capabilities and solutions.

With quantum computing poised to revolutionize a number of industries, the QCI team is incredibly fortunate to have someone of Bills caliber on the board of directors, said Robert Liscouski, chairman, president, and CEO of QCI. We are eager to leverage his tremendous track record to guide us in applying the power of quantum computing to deliver practical solutions to critical business problems.

Bill and I have worked together in the past, and frankly, he is a guy that knows how to get things done, Liscouski added.

Over the course of his professional career, McGann has held numerous business and technology leadership positions, including founder of the first explosives trace detection company, Ion Track Instruments; CTO for GE Security; VP of engineering for United Technologies Fire and Security business; CEO and board member of Implant Sciences Corp.; and CTO at L3Harris Technologies, Security and Detection Systems Division.

McGann received his Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from University of Connecticut and holds undergraduate degrees in both Chemistry and Biology.

About Quantum Computing Inc.Quantum Computing Inc. (QCI) (Nasdaq: QUBT) is focused on accelerating the value of quantum computing for real-world business solutions. The companys flagship product, Qatalyst, is the first software to bridge the power of classical and quantum computing, hiding complexity and empowering SMEs to solve complex computational problems today. QCIs expert team in finance, computing, security, mathematics and physics has over a century of experience with complex technologies; from leading edge supercomputing innovations, to massively parallel programming, to the security that protects nations. Connect with QCI on LinkedIn and @QciQuantum on Twitter. For more information about QCI, visit http://www.quantumcomputinginc.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 of Quantum Computing (Company), 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.

The Company 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. Any statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be considered to be forward-looking statements. 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 in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference, and other factors as may periodically be described in the Companys filings with the SEC.

Qatalyst is the trademark of Quantum Computing Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Company Contact:Robert Liscouski, CEOQuantum Computing, Inc.+1 (703) 436-2161Email Contact

Investor Relations Contact:Ron Both or Grant StudeCMA Investor Relations+1 (949) 432-7566Email Contact

Media Relations Contact:Bob GellerFusion Public Relations+1 (917) 816-0562qci@fusionpr.com

See more here:

Quantum Computing Inc. Appoints William J. McGann, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors - GlobeNewswire

During FY21 the company strengthened its transformation into a pure materials technology play by disposing of mineral exploration assets.

(, ) made considerable progress during the financial year ended June30, 2021, and is well-funded to drive the ongoing development of its 12CQ quantum computing and lab-on-a-chip biochip technologies.

The company is developing these advanced semiconductor devices for commercialisation in the multi-billion-dollar global quantum technology and human health industries.

It is doing so after consolidatingits technology development to operate out of a world-class semiconductor research and prototyping foundry in Sydney, and linked nodes of Australian technology development facilities.

The company is well funded to advance its technology strategy with a net cash position of$6.2 million on June 30, 2021.

Archer has made considerable progress in modelling qubit behaviour and the control of qubits, and the control measurements going forward will beworld-first, particularly for solid-state, non-optical quantum computing systems.

During the period, the company signed a new agreement with IBM, allowing it to retain membership to the global IBM Quantum Network and the associated IBM Quantum Startup Program, and to progress the work initiated under the previous agreement.

In addition, Archer began working with Max Kelsen, another Australian member of the IBM Quantum Network, on possible end-use cases for the 12CQ chip.

This collaboration has so far involved adapting a unique class of quantum algorithms for potential big-data'related applications of quantum computing.

The company also signed a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) with the Australian Missile Corporation Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Australian Defence Prime Contractor NIOA.

By signing the LOI, Archer confirmed its interest in cooperating with the AMC to help fulfil the Australian Governments long-term vision of developing sovereign Australian defence industrial capabilities.

Archers biochip is at an earlier stage of development than the 12CQ chip with the biochip nestled within the product category of MEMS/Sensor devices in the semiconductor industry.

Notably, biochip design principles involve using proprietary graphene-based materials to form the critical sensing elements in lab-on-a-chip technology.

Archer is also focusing on technological barriers to commercialising such devices that involve nanofabrication; another is in assembling a talented multidisciplinary team.

Archer'sbiochip technology.

As Archer moves towards commercialisation, intellectual property (IP) protection and patents will become crucial to stop others from manufacturing, using or selling its technologies in the relevant jurisdictions without the companys permission.

Promisingly, the company is working through patent application procedures in Europe, Hong Kongand Australia, after having patents granted in China, South Korea, Japan and the United States of America.

Archers strategic focus on technology strengthenedwith the completion of the sale of the Leigh Creek Magnesite Project, the Kelly Tank and Jamieson Tank projects, and an agreement with iTech Minerals Ltd for the conditional sale of all remaining mineral tenements.

Upon completion of the iTech sale, the company will receive 50 million iTech shares which itintends to pass on to shareholders through a pro-rata in-specie distribution.

Archer will not hold any iTech shares after the completion of the in-specie distribution, however, will keep the 2.0% net smelter return (NSR) royalty granted on the Jamieson Tank and Kelly Tank projects.

The transformation has signalled an increase in share price over FY21 from A$0.36at market close on July 27, 2020, to A$0.95 on June 30, 2021, and since then has hit a new high of A$3.08 in mid-August while the market cap is now approximately A$454.3 million.

Read more from the original source:

Archer Materials well-funded to advance development of 12CQ quantum computing and lab-on-a-chip" biochip technologies - Proactive Investors USA

With over 100 years of experience, The Center for Health Affairs and its business affiliates CHAMPS Group Purchasing and The Essentials Group have partnered with Entanglement, Inc. to make Cleveland and the Midwest region the leaders in healthcare applications powered by artificial intelligence (AI), quantum and advanced computing.

NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Entanglement Inc. (Ei), an early-stage quantum and advanced computing company, has partnered with The Center for Health Affairs to accelerate the next wave of computing breakthroughs for healthcare and medical applications. The partnership will leverage Entanglement's diverse advanced computing capabilities, professional services, AI, and quantum & quantum-inspired optimizations to deliver quantum-bridging solutions to clients of the center and its business affiliates, CHAMPS Group Purchasing and The Essentials Group. The multi-year agreement represents a significant opportunity to accelerate transformational innovations within the Cleveland healthcare and medical community and re-affirms Cleveland as an epicenter for health and medical related AI and high-performance computing capabilities. Not only will quantum computing revolutionize critical simulations for drug discovery, but it will also transform the landscape of medical analytics, hospital management, and global medical-supply-chains, eventually unlocking tailored predictive health solutions for patients.

Healthcare powered by AI

"Entanglement represents the future of quantum and advanced computing..."

Entanglement's applications and capabilities will provide cybersecurity for digital medical records, solve scheduling challenges, optimize global supply chains, and manage stockpiles of medical equipment. These are game-changing developments that The Center for Health Affairs (CHA) can offer its members. Both Ei and CHA will ensure all services provided through this partnership fully comply with the safeguards of the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), as well as all federal and state regulations.

Story continues

The Center is already known for being adaptable and constantly enhancing its service offerings to meet the changing demands of its members. Through this partnership with Ei, it will now have the capability to enhance its leadership in providing cutting-edge technology by giving its members a competitive advantage through unrivaled transformative computing applications. Members of CHA will have access to advanced computing capabilities that will take advantage of quantum bridging applications, optimization, and artificial intelligence to position its members for a competitive advantage and exceptional patient experience.

"With this partnership, there's an exciting opportunity to build upon Northeast Ohio's reputation as a hub for health technology," said Brian Lane, President and CEO of The Center for Health Affairs. "Entanglement represents the future of quantum and advanced computing, with features that give our members and clients access to new applications and optimizations that will enable secure, responsive and predictive medical services. These innovative offerings position our members and clients with a competitive advantage and ultimately allow our region to stand out further as the worldwide leader in patient care."

The U.S. Department of Defense recently validated an Entanglement platform, developed in collaboration with a global computing technology firm, that optimized equitable distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) throughout the U.S. That platform showed a 90 percent improved performance over a comparative Evolutionary Algorithm, currently the state of the art. Entanglement then applied these breakthrough capabilities to develop a vaccine distribution and administration model.

"We are extremely excited to partner with the nation's first hospital association and play a part in establishing irreversible momentum in a sector where the impact of quantum bridging and advanced computing technological breakthroughs will be felt the most," said Jason Turner, Chairman of Entanglement. "Entanglement will not only provide a marked advantage to healthcare companies, but will also provide a more secure, more responsive, and more predictive medical services to patients. Through our partnership, we will bring new applications and optimizations to the local healthcare and medical community, building upon Cleveland's reputation in this area, and bolster local economic development efforts. We see this as an incremental pathway towards predictive healthcare accelerated by artificial intelligence-based applications."

The vaccine distribution platform is an example of how Entanglement's access to other forms of advanced computing in purpose-built laboratories, along with Ei's White Glove Service, experienced team, advanced research, and existing intellectual property, creates a new dynamic for the Advanced Computing Revolution.

Tweetable: @entanglement_ai joins nation's first hospital association @neohospitals @cha_essentials to place quantum and advanced computing breakthrough at center #ai #quantumcomputing #entanglement

About The Center for Health Affairs. With a rich history as the nation's first regional hospital association, The Center for Health Affairs serves as the collective voice and leading advocate for 36 hospitals across nine counties in Northeast Ohio. Through its business affiliates, CHAMPS Group Purchasing (GPO) and The Essentials Group, The Center provides a broad level of professional services to its members. CHAMPS GPO leverages the purchasing power of 19,000+ member locations across the United States by aggregating purchasing volume to negotiate discounts with manufacturers and distributors they use every day. The Essentials Group is designed to further elevate the value to the collective membership base of The Center and CHAMPS GPO by serving as an incubator for new concepts and forging partnerships which bring forward solutions to improve efficiency, productivity and outcomes. Through its business affiliates, CHAMPS Group Purchasing and The Essentials Group, The Center provides a broad level of professional services to its members. Headquartered in downtown Cleveland, The Center is honored to be named as one of The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Top Workplaces in 2014, 2015 and 2021; ERC's NorthCoast 99 List in 2003, 2004, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017; Crain's Cleveland Business and Best Companies Group's Best Employers in Ohio in 2020 and 2021; and Modern Healthcare's 2021 Best Places to Work in Healthcare. For more, visit http://www.neohospitals.org

About Entanglement, Inc. Entanglement is an early-stage deep technology advanced and quantum computing company dedicated to providing unprecedented commercial access to diverse advanced computing systems that service a broad range of customers. Entanglement accelerates the development of quantum information science (QIS) and artificial intelligence (AI) by aligning its world-class team to an environment that enables customers to innovate rapidly without enormous up-front capital investments. Entanglement is the place customers go to solve previously unsolvable problems, a place that is making the promise of quantum a reality. For more information, please visit http://www.entanglement.ai

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/entanglement-continues-a-midwest-surge-to-provide-quantum--high-performance-computing-applications-to-the-nations-leading-hospital-association-in-the-heartland-of-america-301383891.html

SOURCE Entanglement, Inc.

Read the original post:

Entanglement continues a Midwest surge to provide quantum & high-performance computing applications to the nation's leading hospital association...

Quantum computing explained to most businesses may be confusing. As the technology becomes mainstream, many are still struggling to understand how the technology works and how it can benefit their organization in the future.

The global quantum computing (QC) market is expected to reach US$ 3.7 billion by 2030 despite the challenges in keeping qubits stable. Some major quantum computing success stories include IBM Quantum System One in Europe to help companies and research organizations develop and test applied quantum algorithms.

Google announced plans to build a commercial quantum computer that can perform large-scale calculations without errors by the end of the decade while a Chinese startup, Origin Quantum, launched the countrys first homegrown operating system for a quantum computer.

But according to results of a survey from The Pistoia Alliance, almost half of life science professionals claim to only understand QC technology at a beginner level. Only less than 10% of the professionals admitted having expert understanding of QC.

For life science professionals, Quantum computing explained to them should be easier to be understood compared to other professionals. However, with 48% only at beginner level, applying the technology in use cases is still far off despite the significant noise generated by the potential of QC.

According to Celia Merzbacher, Executive Director at QED-C explained that, In the last year alone, quantum computing hardware and software advances have been made, and access to technology via the cloud continues to improve. As a result, the barriers to entry in quantum computing for life sciences are lower and the number of collaborations are on the rise. This recent shift is seen in the survey results, where limited access to QC infrastructure as a barrier has decreased compared to a year ago.

Merzbacher added that QC promises to have an enormous impact on many industries, including life sciences. The technology is already seeing clear near-term applications and uses that can help to advance the industry.

Source The Pistoia Alliance

While the potentials of quantum computing explained to industries may be showing some positivity, the barriers to launching QC projects still continue as well. The survey shows that a lack of understanding of QC and the inability to articulate valuable uses (35%) were some of the of the reasons. This was followed by lack of skills (29%), lack of access to QC infrastructure (15%), and cost (11%).

At the same time, these challenges are now being addressed by Pistoia Alliance Quantum Computing Community of Interest, in partnership with QED-C and QuPharm. Getting quantum computing explained in the C-suite and raising funds for development of use cases for the technology are just some of the steps taken. Pistoia Alliance member companies in the quantum computing field that are also helping to drive forward innovation, include Cambridge Quantum Computing, Zapata Computing, Molecular Quantum Solutions, QunaSys, Qubit Pharmaceuticals and QC Ware.

Interestingly, 36% of respondents believe that QC will impact the biopharma industry within the next five years. With life science specific use cases now emerging from QC companies and consortia, there are clear signs of rapid short-term development and adoption. For example, Menten AI has developed a drug discovery project to build proteins using D-Waves platform, as part of the Creative Destruction Labs Quantum bootcamp.

Quantum computing is the next computational approach our organization is looking to utilize. It will help us to remove constraints in drug discovery and solve large optimization problems that have required too much time or computing power to previously progress, commented a Senior Director of R&D IT from a top ten pharma company.

For John Wise, a consultant for the Pistoia Alliance, the global collaborative network is perfectly placed to help the industry develop use cases and to de-risk investments in innovative technology. However, he believes the seismic shift it promises to deliver will not be possible if they cant define the applications that gain buy-in from stakeholders and the C-suite.

Indeed, the challenges of any new technology would be getting the C-suite to understand it. While its still early days for QC, the alliance should look to getting QC explained to the right people, be it life science professionals or C-Suite executives, in the hopes that the technology can be used to its full potential once its available.

Read the original post:

Can quantum computing be easily explained? - TechHQ

Quantum computing offers incredible computing power and is set to transform many areas such as research. However, it also represents a threat to current security systems as cracking passwords and encryption keys becomes much easier.

So quantum is a security threat, but is there a solution to making systems safer? We spoke to David Williams, CEO of symmetric encryption specialist Arqit, to find out.

BN: Why are current encryption techniques no longer adequate?

DW: First, public key cryptography was not designed for a hyper-connected world, it wasn't designed for an Internet of Things, it's unsuitable for the nature of the world that we're building. The need to constantly refer to certification providers for authentication or verification is fundamentally unsuitable. And of course the mathematical primitives at the heart of that are definitely compromised by quantum attacks so you have a system which is crumbling and is certainly dead in a few years time.

A lot of the attacks we've seen result from certifications being compromised, certificates expiring, certificates being stolen and abused.

But with the sort of computational power available from a quantum computer blockchain is also at risk. If you make a signature bigger to guard against it being cracked the block size becomes huge and the whole blockchain grinds to a halt.

BN: Where did you start to look for a solution?

DW: The person who solves this will become very successful, so in 2017 we began an innovation journey. The tech that we had back then most definitively did not work, it didn't solve the problem. What we now have is a product which is called Quantum Cloud. It's just a a lightweight software agent that's 200 lines of code that can be delivered from the cloud and it can be downloaded into any device. We can put it into an IoT sensor, or a battleship, it doesn't matter, it's the same software for all devices.

What that software does is it creates keys for groups of devices that want to communicate securely, so it could be two or 20 or 2000 devices, and they all undergo a process whereby they create a brand new symmetric encryption key, which they then use to communicate securely. We know that symmetric encryption key is computationally secure. A symmetric encryption key is just a long random number, and even a quantum computer in future will not be able to crack it in less than billions of years. Symmetric encryption keys have been used for decades, delivered by human courier, and therefore the algorithm to use such keys is already built into the world's software systems which means there's no great change required for the world to adopt the use of this technology.

We didn't invent symmetric encryption keys, we invented a way to distribute them securely.

BN: Can you give us an idea of how this works?

DW: Imagine two end points in in London and New York who want to create a secure channel. Each device talks to a data center in its city. In each location there are Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) which have identical sets of the encryption key data. That data is put there by 'satellites' which use a quantum protocol to deliver that information in a method that we can demonstrate is provably secure.

Think of the data centers as buckets, three times a day the satellites throw some random numbers into the buckets and all data centers end up with an identical bucket full of identical sets of random information. So, the endpoints talk to the data centers, which have a conversation and they agree on some information or clues to send in common to the end points, without actually knowing what that information is. In a very clever mashup of those clues, and the existing data that they have on their devices, the end points then create simultaneously a brand new random number.

BN: Is this available today?

DW: The satellite technology is still a couple of years away, currently the root source of random numbers is delivered to data centers by a random number generator in a data center, through some terrestrial mechanisms, which is regarded by our customers as secure today. It's not quantum safe yet, but the network gets upgraded in two years time when the quantum satellites launch and the whole thing becomes quantum safe.

BN: How will it tie in with a zero trust world?

DW: Conventionally with satellite quantum encryption, you can either be zero trust or you can be global, you can't be both. Well that makes the whole thing a bit pointless because the internet's global. Our technology is simultaneously zero trust and global. So, in our protocol the satellite is never trusted with the key, an individual receiver is never trusted with the key. It is a zero trust system. But secondly, the endpoint software adds another layer of zero-trust functionality. The data centers never have the key, the key is never created somewhere else and distributed. The key is created locally on the device, and therefore there is no other device in the network which we're trusting with the key. Therefore, the software protocol is also zero trust.

BN: Will the end user logging into their bank or VPN see any difference?

DW: It's unlikely that a consumer will ever see the operation of our new software, you won't see it sitting on your device called 'Arqit's product', it will be baked into other people's applications and it will be a seamless experience for the average customer.

BN: Are there wider applications for the technology?

DW: One of the things we're most excited about is JADC2 (Joint All-Domain Command and Control), which is basically the military Internet of Things. This involves lots of devices that need to operate in dynamic environments. You can't possibly give every single device that you might feasibly want to communicate with a set of keys to cope with every possible scenario its simply impossible. And in JADC2 we have to rely currently on old fashioned public key cryptography.

But if every device can just download the lightweight quantum cloud agents, then as soon as you agree that drone needs to talk to that satellite, which needs to talk to that other commander, they just set up brand new key dynamically in real time. We can create unbreakable and trustless keys in the moment that they needed and we can change the access rights.

Of course the same problem is also solved in the enterprise and for consumer devices. So yes, the application of our technology is everything, everywhere. There is no application we've ever thought of where the technology can't make things stronger and simpler.

Photo Credit: The World in HDR / Shutterstock.com

Continued here:

Why quantum computing is a security threat and how to defend against it [Q&A] - BetaNews

The disruptive potential of quantum computing is becoming a reality at an unprecedented rate, and there is now a need more than ever to start to demystify quantum. Its time tounderstandwhat it means for business,the impact it will have,and how to get itembedded intoemerging technology strategies within organisations.

As revenue from quantum computing is expected to grow at a CAGR of 32% from 2019 to 2030, reaching 2.54 billion ($3.5 billion) in 2030, there is huge potentialinunlockingthis transformative technology. So,the question is, how to get this relativelynewtechnology that has the possibility to revolutionise business on thestrategicagenda now?

Part of the strategy to roll out quantumin businesswillbehowtopresent this to both internal and external stakeholders, how and what to educate teams onregardingthegrowthopportunity quantum offers, and the steps to taketo do this. And this is no mean feat.

The Quantum Computing Summit London,co-located with The AI Summitat theExCeLLondon(22-23 September),has been designed to provide businessand technical insight, to showcase how quantum is delivering real business value.Access the knowledge from the leaders who will be presenting quantum computing in way that will enable enterprises to secureinvestmentandstakeholder support,and enable them toprogress with pilot programmes.

The Quantum Computing Summit will behostingglobal pioneersfrom across the techsphere who are leading the quantum charge,andwill be diving into topics and discussion areasthat include:

Explore the full agenda here

There isnt a silver bullet for quantum computing but therecouldbe consequences for failing to preparefor this next wave of digital transformation.At the Quantum ComputingSummit,you can leverage access to theexpertswhowill be demonstratinginitial steps required to take in your quantumjourney, and how to lay the foundations for a comprehensive strategy androadmapfor success.

Connect with partners who are actively working with enterprises to scale quantum, and who are accelerating the application of quantum computing in business to solve the most challenging problems.TheQuantum Computing Summitgives enterprisesaccess the tools, practical insights and strategiesto demystify quantum,which will help enterprises to:

There is no doubt that Quantum computing has the potential to disrupt your industry. Gain a competitive edge with access to two days of unrivalled content and access the strategies to quantum you can implement to accelerate business success.

Now is the time to actively take steps to build partnerships that will take your company to the next level.Join us next week in a safe and secure environment and lets get back to business.

The Quantum Computing Summit, 22-23rdSeptember2021,ExCeLLondon.

Request your pass now:The Quantum Computing Summit

Link:

Prepare for the next phase of digital transformation at The Quantum Computing Summit - UKTN - UKTN (UK Technology News

The new US-UK-Australia alliance is set to shake up how all three countries carry out research in key emerging technologies.

Most of the talk has been about submarines, but another important aspect of the new Aukus alliance between Australia, the UK and the US is that it defines emerging technologies particularly artificial intelligence and quantum computing as first-order national security issues.

As Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a Twitter thread:

Bringing together the military industrial complex of these three allies together is a step change in the relationship. Weve always been interoperable, but this aims at much more. From artificial intelligence to advanced technology the US, UK and Australia will now be able to cost save by increasing platform sharing and innovation costs. Particularly for the smaller two, thats game-changing.

Tugendhat is right. The game has changed, and in ways that are only just coming to light. For example, digital innovation has been driven by communications, e-commerce, consumer electronics and the PC since the mid-1980s, even though the sector originally depended on the defence industry. This alliance puts government and security back at the forefront.

In other ways though, Aukus reflects a consolidation of how the technology landscape has evolved during the last five years amid greater competition between China and the West and recurrent talk of decoupling.

As well as restricting the US activities of several Chinese companies through its Entities List (most notably, but not exclusively Huawei), Washington has blocked Chinese-led takeovers of companies it considers particularly sensitive, such as Lattice Semiconductor. Aukus itself is then consistent with the recommendation of March's US National Security Commission on AI, chaired by former Google chief Eric Schmidt, that the US needed to not just increase its own efforts but also "rally our closest allies and partners to defend and compete in the coming era of AI-accelerated competition and conflict".

UK regulators are still mulling over US company Nvidias proposed $54bn bid for Cambridge-based Arm partly for national security issues more on that later and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has launched probes into a clutch of others. These include a Chinese-backed deal for semiconductor manufacturer Newport Wafer Fab and one with suggested Chinese involvement involving the takeover of a Welsh graphene specialist, Perpetuus Group.

For its part, China has hardly sought to hide that it views AI and other emerging technologies as key to defence as well as future economic prosperity. Its New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan was published in 2017 and calls for the country to be the world leader in the sector by 2030. It became a policy priority following the 2016 defeat of the world Go champion, Lee Sedol, in a tournament against AlphaGo, an AI developed by UK-based Google subsidiary DeepMind Technologies. Chinas military leaders see Go as an important proving ground in the development of strategic thinking for the battlefield.

The landscape has changed greatly since, also in 2016, Theresa Mays government nodded through Softbanks original acquisition of Arm, back then passing over concerns raised in the Ministry of Defence similar to those being taken more seriously today.

With the AI race well under way whether you like it or not the consolidation within Aukus of the research efforts of the three countries promises not only the technological benefits Tugendhat identifies but also feels like a necessary acceleration.

But there will be a price.

The cycle for delivering consumer and other branches of civilian innovation has shortened from the 18 months in Moores Law to one that is now, to all intents and purposes, annual. Of late, defence applications have often used the benefits of programmable logic to which various secret combinations of spices and sauces would be added. However, it has been clear for a while that the worlds of hardware and software are eliding for AI, and quantum computing will require a shift to entirely new architectures. As a result, what companies can and cannot release to the public, and when, is likely to come under much tighter official scrutiny. Time-to-market vs. Defence of the Realm(s).

Consolidation as well as greater cooperation across the three countries is also a possibility, and this brings things back to Arm-Nvidia. As two world-class companies operating in the technology spaces covered by Aukus, and given the environment the alliance seeks to create, it may be much harder for UK regulators to block the deal. Indeed, they may now want to encourage it. Meanwhile the EU, which has serious antitrust concerns over the union of the leading IP provider with a leading chipmaker, may feel understandable French anger notwithstanding that there is too much political risk in objecting, particularly with some members nervous about the extent of President Joe Bidens commitment to Nato.

Then, some of the more notable consequences may be for the global research infrastructure, one that had become increasingly freewheeling since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Some familiar voices are already proclaiming Aukus as evidence of the Brexit dividend. Never mind the facts that technological collaboration between the three members is already taking place through the Five Eyes intelligence alliance (with New Zealand and Canada, both not part of this agreement); that the US and UK have been sharing the nuclear propulsion research covered since 1958 and already overlap hugely in defence research (e.g., BAE Systems); and that the technological and national security trends in AI and quantum have only surfaced since the referendum vote (Lets spend 250m a week on R&D, anyone? Anyone?)

That said, as emerging technologies are considered more sensitive, governments are going to reconsider how far they can go in undertaking certain types of cutting-edge work through multinational economic bodies like the EU and other civil partnerships rather than military alliances operating under strict secrecy. Just how open exchanges in technical conferences covering those areas can be in future is also now even more up for debate.

These issues have always been there. And they have always been tricky. But are we at a point where they are about to be as tricky as they were half a century ago, and when those who knew how to navigate such territory have either retired or passed away? And, of course, we do not yet know where any boundaries are going to be set.

Many in the UK technology sector will see Aukus as a great opportunity. They are probably right to do so. But, even if not entirely in public view, the three powers involved need to communicate how they expect commercial and academic collaboration to work clearly and, given the alliance positions the areas within its scope as pressing and serious, quickly. Submarines may look like item one on the agenda, but everything else is equally immediate.

Once youve shook things up, you must still reorder them. Ad hoc simply isnt an option. The months ahead will be busy ones. Well, they better had be.

Sign up to the E&T News e-mail to get great stories like this delivered to your inbox every day.

See the original post here:

View from Washington: Aukus looms over AI and quantum - E&T Magazine

The National Science Foundation (NSF) today announced a $5 million, two-year award to a University of Maryland-led multi-institutional team to develop quantum interconnectscrucial technology to connect quantum computers and pave the way for a quantum internet.

The team, QuaNeCQT (Quantum Networks to Connect Quantum Technology), has been developing the quantum versions of a modem and a routerfamiliar equipment in the world of standard, or classical computing, but a challenge to build for use with devices that operate based on the principles of quantum.

The devices allow ion trap quantum computersa leading approach to quantum information processing developed in part at the University of Marylandto exchange quantum information over distances measured in kilometers, eventually leading to the development of networks that could revolutionize numerous industries and help solve vexing societal problems.

Quantum networks are at an inflection point with the potential for significant expansion, said Edo Waks, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and associate director of UMDs Quantum Technology Center (QTC). But the scale-up cant happen without standardized modular hardware between the new computers that are emerging and the vast infrastructure of the current internet.

The hardware we are developing will address the critical gap, opening up the door to the future quantum internet that can connect quantum computers over continental distances, said Waks.

Other UMD team members include physics Assistant Professor and QTC Fellow Norbert Linke, and Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX) Executive Director Tripti Sinha, assistant vice president and chief technology officer for UMDs Division of Information Technology. The team also includes Dirk Englund of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Saikat Guha of the University of Arizona.

The researchers plan to deploy this new technology in the Mid-Atlantic Region Quantum Internet (MARQI), UMD's regional quantum network footprint. The MARQI network will interconnect quantum computers at UMD, the Army Research Laboratory, MAX and IonQa leading quantum computing company focused on ion-trap computers that operates in UMDs Discovery Districtwith a potential for significant expansion.

During the first phase of research, the team developed working prototypes of the quantum router and modem. Using a process called quantum frequency conversion, the modem converts signals from a quantum computer to infrared photons that can propagate through optical fibers over long distances. The router is powered by a silicon photonic chip that manipulates quantum signals in the network using quantum teleportationan effect demonstrated in 2009 by researchers at UMDs Joint Quantum Institute that allows quantum states to be transferred between particles that are physically separate. The team has deployed these prototypes in the MARQI network and established direct links with the various nodes of the network.

A quantum network could revolutionize numerous industries that take advantage of quantum computing including computing, banking, medicine and data analytics It would also enable connection of many multiple small quantum computers into powerful distributed quantum computers that could potentially solve problems with significant societal impact, from curing diseases to new approaches to fighting climate change.

As quantum technology converges with the Internet, a new technology sector would emerge, the researchers say, bringing with it the potential for major economic growth by producing rapid technological innovation and creating a large number of new jobs for the future quantum workforce, just as the emergence of the Internet did toward the late 20th century.

Read the original post:

$5M NSF Grant to Fund Research on Quantum Internet Foundations - Maryland Today

Quantum computing stocks are gaining traction as this once-nascent industry is fast evolving. Wall Street is paying increased attention to the segment as companies move from the experimental research phase to developing commercially feasible computers that can solve the worlds most complex problems and revolutionize businesses in many industries. Thus, quantum computing stocks have become a hot item.

Overall, quantum computers offer computational power 100 million times faster than todays ordinary computers at the moment. They can process more information exponentially with each additional quantum bit, or qubit.

From advances in machine learning to healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced cybersecurity capabilities, quantum computers are expected to have a significant impact across a wide range of industries. Therefore, I want to introduce three quantum computing stocks to invest in the rest of this year.

Multiple countries are already involved in the quantum computing race, and The Global Quantum Computing Market Size is expected to value USD 487.4 million in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 3728.4 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 25.40% over the forecast period from 2021 to 2030.

So, with that information, lets take a look at three of the top quantum computing stocks on the market right now.

Now, lets dive in and take a closer look at each one.

52-Week Range: $31.76 52.51Dividend Yield: 0.43%Expense Ratio: 0.40% per year

We start our discussion with an exchange-traded fund (ETF), namely the Defiance Quantum ETF. It invests in global businesses that are leading the technology and applications behind quantum computing, cloud platforms, machine learning, as well as other advanced computing technologies.

QTUM, which has 71 holdings, tracks the returns of the BlueStar Quantum Computing and Machine Learning Index. The fund was first listed in September 2018.

In terms of subsectors, we see Quantum Computing Technology (35.56%), followed by Machine Learning Services (21.44%), AI Chips (17.67%), GPU & Other Hardware (13.07%) and Big Data & Cloud Computing (9.39%). Close to 60% of the companies are U.S.-based. Others come from Japan (12.64%), the Netherlands (8.39%), Taiwan (4.11%) among others.

Leadings names in the roster are Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI), Ambarella (NASDAQ:AMBA), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Synaptics (NASDAQ:SYNA), and Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK). The top 10 stock comprise close to 20% of net assets of $132.4 million.

Year-to-date, QTUM is up more than 25% and hit a record high in recent days. As the funds holdings show, there are not many pure-play quantum computing stocks. Instead, a large number of tech names are increasing their focus on the quantum realm. Despite the recent run-up in price, such names in the quantum computing space are likely to create many more quarters of shareholder value. Potential investors could consider buying the dips.

52-week Range: $105.92$152.84Dividend Yield: 4.8%

In June, International Business Machinesrevealed Europes first quantum computerin Germany. According to IBM, the Q System One is now Europes most powerful quantum computer. In this race, IBM is not alone and elsewhere, other tech giants, including Google (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON), are also investing heavily in the quantum computing world.

IBM generates revenue from five segments namely cloud and cognitive software, global business services, global technology services, systems and global financing. While global technology services has the highest share in the top line with about 35%, cloud and cognitive business is the most lucrative business as it has more than 25% pre-tax margin.

The company announced second quarter financial figures at the end of July. Revenue was $18.7 billion implying 3% year-over-year (YOY) growth. Net income of $1.3 million meant a decline of 3% YOY. Diluted non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) was $2.33. A year ago, it had been $2.18. Meanwhile, net cash from operating activities stood at $17.7 billion.

Management believes quantum computing will play a key role in healthcare as it could enable a range of disruptive use cases for providers and health plans by accelerating diagnoses, personalizing medicine, and optimizing pricing. Quantum-enhanced machine learning algorithms are particularly relevant to the sector.

On the results, CFO James Kavanaugh cited,We expanded operating margins and grew profit dollars in the quarter, providing a key contribution to our cash performance. The company expects to grow revenue for fiscal year 2021 and anticipates free cash flow of $11 billion-$12 billion in 2021.

So far in the year, IBM stock returned just over 9.3%, and hit a multi-year high in June. Since then, though the shares have come under pressure, and price-sales (P/S) ratio stands at 1.66 times. Potential investors could regard the recent decline in price as an opportunity to buy for the long-run.

52-week Range: $196.25 $305.84Dividend Yield: 0.76%

Our last stock is the tech giant Microsoft, which generates revenue from three segments namely Productivity and Business Processes (such as Office 365 and LinkedIn) , Intelligent Cloud (Azure, Premier Support Services, and Consulting Services) and More Personal Computing (Windows Commercial, Bing, and Xbox).

Microsofts fiscal year ends on June 30. At the end of July, the company issued Q4 2021 results. Revenue was $46.2 billion, up 21% YOY. Additionally, net income grew 47% YOY growth to $16.5 billion. Diluted EPS was $2.17 for the fourth quarter, up 49% from a year ago. The company also ended its fiscal year with $14.2 billion cash and equivalents.

Following the announcement, CFO Amy Hood said, As we closed out the fiscal year, our sales teams and partners delivered a strong quarter with over 20%top and bottom-line growth, highlighted by commercial bookings growth of 30% year over year.

For the next quarter, Microsoft shared its segment revenue guidance. Hence, in the Productivity and Business Processes segment, the company expects its revenue between $14.5 and $14.75 billion. For Intelligent Cloud, Microsoft anticipates revenue to be between $16.4 and $16.65 billion.

Microsoft highlights, From breakthroughs in physics and nanomaterials to seamless integration with Microsoft Azure, Microsoft is leading the way to scalable, accessible quantum computing. For example, analysts have been pointing out how Microsofts quantum technology could influence the power industry, healthecare privacy, and personalized medicine.

So far in 2021, MSFT stock is up more than 33% and reached a record high in late August. Moreover, the stock is trading at 13.38 times current sales. Therefore, interested readers could consider investing in the shares for the long-term around current levels.

On the date of publication, Tezcan Gecgil did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to theInvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines.

TezcanGecgil has worked in investment management for over two decades in the U.S. and U.K. In addition to formal higher education in the field, she has also completed all 3 levels of the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) examination. Her passion is for options trading based on technical analysis of fundamentally strong companies. She especially enjoys setting up weekly covered calls for income generation.

See the original post:

3 Quantum Computing Stocks to Buy for Their Promising Healthcare Potential - InvestorPlace

As College Park looks to growits commercial sector and generate demand for office space planned around the University of Maryland's campus, one emerging technology industryis providing promise: quantum computing.

Bisnow/Jon Banister

PGEDC's Ebony Stocks, Brandywine CEO Gerard Sweeney and University of Maryland President Darryll Pines.

College Park startup IonQreached a $2B dealin March that would make it the first quantum computing company to go public, and it is expectedto complete itsIPO later this month. Last week, IonQ and UMDannounced a partnership to develop a new quantum computing lab that they said would be the first of its kind inthe country.

Theuniversity is spending$20M to build the lab, and it has previously invested $300M into quantum science to helpadvancethe emerging sector. Leaders from the university and the county, speaking Wednesday at Bisnow's Future of Prince George's Countyevent in College Park, said the cityhas the ability to become a national hubfor quantum computing, potentially creating a new commercial real estate cluster around the campus.

University of Maryland President Darryll Pines, who was dean of theuniversity's engineering school before becoming presidentlast year, said he seesthe IonQ IPO and lab partnership as a major opportunity for College Park.

"This is the beginning of a new industry; this is why you should care," Pines told the audience of around 175 commercial real estate professionals. "It's at the nascent stage right now, but the fact that it's sitting here in our backyard allows us to leverage it and allows us to build a quantum industry in this region."

Pines said College Park is particularly primed to benefit from this industry's growth because of itsDiscovery District, a150-acre mixed-use district in between the campus and the Metro station that the university is partnering with private developers to build. The Discovery District welcomed a new 297-room hotel in 2017anda WeWork coworking space in 2019, and it has several office, multifamily and retail projects in various stages ofdevelopment.

The latest project to move forward in the Discovery District is a 5-acre, $300M development from Brandywine Realty Trust. The university and its partner, Terrapin Development Co., selectedBrandywine in March to build 550K SF of office, 250 multifamily units and retail.

Courtesy of Brandywine Realty Trust

A rendering of the mixed-use project Brandywine plans to build in College Park's Discovery District.

Brandywine Realty Trust CEO Gerard Sweeney announced at Thursday'sevent that the project will be branded as Discovery Point, and he said heaims to start construction within 18 months. He said he thinks the project could support the city's emerging quantum computing sector.

"It will be a combination of office, academic research, translational labs and quantum computing support, so really space that we'll be building to support the growth and ecosystem within the university," Sweeney said.

Sweeney, whose Philadelphia-based company has completedsimilar projects around the University of Pennsylvaniacampus, compared the opportunity College Park has with quantum computing to thebooming cell and gene therapy industry in Philadelphia. That industrywas inits early stages a decade ago when Brandywine got involved, and Sweeney said because of U Penn's research leadership, Philadelphianow has 88 cell and gene therapy companies employing 56,000 people.

"When we looked at Discovery Point, we saw the same opportunity here," he said. "The vision is what it can be, not what it is. Our job is to translate what it is and how it looks and make sure it's an attractive platform to be really a physical accelerator to the mission of the university and Prince George's County of job creation."

Bisnow/Jon Banister

FSC First's Dawn Medley, Terrapin Development Co.'s Ken Ulman, Cybrary's Ralph Sita, COPT's Dean Lopez, Southern Management's Suzanne Hillman and Velocity Cos.' Brandon Bellamy.

Terrapin Development Co. President Ken Ulman, who previously served as Howard County Executive and unsuccessfully ran forlieutenantgovernor of Maryland before coming back to work oneconomic development around his alma mater, has an ambitious vision for College Park's tech industry.

"When we think about places in this country that are truly thriving, especially with the tech economy, whether it's Silicon Valley or Austin or Boston or the Research Triangle, what do they have in common? They have universities in those communities that understand their role in commercializing technology and producing a workforce," Ulman said.

"The University of Maryland hasn't always played that role," Ulman added. "We're now doing it. The first role is for UMD to reach its full mission and reach its potential to be able to be that full engine."

Ulman, in an email to Bisnow after the event, said he also worked with UMD tolaunchQuantum Start-up Foundry, an accelerator that offers space, resources and equipment to quantum computing companies that emerge out of the university or relocate to College Park.

"Our focus is truly the ecosystem, from training students in quantum to providing the space and resources necessary to access world-class equipment," he said. "It is rare to be at the start of a truly new technology revolution, and when the opportunity emerged, you must seize it and that's what President Pines and the team are doing."

Corporate Office Properties Trust, in partnership with UMD, has builtover 400K SF of office space in the Discovery District and hasat least 1M SF morein the pipeline. COPT Senior Vice President Dean Lopez said the area has receivedstrong leasing demand in the defense, cybersecurity and technology industries.

"The Discovery District has really evolved and continues to evolve into its own micromarket, and the proximity to the university as a big part of that," Lopez said. "What we've found is companies and organizations that land themselves in theDiscovery District, they don't want to leave, and if anything the challenge is keeping them there as they grow."

One of the companies that has grown in the Discovery District is Cybrary, which movedfrom Greenbelt to an 11K SF College Park space in 2019, and then last year expandedto a 26K SF space at COPT's new 4600 River Road building. Cybrary co-founder Ralph Sita said other jurisdictions including Virginia had tried to lure the company away, but it decided to stay in College Park because of the university.

"I've seen the growth, and I've seen what's happening at the University of Maryland, and I knew for Cybrary to attract great talent it was germane to our mission that we were associated with one of the best institutions in the country," Sita said.

Bisnow/Jon Banister

RISE Investment Partners' Brad Frome and Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.

Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks saidthe county has worked with the university and IonQ on the quantum computing lab partnership, and she sees it as a growth engine that could be replicated in other parts of the county.

"The Discovery District is emblematic of what we see all across the county," Alsobrooks said. "There are so many amazing things about the opportunities that are here ... IonQ is just one example, but there are so many other things that are right now literally growing as a result of the relationship, so it only gets better from here."

Read the original:

'This Is The Beginning Of A New Industry': College Park Looks To Quantum Computing To Spark Office Growth - Bisnow