TOKYO, March 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- QunaSys Inc. ("QunaSys"), one of the world's leading developers of innovative algorithms in chemistry focused on accelerating the development of quantum technology applicability, has announced today that it has raised $10 million in its series B funding stage the led by JIC Venture Growth Investments ("VGI"), with participation from ANRI, Fujitsu Ventures Fund LLC, Global Brain, HPC Systems Inc., JST SUCCESS Program, MUFJ Capital, Shinsei Corporate Investment Limited, and Zeon Corporation. Simultaneously, QunaSys has announced that it has come to an agreement with Zeon Corporation, Fujitsu Limited, and HPC Sytems Inc. for a capital tie-up and a business alliance. The investment means an important progress for QunaSys since the previous financing in 2019.

Since 2019, QunaSys has grown its R&D and business development activities and achieved record business growth. In July 2020, QunaSys established QPARC, a Japanese consortium to study quantum computing applicability of quantum computers. Since then, more than 50 companies have participated in QPARC and the consortium has explored different quantum computing use cases, such as new energy analysis, molecular structure optimization, or sustainable material manufacturing, from ENEOS Holding and JSR Corporation.

In October 2021, QunaSys launched "Qamuy", a cloud-accessible quantum computing development platform that now has more than 3.3 million jobs executed over it. In anticipation of the quantum computing market adoption in the upcoming years, QunaSys aims to make its "Qamuy" available as the global de-facto standard for main hardware devices.

"Although quantum computer hardware is being developed around the world, for quantum computers to be widely used by users it is essential to have appropriate algorithms to meet the challenges and software that serves as an interface for users to master quantum computers. We have invested in QunaSys because we believe that QunaSys will be an indispensable company for the future spread of quantum computers in Japan. " Yuki Kuwabara, JIC Venture Growth Investments Co., Ltd., Principal

QunaSys is collaborating with Europe based consortiums to boost quantum computing, working together with the Pistoia Alliance in the development of quantum computing in the Pharma Industry and the Quantum Flagship program contributing to re-train industry workers with quantum computing for chemistry learning programs.

"It has been four years since we established QunaSys, andsince then with the help of our talented members and companies at the forefront of their industry, we have been working towards the practical application of quantum computers. This fundraising will help accelerate the development of more usable quantum computing chemical software and expand current business overseas to open a European base." Tennin Yan, QunaSys Inc. CEO.

Explore career opportunities at QunaSys and join the quantum computing revolution! >> https://qunasys.com/en/careers

About QunaSys Inc.

QunaSys is the world's leading developer of innovative algorithms in chemistry focused on accelerating the development of quantum technology applicability. QunaSys enables maximization of the power of quantum computing through its advanced joint research that addresses cutting-edge technologies providing Qamuy, one of the most powerful quantum chemical calculation cloud software to ever exist,fostering the development of collaboration through its QPARC industry consortium,and working with research institutions from both academia and government sectors. QunaSys software runs on multiple platforms with applicability in all chemical-relatedindustries to encouragethe adoption of quantumcomputing.

*All company and product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of QunaSys, Inc. or their respective companies.

CONTACT: QunaSys Inc., E-mail: [emailprotected]

SOURCE QunaSys Inc.

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QunaSys Raises $10M in its Series B Funding Led by VGI to Expand Overseas Markets Further as a Japan-Based Quantum Computer Software Startup - PR...

While Im convinced 2011 will ultimately go down in history as the year the groundbreaking motion picture Cowboys & Aliens was released, it bears mentioning that it was also the year in which the first commercial quantum computer officially went online.

You can dispute whether Daniel Craigs turn as an alien-fighting gold thief with amnesia is worthy of such high praise, but theres no debating that D-Waves a bonafide pioneer in the world of quantum computing.

Dubbed the D-Wave One (two years before the Xbox One gaming system came out), the companys first production model was a quantum annealing system designed to attack optimization problems.

Over a decade later, the company is working on the Advantage Two. Not counting prototypes, itll be the outfits sixth major quantum computing system.

Advantage Two will be a quantum-annealing system featuring a whopping 7,000 functioning qubits.

For folks whove followed quantum computing news, that 7,000 functioning qubits figure might look like a typo. The largest gate-based model were aware of is QuEras 256-qubit neutral atom system.

But D-Waves system uses a different technology.

As Rebel Brown, a marketer whose blog I found at random, explains quite eloquently:

One way to understand the difference between the two types of quantum computer is that the gate model quantum computers require problems to be expressed in terms of quantum gates, and the quantum annealing computer requires problems to be expressed in the language of operations research problems.

But dont just take Browns word for it. The two kinds of quantum computers are as different as night and day. Where gate-based models are still more research than function, D-Waves annealing systems have been solving problems for decades.

As Murray Thom, VP of product management for D-Wave, put it in a recent interview with Neural:

Our focus is 100% on commercial use-cases and bringing value to our customers.

And that means using quantum computers to provide solutions right now. Quantum annealing does that because, as Thom told us, its really the only way to approach optimization problems.

However there are more than just optimization problems out there that need solving. Advantage Two should be able to, for example, help medical facilities optimize nurse and physician schedules across massive geographic areas during disasters and outbreaks.

But it wont be as useful as a gate-based quantum computer when it comes to running quantum simulations for challenging problems such as drug discovery.

Ideally, youd be able to use both. But gate-based systems are experimental at best. Until recently, with the launch of its Clarity Roadmap, D-Waves been content to be a quantum-annealing company in the streets and a cutting-edge research org in the lab.

That all changed last year when D-Wave unveiled its ambitions to combine gate-based technologies with annealing systems using cloud-based portals and tailored software solutions.

Thom told us that D-Wave is convinced that the time is now. Not just for its own stockholders (the companys in the process of going public) but for the entire industry.

According to Thom:

From 2017-2018 to now there has been this explosion in quantum computing tools and getting people access to them. This next phase is going to be the rapid expansion point.

The quantum computing market is expected to triple in the next three years. While theres certainly room for everyone, not all market shares are created equal.

D-Waves already secured its position as the front-runner in quantum optimization solutions. The addition of gate-based systems through separate or integrated stacks could potentially provide its customers with the worlds only one-stop shop for spooky-action-at-a-distance-as-a-service.

Neurals take: Itll be interesting to see if D-Waves ambitions and experience can overcome Googles hunger and bankroll or IBMs sheer tenacity when it comes to pressing an advantage in the field.

At the end of the day, a rising tide lifts all vessels. Were probably further away from quantum computing companies competing for clients than we are from useful gate-based systems. For now at least, theres plenty of quantum problems to go around.

Read this article:
D-Wave's cross platform quantum services are bridge to the future - The Next Web

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Major world governments are increasingly focusing on fusion energy research as a potential foundation for gaining the economic and military advantage in the twenty-first century, and perhaps beyond. In this emerging arena of supercharged competition, the quantum computing systems, algorithms, and tokamak design plans developed by Kronos Fusion Energy Defense Systems could be a key factor in winning a significant edge for the USA over its economic and political rival, China.

Fusion energy, known theoretically since 1920, promises potentially near-limitless energy generation, free from polluting or radioactive byproducts. With rising petroleum costs and the looming specter of global warming, developing workable fusion technology is more urgent than ever. The first country to make breakthroughs to practical fusion will become the world's energy leader, giving its decisive advantage in commerce, defense, and space exploration that could last for generations.

With immense government backing and funding, most recently reinforced in China's 14th Five-Year Plan, Chinese scientists seemingly lead the world with the $900 million Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). The EAST recently set records by maintaining stable plasma at 120 million degrees for more than 1.5 minutes. China budgeted hundreds of millions more to operate and upgrade the EAST reactor, while funding the training of over 1,000 new fusion physicists.

China's vigorous fusion program is committed to developing its quantum computing resources. Centered on the recently founded Chinese National Laboratory for Quantum Information Sciences, the program has received billions of dollars in funding. China currently holds 2.5 times more patents in deep learning than America, as well as a cornerstone of advanced quantum computing, while aggressively pursuing further developments. Chinese premier Xi Jinping even describes these technological sectors as the "main battleground" between the USA and China.

Currently, the edge in these economically and strategically vital technologies arguably belong to the PRC. However, Kronos offers the potential to redress this balance by bringing together quantum computing and fusion energy into a single powerful project. Harnessing the ability of quantum devices, neural networks, and machine learning to crunch immense quantities of data, while testing a multidimensional array of thousands of problems, learning and adapting in real-time, the potent simulations Kronos has developed should enable building fusion tokamaks 4,000% more effective than current reactors.

Kronos believes the lightning-fast development and analysis cycle provided by its algorithms will empower the U.S. to leapfrog twenty years ahead of China in fusion energy generation. Its quantum computing systems will not only enable developing precise, efficient fusion reactor designs, compact fusion engines for spacecraft, and other fusion technology, but demonstrate the viability of quantum learning as a breakthrough tool of economic and scientific success. Kronos' cutting-edge "proof-of-concept" will potentially attract robust public and private investment to the wider quantum research sector, putting the USA on course to achieve superiority not only in tokamak design but also in quantum computing research.

PR Contact: Erin Pendleton - pr@kronosfusionenergy.com

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How Kronos Could Help the US Win the Fusion and Quantum Computing Race With China - GlobeNewswire

COLLEGE PARK, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), a leader in trapped-ion quantum computing, was named to TIMEs annual TIME100 Most Influential Companies list. This ranking highlights 100 companies that are making an extraordinary impact across the globe.

IonQ is honored to be a part of this years TIME100 Most Influential Companies list, said Peter Chapman, President and CEO of IonQ. TIMEs recognition of quantum computings impact, and its specific recognition of IonQs role as an industry leader underscores the viability and promise of whats possible as we usher in the era of quantum computing.

IonQ was selected for inclusion in the New Frontiers category. To assemble the list, TIME solicited nominations from every sectorranging from health care and entertainment to transportation and technologyfrom its editors and correspondents around the world, as well as from industry experts. TIME editors then evaluated each nominee on factors including company relevance, impact, innovation, leadership and success.

IonQ's inclusion in the TIME100 is the company's latest achievement in a year of significant momentum in business and technical breakthroughs. On Monday, IonQ announced the Companys Q4 2021 and Full Year 2021 earnings. During this announcement, the team highlighted remarkable technology progress and announced that it achieved more than triple its original bookings projection. In October, IonQ became the first publicly traded pure-play quantum computing company.

As for technical breakthroughs, this year, IonQ introduced IonQ Aria, the worlds most powerful quantum computer, based on standard application-oriented industry benchmarks; discovered a new family of quantum gates that can accelerate quantum algorithms and can only be conducted on IonQ and Duke University systems; became the first company to use barium ions as qubits to further enable advanced quantum computing architectures; and secured a public-private manufacturing partnership with Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) to produce barium qubits. IonQ is also the only quantum hardware company with computers accessible on all three major cloud providers, and its computers are being used to tackle problems ranging from financial modeling to electric vehicle battery chemistry and risk management.

See the complete TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2022 list here: time.com/100companies

About IonQ

IonQ, Inc. is a leader in quantum computing, with a proven track record of innovation and deployment. IonQs latest generation quantum computer, IonQ Aria, is the worlds most powerful quantum computer, and IonQ has defined what it believes is the best path forward to scale.

IonQ is the only company with its quantum systems available through the cloud on Amazon Braket, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, as well as through direct API access. IonQ was founded in 2015 by Christopher Monroe and Jungsang Kim based on 25 years of pioneering research. To learn more, visit http://www.ionq.com.

About TIME

TIME is a global media brand that reaches a combined audience of more than 100 million around the world. A trusted destination for reporting and insight, TIME's mission is to tell the stories that matter most, to lead conversations that change the world and to deepen understanding of the ideas and events that define our time. With unparalleled access to the world's most influential people, the immeasurable trust of consumers globally, an unrivaled power to convene, TIME is one of the world's most recognizable media brands with renowned franchises that include the TIME100 Most Influential People, Person of the Year, Firsts, Best Inventions, World's Greatest Places and premium events including the TIME100 Summit and Gala, TIME100 Health Summit, TIME100 Next and more.

IonQ Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words. Statements that are not historical in nature, including the words anticipate, expect, suggests, plan, believe, intend, estimates, targets, projects, should, could, would, may, will, forecast and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include those related to IonQ Arias technical achievements, future potential, and status in the quantum computing industry. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: market adoption of quantum computing solutions and IonQs products, services and solutions; the ability of IonQ to protect its intellectual property; changes in the competitive industries in which IonQ operates; changes in laws and regulations affecting IonQs business; IonQs ability to implement its business plans, forecasts and other expectations, and identify and realize additional partnerships and opportunities; and the risk of downturns in the market and the technology industry including, but not limited to, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent incursion into Ukraine. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors section of IonQs Quarterly Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and other documents filed by IonQ from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and IonQ assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. IonQ does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.

Read more from the original source:
IonQ Named As One Of TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies - Business Wire

In the thick of action, Cisco has revealed the technology trends that are expected to make a significant impact in 2022 and beyond.

Commenting on the trends and predictions, Osama Al-Zoubi, CTO, Cisco Middle East and Africa, said: Technology is always evolving and moving in exciting new directions. In a time of fast-paced digitization, we identified a range of trends and innovations our customers can expect to see over the next years.

Prediction: Ethical, responsible, and explainable AI will become a top priority

The extreme quantity of data being generated has already exceeded human scale but still needs to be processed intelligently and, in some cases, in near real-time. This scenario is where machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) will come into their own.

The challenge is that data has ownership, sovereignty, privacy, and compliance issues associated with it. And if the AI being used to produce instant insights has inherent biases built-in, then these insights are inherently flawed.

This leads to the need for ethical, responsible, and explainable AI. The AI needs to be transparent, so everyone using the system understands how the insights have been produced. Transparency must be present in all aspects of the AI lifecycle its design, development, and deployment.

Prediction: Data driving Edge towards whole new application development

Modern enterprises are defined by the business applications they create, connect to and use. In effect, applications, whether they are servicing end-users or are business-to-business focused or even machine-to-machine connections, will become the boundary of the enterprise.

The business interactions that happen across different types of applications will create an ever-expanding deluge of data. Every aspect of every interaction will generate additional data to provide predictive insights. With predictive insights, the data will likely gravitate to a central data store for some use cases. However, other use cases will require pre-processing of some data at the Edge, including machine learning and other capabilities.

Prediction: Future of innovation and business is tied to unlocking the power of data

Beyond enabling contextual business insights to be generated from the data, teams will be able to better automate many complex actions, ultimately getting to automated self-healing. To achieve this future state, applications must be created with an automated, observable, and API (Application Programming Interface)-first mindset with seamless security embedded from development to run-time. Organisations will have the ability to identify, inspect, and manage APIs regardless of provider or source.

Prediction: Always-on, ubiquitous and cheap internet key to future tech and social equality

There is no doubt that the trend for untethered connectivity and communications will continue. The sheer convenience of using devices wirelessly is obvious to everyone, whether nomadic or mobile.

This always-on internet connectivity will further help alleviate social and economic disparity through more equitable access to the modern economy, especially in non-metropolitan areas, helping create jobs for everyone. But this also means that if wireless connectivity is lost or interrupted, activities must not come to a grinding halt.

The future needs ubiquitous, reliable, always-on internet connectivity at low price points. A future that includes seamless internet services requires the heterogeneity of access meaning AI-augmented and seamless connectivity between every cellular and Wi-Fi generation and the upcoming LEO satellite constellations and beyond.

Prediction: Quantum networking will power a faster, more secure future

Quantum computing and security will interconnect very differently than classical communications networks, which stream bits and bytes to provide voice and data information.

Quantum technology is fundamentally based on an unexplained phenomenon in quantum physics the entanglement between particles that enables them to share states. In the case of quantum networking, this phenomenon can be used to share or transmit information. The prospect of joining sets of smaller quantum computers together to make a very large quantum computer is enticing.

Quantum networking could enable a new type of secure connection between digital devices, making them impenetrable to hacks. As this type of fool proof security becomes achievable with quantum networking, it could lead to better fraud protection for transactions. In addition, this higher quality of secure connectivity may also be able to protect voice and data communications from any interference or snooping. All of these possibilities would re-shape the internet we know and use today.

Also read:

Alibaba: Top 10 trends that will shape the tech industry

Cisco simplifies software and services buying program with new Enterprise Agreement

See the article here:
From ethical AI to quantum networking Cisco predicts the future of technology - ITP.net

A recent investigation that resurfaced damning evidence that famed physicist Erwin Schrdinger was a pedophile is continuing to make waves in the academic community.

Schrdinger, widely cited as the father of quantum physics and perhaps best remembered for his 1935 thought experiment Schrdingers Cat, was widely revealed to be a pedophile by The Irish Times after the newspaper published a report detailing his record as a sexual predator and serial abuser.

Its a stomach-churning revelation about a researcher whose work revolutionized the study of the natural world and even led directly to todays international research frenzy into quantum computing and which shows, once again, that even the powerful and brilliant can be monsters.

The Irish Times identified young girls who Schrdinger became infatuated with, including a 14-year-old girl whom the physicist groomed after he became her math tutor.

Schrdinger, who died in 1961, later admitted to impregnating the girl when she was 17 and he was in his mid-forties. Horrifyingly, she then had a botched abortion that left her permanently sterile, according to the newspaper.

Perhaps most diabolically, the physicist kept a record of his abuse in his diaries, even justifying his actions by claiming he had a right to the girls due to his genius.

Walter Moore, author of the biography Schrdinger, Life and Thought published in 1989, said that the physicists attitudes towards women was essentially that of a male supremacist. Disgustingly, the biography seemed to downplay and even romanticize his abusive habits, and describes him as having a Lolita complex.

Schrdinger also attempted a relationship with a different 12-year-old girl, disgustingly writing in his journal that she was among the unrequited loves of his life. However, he decided not to pursue her after a family member voiced their concerns that the physicist was a, you know, unrepentant abusive predator.

In response, a petition has been launched to change the title of a lecture hall at Dublins Trinity University thats named after him.

We can acknowledge the great mark Schrdinger has left on science through our study, and this petition does not wish to diminish the impact his lectures or ideas had on physics, the petition says. However, it seems in bad taste that a modern college such as Trinity would honor this man with an entire building.

Thats true, of course. You can recognize the contributions someone has had in their field while also acknowledging that they were an absolute scumbag.

Buthonoring them by naming a lecture hall or a giant space telescope is completely unnecessary.

READ MORE: How Erwin Schrdinger insulted his Lolita complex in Ireland [The Irish Times]

More on horrible men: James Webb Hated Gay People. Why Are We Naming a Telescope After Him?

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Turns Out Schrdinger, the Father of Quantum Physics, Was a Pedophile - Futurism

Ever since Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, when Boba Fett busts his jet suit on Jabba the Hutts sail barge during the Battle of the Great Pit of Carkoon, well, this writer was hooked. Jet packs have since been depicted in media and sci-fi, most notably in the dystopian scenario of Spielbergs 2002 Minority Report (an adaptation of a 1956 science fiction novella by Philip K. Dick). The Guardian offers this thorough history of jet packs.

Technological fact now mirrors science fiction, as the British Royal Navy has recently been testing jet suit technology to board ships. A new video (above) was recently released by the UK-based Gravity Industries, which manufactures the jet suit technology.

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Now more than ever, organizations need to apply rigorous thought to business risks and opportunities. In doing so it is useful to understand the concepts embodied in the terms Black Swan and Gray Rhino. See: Potential Future Opportunities, Risks and Mitigation Strategies in the Age of Continuous Crisis

The OODA leadership and analysts have decades of experience in understanding and mitigating cybersecurity threats and apply this real world practitioner knowledge in our research and reporting. This page on the site is a repository of the best of our actionable research as well as a news stream of our daily reporting on cybersecurity threats and mitigation measures. See:Cybersecurity Sensemaking

OODAs leadership and analysts have decades of direct experience helping organizations improve their ability to make sense of their current environment and assess the best courses of action for success going forward. This includes helping establish competitive intelligence and corporate intelligence capabilities.Our special series on the Intelligent Enterprise highlights research and reports that can accelerate any organization along their journey to optimized intelligence. See: Corporate Sensemaking

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From the very beginning of the pandemic we have focused on research on what may come next and what to do about it today. This section of the site captures the best of our reporting plus daily daily intelligence as well as pointers to reputable information from other sites. See: OODA COVID-19 Sensemaking Page.

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OODA is one of the few independent research sources with experience in due diligence on quantum computing and quantum security companies and capabilities. Our practitioners lens on insights ensures our research is grounded in reality. See: Quantum Computing Sensemaking.

In 2020, we launched the OODAcast video and podcast series designed to provide you with insightful analysis and intelligence to inform your decision making process. We do this through a series of expert interviews and topical videos highlighting global technologies such as cybersecurity, AI, quantum computing along with discussions on global risk and opportunity issues. See: The OODAcast

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Jet Suit Testing by the British Royal Navy and Gravity Industries - OODA Loop

For more than a century, IBM has been rooted in the fundamental promise of technology: We believe that when we apply science to real-world problems, we can make progress - for both business and society. And as those problems have changed over time, so have we. IBM has repeatedly reinvented itself to overcome whatever obstacles stand in the way of innovation and value for our clients.

IBM scientists and engineers have been at the heart of our relentless reinvention. They have always been guided by a core principle, to deliver innovation that matters, for our company and the world.

Our commitment to research as part of our business model means we will continue to create the technologies that our clients and the world rely upon. For example, we have led US companies for decades in the number of patents received annually. Today, it was announced IBM has achieved this milestone for IBM's total of more than 8,500 patents led the IFI Claims Patent Service 2021 rankings.29 years in a row.

We are proud of this accomplishment and our leadership. However, the number of patents we receive has never told the full story of the innovation we drive. Our priority has always been leading the frontiers of computing and its relationship to business, science, professions, and society.

I believe that today, more than ever, we need innovation to meet the demands of many of the major challenges of our time - from models to create sustainable growth, to addressing future pandemics and climate change, to enabling energy and food security. To address them, we need faster discovery, open collaboration, efficient problem solving, and the ability to push science and business into new frontiers.

This future will be powered by a blend of high-performance computing, AI, and quantum computing, all integrated through the hybrid cloud. The confluence of these technologies represents a step change in computing, and the outcomes will surpass anything we've seen before. Together, these advancements can exponentially alter the speed and scale at which we can uncover solutions to complex problems. We've come to call this accelerated discovery.

Our priority has always been leading the frontiers of computing and its relationship to business, science, professions, and society.

But this will not happen in a vacuum. Strong innovation is built on a collaborative ecosystem, a commitment to long-term investment in hard tech challenges and fundamental materials, and the implementation of an open approach.

We have a long history of putting these principles into practice, and it's in this spirit we undertook some of the most daunting hard technology challenges in 2021 - and delivered on them.

To name just a few: we worked with our partners to demonstrate the first 2 nm nanosheet technology for semiconductors, which will support up to 50 billion transistors on a chip the size of a fingernail and offer enormous gains in efficiency. We also collaborated with Samsung on the successful prototype of a chip that defies conventional semiconductor design, and lays the groundwork to achieve energy density and performance levels previously thought unattainable.

And as we lead the quest to reach practical and large-scale quantum computing, we stayed true to the ambitious roadmap we laid out in 2020 and In addition to unveiling Eagle, our 127-qubit quantum processor, and previewing the design for IBM Quantum System Two, our next-generation system that will house future quantum processors, we also introduced, Quantum Serverless, a new programming model for leveraging quantum and classical resources. Read more.delivered Eagle, our first 127-qubit processor, which will be critical to growing the nascent quantum industry IBM is pioneering.

To continue to realize a future marked by fundamental technology progress and the exploration of new scientific boundaries, we are deepening our commitment to this approach.

Building open communities for innovation

As part of our strategy, we are doubling down on our already robust and long-standing commitment to open communities. Innovation can emerge from anywhere, from a tech giant or a disruptive startup. In software, the growth of open source has redefined where innovation can come from, and how it is monetized. IBM has a long history in open source, and that continues today. Our pioneering work in serverless computing, which is quickly becoming the leading platform for the hybrid cloud industry because of the significant growth of Red Hat, is just one example of this.

We will also expand our focus to grow communities of innovation. The most successful technologies and innovations are often found when complementary institutions work together. To take one example among many, our collaboration with the The Cleveland Clinic + IBM Discovery Accelerator is a collaboration set to advance pathogen research, and foster the next-gen tech workforce for healthcare. Read more.Cleveland Clinicwill bring together IBM's technology and expertise in hybrid cloud, AI, and quantum computing to help Cleveland Clinic discover solutions to pressing issues around public health.

These sorts of collaborations will help technology to solve truly profound problems, and we hope to do so in partnership with other institutions adopting our technology, including Fraunhofer-Geselleschaft, Germany's largest research institution, the Hartree Centre, a major AI and high-performance computing research facility in the UK, and Japan's University of Tokyo and Keio University. Worldwide, we will continue to forge partnerships with the broader scientific community as we look to accelerate the pace of discovery.

Pushing discovery beyond patent filings

Moving forward, we're strengthening our companywide approach to focus our innovation efforts around the areas that matter most for our business and for society at large. This will include hybrid cloud, AI, quantum computing, systems and semiconductors, and security.

We believe these areas will have the most impact on our clients, industries, and the world. We also believe they're the ones with the greatest potential for ecosystem collaboration.

While IBM will remain an intellectual property powerhouse with one of the strongest US patent portfolios, as part of our heightened focus moving forward, we'll also take a more selective approach to patenting. We are proud of our decades-long history of topping the US patents chart, but in this new era, our position as the recipient of the most patents in any given year will not be a priority. Instead, our focus will be to prioritize growing these key technology areas of our company.

The problems the world is facing today require us to work faster than ever before. We see it as our duty to catalyze scientific progress by taking the cutting-edge technologies we're working on, scaling them, and deploying them with partners across every industry.

Innovation is the heart and soul of IBM and serves as the engine to make our clients and the world work better. We made enormous strides in the last year, and we plan to achieve even more in 2022.

See more here:
International Business Machines : Building on Our History of Innovation for the Future of IBM - marketscreener.com

A team of researchers with Japan's NTT Corporation, the Tokyo University, and the RIKEN research center have announced the development of a full photonics-based approach to quantum computing. Taking advantage of the quantum properties of squeezed light sources, the researchers expect their work to pave the road towards faster and easier deployments of quantum computing systems, avoiding many practical and scaling pitfalls of other approaches. Furthermore, the team is confident their research can lead towards the development of rack-sized, large-scale quantum computing systems that are mostly maintenance-free.

The light-based approach in itself brings many advantages compared to traditional quantum computing architectures, which can be based on a number of approaches (trapped ions, silicon quantum dots, and topological superconductors, just to name a few). However, all of these approaches are somewhat limited from a physics perspective: they all need to employ electronic circuits, which leads to Ohmic heating (the waste heat that results from electrical signals' trips through resistive semiconductor wiring). At the same time, photonics enable tremendous improvements in latency due to data traveling at the speed of light.

Photonics-based quantum computing takes advantage of emerging quantum properties in light. The technical term here is squeezing the more squeezed a light source is, the more quantum behavior it demonstrates. While a minimum squeezing level of over 65% was previously thought required to unlock the necessary quantum properties, the researchers achieved a higher, 75% factor in their experiments. In practical terms, their quantum system unlocks a higher than 6 THz frequency band, thus taking advantage of the benefits of photonics for quantum computing without decreasing the available broadband to unusable levels.

The researchers thus expect their photonics-based quantum design to enable easier deployments there's no need for exotic temperature controls (essentially sub-zero freezers) that are usually required to maintain quantum coherence on other systems. Scaling is also made easier and simplified: there's no need to increase the number of qubits by interlinking several smaller, coherent quantum computing units. Instead, the number of qubits (and thus the performance of the system) can be increased by continuously dividing light into "time segments" and encoding different information in each of these segments. According to the team, this method allows them to "easily increase the number of qubits on the time axis without increasing the size of the equipment."

All of these elements combined allow for a reduction in required raw materials while doing away with the complexity of maintaining communication and quantum coherence between multiple, small quantum computing units. The researchers will now focus on actually building the photonics-based quantum computer. Considering how they estimate their design can scale up towards "millions of qubits," their contributions could enable a revolutionary jump in quantum computation that skips the expected "long road ahead" for useful qubit counts to be achieved.

Read more from the original source:
Research Opens the Door to Fully Light-Based Quantum Computing - Tom's Hardware

ByMatthias Lais, Founder Director of main incubator the research and development unit of Commerzbank

Banks unwavering dedication to innovation is hardly a new phenomenon. Financial institutions (FIs) have long turned to technology to transform their organisations and deliver enhanced solutions for clients. And, with the global pandemic adding significant momentum to the finance industrys shift towards digitalisation, now more than ever, they are seeking out new innovative ways to adjust to new realities and position themselves and their clients for tomorrows opportunities.

Developing said innovation, however, requires keen strategic focus. Working in tandem with partners is particularly conducive to innovation, allowing valuable input from sources with varying perspectives, skillsets and experience. For example, fintech providers and start-ups are characterised by speed and inventiveness and such partnerships are also effective ways of developing new ideas and testing the potential of different products.

It is at the cutting edge of a banks business model that innovative collaboration with partners can deliver true value. In fact, collaboration is evolving in a way that is enabling FIs to extend their services beyond banking, adding value by addressing broader client needs through solutions such as corporate travel expense management systems that would have been difficult to provide alone. Indeed, the banking sectors horizons continue to grow broader every day, as FIs think outside the box to add value and solve client problems.

Quantum computing and new possibilities

At main incubator, we dedicate our research and development (R&D) efforts to nascent technologies those far from the cusp of mass adoption, but that have the potential for wide application across the financial services sector.

Quantum computing is undoubtedly one of the most exciting technologies being explored in this respect. By employing phenomena studied by quantum physics, processors with superior processing power to classical computers are being developed. Such capabilities enable computational problems to be solved faster, and could perform processes that current computers cannot yet carry out.

Furthermore, with big data often referred to as the most important resource in todays information-driven ecosystem, this expanded processing power could be key to managing ever-expanding quantities of data. It could become key to portfolio management solutions, for instance, with algorithms applied to efficiently and effectively identify an optimal portfolio of assets from a large pool of potential options, based on select criteria.

Quantum computing also has the potential to create significant cost savings by dramatically reducing the time spent on complex computations. Regulatory calculations, which can involve processes that take hours to complete, would be greatly simplified using this technology, for example.

But while the technology holds undeniable promise, development is still at an early stage and the hardware will require extensive development before it can be used in real-life solutions. We are working with Fujitsu on a project that, while not a full quantum computer, uses quantum-inspired technology to deliver precise calculations at enhanced speeds. Called digital annealing, this project has so far given rise to a number of promising prototypes and should serve as a basis to study the further benefits of quantum technology in finance.

Technology is key to navigating a data-rich world

Artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms, machine learning and data analytics are all driving innovation across the banking sector, and are bringing market players together in the spirit of collaboration. The Financial Big Data Cluster (FBDC), for instance, aims to set up a secure data exchange framework to connect FIs and enhance the efficiency of existing processes. This will be particularly valuable for due diligence, which currently creates in duplicated work due to multiple banks requiring the same kind of data. A shared data pool also provides the foundation for a variety of AI and machine learning applications, which can be built upon a common ecosystem.

The belief in the power of collaboration is also present in another major data-related initiative Lissi. An acronym for Lets initiate self-sovereign identity, Lissi is a project driven by distributed ledger technology that aims to give individuals and organisations rather than major tech companies control over their digital identities. With Lissi now gathering substantial momentum, significant progress is expected by the end of the year, and the principles behind this project could later potentially be applied to devices and appliances as these become ever-more connected through the internet of things.

Working together for sustainable prosperity

Climate change and related environmental concerns are as valid a catalyst for change as technological innovation. Afterall, sustainability and innovation go hand in hand. A broad-based transition to sustainable development will involve change across all economic sectors change that will present challenges but also inevitably create new opportunities. Technology can be a powerful tool when used to create a more sustainable financial sector, and the potential for innovative sustainable solutions is clear. For instance, we are working on a system aimed at clients in the funds space that will provide ESG ratings for illiquid assets. While ESG ratings are already prevalent in public capital markets, a private equity fund that invests in unlisted companies might not have access to the information it needs to make sustainable, commercially viable decisions a problem this solution will address.

With innovation, sustainability and collaboration all key factors driving the development of the finance industry, empowering organisations to work together and putting innovation to work for the common good is becoming increasingly important. The Impact Festival, which has quickly become Europes largest B2B sustainability event, is more than just a conference. It is a community-based platform designed to connect corporates with innovative start-ups and other resources to support their ESG needs. By introducing the most promising innovators, thought leaders and green solution providers to our extensive global network of corporates, the initiative acts as a hub for the sharing of ideas and best practices.

Innovation is more than developing the next generation of hardware it also involves embracing new ways of thinking about the future of our planet, our industry, our offerings, and having an open-minded approach towards working with others. The banking sector of tomorrow can come to embody all this and more, and deliver opportunities and benefits for all.

Making an IMPACT

Through the IMPACT FESTIVAL, main incubator has created the first community-based platform for sustainable technologies and innovations in Europe. Its aim is to support and accelerate the green transformation by connecting innovators such as green start-ups with corporates that want and need to become more sustainable, as well as venture capital investors that accelerate the transformation through their investments. The second IMPACT FESTIVAL will take place on the 5th and 6th of October 2022. To find out more, visit https://impact-festival.earth/

Read more:
How Innovation And Sustainability Will Define Tomorrow's Banking Sector - International Banker