In 1965, cryogenics pioneer Ori V. Lunasmar established the Low Temperature Laboratory (LTL) at what is now Aalto University to study cryogenic physics. Despite initial skepticism: “Why would anyone want to do cold research in Finland?” LTL has flourished, attracting researchers from all over the world and laying the foundations for Finland’s leading quantum computing startup ecosystem. I built it.
Quantum computing has long been a pipe dream. Arthur C. Clarke’s words from the 1970s that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” have never been more true than when trying to better understand phenomena such as quantum entanglement. However, the individual pieces of the puzzle are beginning to come together at an increasingly rapid pace.
Overcoming the NISQ era
But before we go further down the quantum rabbit hole, a little public service for those wondering what quantum computers that use quantum bits (qubits) as their fundamental units of data actually do. I’ll let you know. Actually, there aren’t that many yet. However, their potential is nothing short of magical.
If the reality that evangelists hope becomes a reality, quantum computers will be able to solve complex problems including climate change, new materials engineering, new types of medicine, ultra-secure encryption, and more. They can also literally “break the internet”. known as Q-day.
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“The ultimate goal is to run AI and accelerate it with the help of quantum computers, and that kind of system will be able to solve some questions on a superhuman level, so to speak,” International Affairs Director Juha Vartainen said. The co-founder of Finland’s IQM, Europe’s leading quantum hardware company in superconducting circuits, told TNW.
“Maybe it’s a philosophical question about how the world works that has direct access to the quantum realm,” he muses. So basically, it’s the ultimate question about life, the universe, and everything.
But this is like a quantum utopia. Quantum technology, especially quantum computers, is still in its infancy. Start-ups looking to carve a niche in this field will need to find a way to survive economically in the so-called NISQ era. This stands for Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum and refers to the current state of high error rates and limited number of qubits.
This is considered to be a period of exploration and learning rather than actual commercial applications. This, in turn, means that it will be difficult for investors to convert technology expectations into profits within a normal time frame.
“We are a camel startup,” says Himadri Majumdar, founder and CEO of Semiquon, which develops silicon-based semiconductor quantum processors. “We will work at a slow but steady pace.”
SemiQon, which was spun out from Finland’s state-run non-profit research organization VTT, was able to leverage both private and public funding, Majumdar explains. “What we’re trying to do is demonstrate in cycles how we can get to the scalability aspect with each manufacturing iteration.”
geopolitical quantum realm
Because of the difficulty in attracting capital, the advantage in quantum computing primarily belongs to countries whose governments are willing to put money into what they believe will give them economic or geopolitical advantage in the future. . In 2022, China poured $15.3 billion into the technology, followed by just $1.8 billion from the U.S. government and $1.2 billion from the European Union.
Quantum computing market will be worth $9.3 billion in 2022 expected to grow to $203.1 billion Companies with significant quantum projects include major technology companies such as IBM, Google Quantum AI, Amazon, and Microsoft. But the small Nordic nation has built a world-leading quantum technology ecosystem, including companies that wouldn’t exist without quantum computers.
“From our perspective, the story is just beginning,” says Jonas Geust, CEO of Bluefors, essentially the world market leader in quantum computer refrigerators. These are golden “chandeliers” that keep the qubits cool. These are the requirements for today’s superconducting qubits to function and are completely synonymous with quantum computers in the public’s mind.
However, that may change as quantum computing systems begin to scale. Bluefors’ largest “fridge” to date is his KIDE, built to support 1,000 qubit systems (such as IBM’s). quantum condor chip). KIDE is different in construction in that it stands on the floor rather than hanging from the ceiling.
It’s also hexagonal, allowing you to remove one of the doors and place another KIDE next to it to link multiple quantum computers together. “We’re looking at ways to build scalability for different industry needs,” Guest adds. “We are working on what the customer will need in his five years and what the actual implementation is still a long way off.”
Bluefors was founded in 2008 by Rob Blauwgeers and Pieter Vorselman. Today, he has 600 employees, sales of more than 160 million euros, and considers the United States his “second home.” The company is also exploring other applications for cryogenic technology, including cooling sensitive sensors for astrophysics, hydrogen storage, and basic materials science.
Comparing short-term quantum computer utilities to the million-qubit era
Other quantum hardware startups are also defining revenue-generating applications. For example, IQM has begun supplying research institutions with smaller qubit systems where future quantum engineers can learn to read and process qubits.The company was founded in 2018 and will be in 2022. Series A2 raises €128 million – largest funding round ever raised by a European quantum computing company.
The company’s first product is the “affordable” 5-qubit IQM Spark. “Quantum education has historically been available to only a small number of physicists,” Vartiainen says. “This was fine because we didn’t need that many quantum physicists. But now the situation has suddenly changed.”
The idea behind Spark is that “students can play around with it and perform physical simulations, which are very fundamental discoveries in quantum physics, and run some simple algorithms to create a quantum computer. “You can learn how it works,” explains Vartiainen.
IQM is also preparing to ship a larger system, Radiance, in the range of 54 to 150 qubits, which will take advantage of the quantum advantage (the ability of quantum computers to empirically solve problems that classical computers cannot solve). “The path is paved” and smaller systems can be manipulated and operated before larger systems become commercially available that purport to help companies train.
IQM has found a commercial niche because it helps train scientists with currently available quantum technologies, using superconductors that require large refrigeration equipment. Meanwhile, SEMIQON is building semiconductor quantum chips that are far less affected by temperature in preparation for the “one million qubit era.”
“What we were doing at VTT was based on superconductors, where we were building superconductor-based quantum computers. It also had the ability to implement computing devices,” Majumdar said. “Personally, that was more interesting to me because semiconductors are scalable and affordable, and this technology has greater scalability.”
Strength of Finnish ecosystem and talent discovery
Beyond academic tradition, what is the foundation on which Finland has built this cutting-edge quantum business container? “One is that it is very focused,” says IQM’s Vartiainen. Masu. “In reality, this is a very small area. There are quite a few quantum players within probably a radius of two or three kilometers.”
“There is a lot of know-how in this ecosystem,” Majumdar emphasizes. “This means you can find solutions and people with solutions relatively easily and quickly compared to other places.”
access to fFacilities and government-supported infrastructure, like the one in VTT outside Helsinki, are also essential for startups working in areas such as quantum. “If you need a measurement facility for a specific, very niche measurement, you can find it here. You don’t even have to go far,” says Majumdar.
Bluefors actively collaborates with universities and hosts many summer trainees. In fact, partnerships also appear to be the key to solving workforce-related issues. For example, when looking for micro-engineering skills, the company turned to the nearby Finnish Watch School.
When asked about the difficulty of finding people for such highly skilled jobs, Geust said: I think this is something that anyone working with new technology has experienced. ”
He then said something that seemed to sum up the Finnish spirit and, perhaps in part, how this ecosystem has succeeded above its weight in attracting both talent and foreign investment. I will explain. “On the other hand, I think from the school side there’s no point in complaining. We just need to do a better job.”
We are still a long way from quantum supremacy (even experts can’t agree on exactly how far). We still have to observe, learn, invent, and maybe dream enough until that day becomes a reality. But until then, quantum computers will be able to work with classical computers to run very specialized simulations.
This is highly researched in the realm of quantum software engineering and is a whole other chapter in the quantum story, which I will cover in another article.