Category Archives: Quantum Computing

IonQ(NYSE:IONQ) seeks to lead the way in a very specific market: quantum computing. Fortunately, you dont have to be a mathematician or computer scientist to invest in IONQ stock.

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It is important to understand what the company does, though. To put it simply, IonQ develops quantum computers designed to solve the worlds most complex problems.

This niche industry has vast moneymaking potential. According to IonQ, experts predict that the total addressable market for quantum computing will reach around $65 billion by 2030.

IonQ got in fairly early and aggressively, as the company has been around since 2015 and produced six generations of quantum computers. Theres a terrific investment opportunity here, yet the share price is down and if you ask me, this just doesnt compute.

Going back to the beginning, IonQoffered its shares for public tradingon theNew York Stock Exchange on Oct. 1, 2021, after reverse-merging with dMY Technology Group III.

The stock started off at around $10 but sank to the low $7s in just a few days time. However, that turned out to be a great time to start a long position.

Amazingly, IONQ stock staged a swift turnaround and soared to nearly $36 in November. In hindsight, however, this rally went too fast and too far.

Inevitably, a retracement ensued and the early investors had to cough up some of their gains. By early December, the share price had declined to $18 and change.

Sure, you could wait and hope that IONQ stock falls further before considering a position. Yet, you might miss out on a buy-the-dip opportunity with an ambitious, future-facing tech business.

I case I didnt make it abundantly clear already, IonQ is serious about advancing quantum-computing technology.

Case in point: in order to cement its leadership position in this niche, IonQ recently revealed its plans to use barium ions as qubits in its systems, thereby bringing about a wave of advantages it believes will enable advanced quantum computing architectures.

A qubit, or quantum bit, is basically a tiny bit of coded information in quantum mechanics.

Its perfectly fine if you dont fully understand the scientific minutiae, as IonQ President and CEO Peter Chapman and his team have the necessary know-how and experience.

We believe the advanced architectures enabled by barium qubits will be even more powerful and more scalable than the systems we have been able to build so far, opening the door to broader applications of quantum computing, Chapman assured.

Apparently, the advantages of using barium ions as qubits include lower error rates, higher gate fidelity, better state detection, more easily networked quantum systems and iterable, more reliable hardware, with more uptime for customers.

Thankfully, now I can leave the science to the scientists, and focus on what I do best: breaking down financial data.After all, Id be hard-pressed to recommend any company if it didnt at least have a decent capital position.

CFO Thomas Kramer was evidently glad to report that, as of Sept. 30 IonQ had cash and cash equivalents of $587 million.The companys strong balance sheet, according to Kramer will allow IonQ to accelerate [the] scaling of all business functions and continue attracting the industrys best and brightest.

Since IonQ is well-capitalized, the company should be well-positioned to benefit from Capitol Hills interest in quantum as shown by the infrastructure bill, the CFO added.

Its also worth noting that IonQ generated $223,000 in revenues during 2021s third quarter, bringing the year-to-date total to $451,000.

Hopefully, the company can parlay its quantum-computing know-how into seven-figure revenues in the near future.

IonQs loyal investors dont need to understand everything about qubits. They only need to envision a robust future for the quantum-computing market.

We cant claim that IonQ is generating massive revenues at this point. Therefore, it requires patience and foresight to invest in this company with confidence.

Yet, an early stake could offer vast rewards in the long run. After all, when it comes to deep-level, next-gen quantum computing, IonQ clearly has it down to a science.

On the date of publication, David Moadeldid 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 the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines.

David Moadel has provided compelling content and crossed the occasional line on behalf of Crush the Street, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, Finom Group, Benzinga, and (of course) InvestorPlace.com. He also serves as the chief analyst and market researcher for Portfolio Wealth Global and hosts the popular financial YouTube channel Looking at the Markets.

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IonQ Stock Is an Investment in Cutting Edge, Global Solutions - InvestorPlace

The race for quantum supremacy isn't just between tech companies, but between nation-states as well.

Why it matters: The first country to produce effective, working quantum computers will have a key advantage in economics, defense and cybersecurity and the U.S., China, and Europe are all competing.

What's happening: Last month, the Commerce Department added a dozen Chinese companies to a trade blacklist in an effort to prevent emerging U.S. technologies from being used for quantum computing efforts that would boost Beijing's military.

The big picture: One of the clearest uses of quantum computing is to eventually break the complex mathematical problems used to encrypt information of all kinds on the internet, including sensitive government data.

Between the lines: While U.S. companies generally have the lead on building better quantum computers, China has invested massively in the industry, including an $11 billion national laboratory for quantum information sciences.

What to watch: Progress on American efforts to develop post-quantum cryptography standards that would resist more powerful quantum computers, as well as research from the five new quantum institutes created by the White House last year.

The bottom line: "The economy for the next hundred years will be driven by quantum," says Chapman. "So it's not a game we want to lose."

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Running the international quantum race - Axios

Quantum computing is a fundamentally different approach to computation compared to the kinds of calculations that we do on todays laptops.

The digital revolution highlights the need for awareness of quantum technologies. The world is now preparing for further digital transformation with a revolution in quantum technology. The countries that authorize quantum computing technology will command over the information processing space for a long period giving them control and influence over sectors such as modern manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, the digital economy, logistics, national security, and intelligence. Quantum computing is a fundamentally different approach to computation compared with the kinds of calculations that we do on todays laptops, workstations, and mainframes. It wont replace these devices, but by leveraging the principles of quantum physics it will solve specific, typically very complex problems of a statistical nature that are difficult for current computers. Heres the list of the top quantum computing moments to remember from 2021.

The pharmaceutical industry has started reaping the benefits of quantum computers to create a change in the existing process of drug discovery and drug development. This industry needs a hefty budget for R&D and quantum computing can help in enhancing the R&D process within a short period. The pharmaceutical industry deals with different molecular formulations and this cutting-edge technology in quantum computing is the best-suited tech after artificial intelligence. Quantum computers tend to predict and simulate molecular structures, patterns, behaviours and properties more efficiently than the traditional computers used in the labs. These quantum computers are more powerful and bring the entire process at an atomic level to add more value to drug discovery and drug development across the world.

Quantum computing and quantum mechanics can solve enormous problems. Due to the data set utilized, topological analysis, an area of study where geometric forms act in certain ways, explains calculations that are just unachievable with todays ordinary computers. This can be reduced to very basic computations using quantum computing. NASA is exploring using quantum computing to examine the vast amounts of data it collects about the universe and to build better and safer space flight methods.

Advanced cryptography is the most prevalent use of quantum computing. Encryption that employs very big prime number factoring (300+ integers) is impossible to break with todays machines. This decryption might become easy with quantum computers, resulting in far greater protection of our digital lives and possessions. However, well be able to crack conventional encryption considerably more quickly as well.

Finding patterns in data and utilizing them to forecast future trends is extremely beneficial. Volkswagen is investigating how quantum computing may be used to notify drivers 45 minutes ahead of time of traffic conditions. Quantum computers will make it feasible to match traffic patterns and anticipate the behaviour of a system as complicated as todays traffic.

Quantum technology has the potential to enable far more sophisticated computer simulations, such as in aviation settings. The time and cost savings associated with assisting in the routing and scheduling of aircraft are considerable. Large businesses such as Airbus and Lockheed Martin are aggressively exploring and investing in the sector to take advantage of the technologys computational power and optimization possibilities.

One possible means of quantum communication is quantum teleportation. Although the name can be misleading, quantum teleportation is not a form of the transport of physical objects but a form of communication. This teleportation is the process of transporting a qubit from one location to another without having to transport the physical particle to which that qubit is attached. Even quantum teleportation depends on the traditional communication network, making it impossible to exceed the speed of light.

It is one of the most discussed forecasts that artificial intelligence and quantum computing can benefit each other by enhancing each others abilities. applications of artificial intelligence like machine learning, computer vision will be accelerated if run on quantum systems. This will mean faster analysis of data in sectors like fraud detection, drug compound discovery and more. It will also boost Generative AI by expanding the datasets used to train generative or machine learning models.

The supply chain is expected to be the first area where quantum computing will have an influence. If Covid-19 taught us anything, its that global production networks are inherently complex and risky. Companies will be able to manage supply networks with fewer disruptions because of quantum computing.

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The Quantum Moments: Top Quantum Computing Things to Recall from 2021 - Analytics Insight

Cardano creator Charles Hoskinson says Input Output (aka IOG, aka IOHK) has started preparing for future attacks on the Cardano network by quantum-powered adversaries.

Quantum computing is a type of computation that harnesses the collective properties of quantum states, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement, to perform calculations and the devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers.

As reported by The Daily Hodl, in a recent video released on his YouTube channel on December 6, Hoskinson said the first step in the long process of making Cardano quantum-resistant was to run simulations to test Cardanos algorithms:

The first thing you need to do is model the algorithms we have against the quantum adversary. We have started that process, but thats not in scope for the deliverables in 2022. However, the knowledge is there, the people are there and if its a priority for the next five years of Cardano, its something that can be done.

Hoskinsom, who believes that math and science is not where it needs to be to have acceptable trade-offs, explained what the Cardano team should be doing now to prepare for the future:

It makes more sense to model out all the theoretical properties you have to adhere to and improve the state of the art of mathematics so that we have better primitives to work with to actually ameliorate the issues of quantum computers and thats what were doing and its an academic exercise at the moment.

Its not a real problem today, its not a concern. There is no working quantum computer that poses a threat to any cryptographic system.

The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.

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IOG Has Already Started Process of Making Cardano Resistant Against Quantum Attacks - CryptoGlobe

About Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT)

The Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT) is a research center of excellence at the National University of Singapore doing cutting-edge theoretical and experimental science. CQT is located on the campus of the National University of Singapore and offers a friendly, international work environment. Learn more about CQT athttps://www.quantumlah.org/

At CQT we are developing next generation hardware for Quantum Sensors. Our team is composed of researchers with various backgrounds in science and we work at the spearhead towards developing technologies enhancing current quantum sensors and make them applicable to tackle challenging problems.

Job description

National Quantum Computing Hub will pool expertise and resources from the Centre for Quantum Technologies at NUS, the Institute of High Performance Computing at A*STAR and the National Supercomputing Centre Singapore (NSCC) in pursuing a quantum computing strategy for Singapore. Quantum computing is a potentially disruptive innovation in information processing that promises applications in fields from finance to chemicals as the technology and know-how matures. The successful candidate will execute the NQCH aims to build quantum computing capabilities, talent and ecosystem in Singapore, with a focus on applications.

We are looking for a team leader who will help to deploy and maintain a medium scale superconducting quantum computer. This project is at the junction between industry and academic research and with this can be quite exciting and demanding as well.

Job Requirements

More Information

We will provide a competitive numeration and a good work / life balance.The remuneration is competitive and depends on the expertise and skill set.

For enquiries and details about the position, please contact Rainer Dumke atrdumke@ntu.edu.sg.

Please include your consent by filling in the NUS Personal Data Consent for Job Applicants.

Employment Type : Full-time

Applications can be submitted via the link below and should contain: the latest CV, and letter of recommendation (if any).

We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Location: [[Nanyang Technological University (NTU)]]Organization: [[National University of Singapore]]Department : [[Rainer Dumke Group, Centre for Quantum Technologies]]Job requisition ID : [[10415]]

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Research Fellow, Quantum Hardware Engineer, NQCH, Centre for Quantum Technologies job with NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE | 274414 - Times Higher...

Over the past few years, the capabilities of quantum computers have reached the stage where they can be used to pursue research with widespread technological impact. Through their research, the Q4Q team at the University of Southern California, University of North Texas, and Central Michigan University, explores how software and algorithms designed for the latest quantum computing technologies can be adapted to suit the needs of applied sciences. In a collaborative project, the Q4Q team sets out a roadmap for bringing accessible, user-friendly quantum computing into fields ranging from materials science, to pharmaceutical drug development.

Since it first emerged in the 1980s, the field of quantum computing has promised to transform the ways in which we process information. The technology is centered on the fact that quantum particles such as electrons exist in superpositions of states. Quantum mechanics also dictates that particles will only collapse into one single measurable state when observed by a user. By harnessing these unique properties, physicists discovered that batches of quantum particles can act as more advanced counterparts to conventional binary bits which only exist in one of two possible states (on or off) at a given time.

On classical computers, we write and process information in a binary form. Namely, the basic unit of information is a bit, which takes on the logical binary values 0 or 1. Similarly, quantum bits (also known as qubits) are the native information carriers on quantum computers. Much like bits, we read binary outcomes of qubits, that is 0 or 1 for each qubit.

However, in a stark contrast to bits, we can encode information on a qubit in the form of a superposition of logical values of 0 and 1. This means that we can encode much more information in a qubit than in a bit. In addition, when we have a collection of qubits, the principle of superposition leads to computational states that can encode correlations among the qubits, which are stronger than any type of correlations achieved within a collection of bits. Superposition and strong quantum correlations are, arguably, the foundations on which quantum computers rely on to provide faster processing speeds than their classical counterparts.

To realize computations, qubit states can be used in quantum logic gates, which perform operations on qubits, thus transforming the input state according to a programmed algorithm. This is a paradigm for quantum computation, analogous to conventional computers. In 1998, both qubits and quantum logic gates were realized experimentally for the first time bringing the previously-theoretical concept of quantum computing into the real world.

From this basis, researchers then began to develop new software and algorithms, specially designed for operations using qubits. At the time, however, the widespread adoption of these techniques in everyday applications still seemed a long way off. The heart of the issue lay in the errors that are inevitably introduced to quantum systems by their surrounding environments. If uncorrected, these errors can cause qubits to lose their quantum information, rendering computations completely useless. Many studies at the time aimed to develop ways to correct these errors, but the processes they came up with were invariably costly and time-consuming.

Unfortunately, the risk of introducing errors to quantum computations increases drastically as more qubits are added to a system. For over a decade after the initial experimental realization of qubits and quantum logic gates, this meant that quantum computers showed little promise in rivalling the capabilities of their conventional counterparts.

In addition, quantum computing was largely limited to specialized research labs, meaning that many research groups that could have benefited from the technology were unable to access it.

While error correction remains a hurdle, the technology has since moved beyond specialized research labs, becoming accessible to more users. This occurred for the first time in 2011, when the first quantum annealer was commercialized. With this event, feasible routes emerged towards reliable quantum processors containing thousands of qubits capable of useful computations.

Quantum annealing is an advanced technique for obtaining optimal solutions to complex mathematical problems. It is a quantum computation paradigm alternative to operating on qubits with quantum logic gates.

The availability of commercial quantum annealers spurned a new surge in interest for quantum computing, with consequent technological progress, especially fueled by industrial capitals. In 2016, this culminated in the development of a new cloud system based on quantum logic gates, which enabled owners and users of quantum computers around the world to pool their resources together, expanding the use of the devices outside of specialized research labs. Before long, the widespread use of quantum software and algorithms for specific research scenarios began to look increasingly realistic.

At the time, however, the technology still required high levels of expertise to operate. Without specific knowledge of the quantum processes involved, researchers in fields such as biology, chemistry, materials science, and drug development could not make full use of them. Further progress would be needed before the advantages of quantum computing could be widely applied outside the field of quantum mechanics itself.

Now, the Q4Q team aims to build on these previous advances using user-friendly quantum algorithms and software packages to realize quantum simulations of physical systems. Where the deeply complex properties of these systems are incredibly difficult to recreate within conventional computers, there is now hope that this could be achieved using large systems of qubits.

To recreate the technologies that could realistically become widely available in the near future, the teams experiments will incorporate noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices which contain relatively large numbers of qubits, and by themselves are prone to environmental errors.

In their projects, the Q4Q team identifies three particular aspects of molecules and solid materials that could be better explored through the techniques they aim to develop. The first of these concerns the band structures of solids which describe the range of energy levels that electrons can occupy within a solid, as well as the energies they are forbidden from possessing.

Secondly, they aim to describe the vibrations and electronic properties of individual molecules each of which can heavily influence their physical properties. Finally, the researchers will explore how certain aspects of quantum annealing can be exploited to realize machine-learning algorithms which automatically improve through their experience of processing data.

As they apply these techniques, the Q4Q team predicts that their findings will lead to a better knowledge of the quantum properties of both molecules and solid materials. In particular, they hope to provide better descriptions of periodic solids, whose constituent atoms are arranged in reliably repeating patterns.

Previously, researchers struggled to reproduce the wavefunctions of interacting quantum particles within these materials, which relate to the probability of finding the particles in particular positions when observed by a user. Through their techniques, the Q4Q team aims to reduce the number of qubits required to capture these wavefunctions, leading to more realistic quantum simulations of the solid materials.

Elsewhere, the Q4Q team will account for the often deeply complex quantum properties of individual molecules made up of large groups of atoms. During chemical reactions, any changes taking place within these molecules will be strongly driven by quantum processes, which are still poorly understood. By developing plugins to existing quantum software, the team hopes to accurately recreate this quantum chemistry in simulated reactions.

If they are successful in reaching these goals, the results of their work could open up many new avenues of research within a diverse array of fields especially where the effects of quantum mechanics have not yet been widely considered. In particular, they will also contribute to identifying bottlenecks of current quantum processing units, which will aid the design of better quantum computers.

Perhaps most generally, the Q4Q team hopes that their techniques will enable researchers to better understand how matter responds to external perturbations, such as lasers and other light sources.

Elsewhere, widely accessible quantum software could become immensely useful in the design of new pharmaceutical drugs, as well as new fertilizers. By ascertaining how reactions between organic and biological molecules unfold within simulations, researchers could engineer molecular structures that are specifically tailored to treating certain medical conditions.

The ability to simulate these reactions could also lead to new advances in the field of biology as a whole, where processes involving large, deeply complex molecules including proteins and nucleic acids are critical to the function of every living organism.

Finally, a better knowledge of the vibrational and electronic properties of periodic solids could transform the field of materials physics. By precisely engineering structures to display certain physical properties on macroscopic scales, researchers could tailor new materials with a vast array of desirable characteristics: including durability, advanced interaction with light, and environmental sustainability.

If the impacts of the teams proposed research goals are as transformative as they hope, researchers in many different fields of the technological endeavor could soon be working with quantum technologies.

Such a clear shift away from traditional research practices could in turn create many new jobs with required skillsets including the use of cutting-edge quantum software and algorithms. Therefore, a key element of the teams activity is to develop new strategies for training future generations of researchers. Members of the Q4Q team believe that this will present some of the clearest routes yet towards the widespread application of quantum computing in our everyday lives.

This article was authored by the Q4Q team, consisting of lead investigator Rosa Di Felice, Anna Krylov, Marco Fornari, Marco Buongiorno Nardelli, Itay Hen and Amir Kalev, in Scientia. Learn more about the team, and find the original article here.

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The future of scientific research is quantum - TNW

The Alberta government is investing more than $22 million in research infrastructure and technology development at the University of Calgary with the hopeit will advanceinnovation in the province.

The funding is part of the Research Capacity Program andhelpspost-secondary institutions receive bothsmall equipment and large research infrastructure needed to attract researchers, according to a release.

It will support11 research projects for the next four years inareas likehealth and wellness, infectious diseases andquantum computing.

Ed McCauley, university president and vice-chancellor,says the financial support willhelpstrengthens the university'sreputation as a leader in innovation and world-class research.

"We're helping Calgary's economy grow and diversify in expanding fields such as tech, in medicine and the sciences," he said. "Investments like today's brighten Calgary's future."

"For those of you that pay attention to where the technology space is going, this is the technology that's going to disrupt the next decade," Schweitzer said at a press conference Monday.

"There's a huge opportunity for us to continue to leverage the work that's being done here at the University of Calgary to grow those opportunities, not just for researchfor research's sake, but for commercialization and jobs."

He says the province will be able to leverage that money into $170 millionof innovation and research for partner institutions and industry.

"This can not only help us diversify our economybut continue to leverage the momentum that we're seeing in so many different areas of the tech space here in the province of Alberta."

Jason Copping, minister of health, says he's particularly excited about research that will leadto new health treatments.

"There's still an incredible wealth of talented and dedicated people across the health system in our universitiesworking to make life better for all of us and for all our province."

He says researchers will studyinfectious diseases, mental illness in children and young adults, andhow regenerative therapies can be used to improve healing.

"All of this will help improve the health of Albertans and set the stage for more research down the road. And this announcement today is just a glimpse of the range of research projects supported by Alberta's government that aim to make life better and assure Albertans have access to leading-edge treatments."

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University of Calgary gets $22M for research on infectious diseases, quantum computing - CBC.ca

Let's look at example that shows how quantum computers can succeed where classical computers fail:

A supercomputer might be great at difficult tasks like sorting through a big database of protein sequences. But it will struggle to see the subtle patterns in that data that determine how those proteins behave.

Proteins are long strings of amino acids that become useful biological machines when they fold into complex shapes. Figuring out how proteins will fold is a problem with important implications for biology and medicine.

A classical supercomputer might try to fold a protein with brute force, leveraging its many processors to check every possible way of bending the chemical chain before arriving at an answer. But as the protein sequences get longer and more complex, the supercomputer stalls. A chain of 100 amino acids could theoretically fold in any one of many trillions of ways. No computer has the working memory to handle all the possible combinations of individual folds.

Quantum algorithms take a new approach to these sorts of complex problems -- creating multidimensional spaces where the patterns linking individual data points emerge. In the case of a protein folding problem, that pattern might be the combination of folds requiring the least energy to produce. That combination of folds is the solution to the problem.

Classical computers can not create these computational spaces, so they can not find these patterns. In the case of proteins, there are already early quantum algorithms that can find folding patterns in entirely new, more efficient ways, without the laborious checking procedures of classical computers. As quantum hardware scales and these algorithms advance, they could tackle protein folding problems too complex for any supercomputer.

How complexity stumps supercomputers

Proteins are long strings of amino acids that become useful biological machines when they fold into complex shapes. Figuring out how proteins will fold is a problem with important implications for biology and medicine.

A classical supercomputer might try to fold a protein with brute force, leveraging its many processors to check every possible way of bending the chemical chain before arriving at an answer. But as the protein sequences get longer and more complex, the supercomputer stalls. A chain of 100 amino acids could theoretically fold in any one of many trillions of ways. No computer has the working memory to handle all the possible combinations of individual folds.

Quantum computers are built for complexityQuantum algorithms take a new approach to these sorts of complex problems -- creating multidimensional spaces where the patterns linking individual data points emerge. Classical computers can not create these computational spaces, so they can not find these patterns. In the case of proteins, there are already early quantum algorithms that can find folding patterns in entirely new, more efficient ways, without the laborious checking procedures of classical computers. As quantum hardware scales and these algorithms advance, they could tackle protein folding problems too complex for any supercomputer.

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What is Quantum Computing? | IBM

Quantinuum's quantum computer processes data on a device called an ion trap within this vacuum chamber.

Honeywell Quantum Solutions and Cambridge Quantum, two big companies in the nascent but potentially revolutionary quantum computing technology, completed merger plans to become a new company called Quantinuum on Tuesday. The new 400-employee company is a bigger competitor to tech giants like Google, IBM, Intel and Microsoft that also hope to cash in on quantum computing.

The two companies each contribute about half of the employees but have different specialties. Quantum computing hardware maker Honeywell Quantum Solutions is a subsidiary of Honeywell, an industrial giant that sold its mainframe business in 1986 but remains active in chemicals, aerospace and building management. Cambridge Quantum, based in the UK, focuses on the software needed to make quantum computers useful and accessible to customers.

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"We will be a center of gravity for the entire industry," said Ilyas Khan, founder of Cambridge Quantum and now chief executive of Quantinuum. Honeywell Quantum leader Tony Uttley now is chief operating officer.

Quantinuum's customers likely won't include you, at least directly, since quantum computers won't fit in your watch or laptop. But humming away in data centers, they have the potential to reshape things you do care about, like the efficiency of solar panels, the financial performance of your retirement fund and the development of new medicines.

The merger is a taste of what's to come for the young quantum computing industry as today's jumble of players consolidate into a smaller number with richer offerings, Hyperion Research analyst Bob Sorensen predicts. It's part of a move toward a "full stack" of quantum computing technology that customers prefer over cobbling together technology elements from multiple suppliers.

"We are still in the early stages of a shakeout in the sector," Sorensen said. "Consolidation and collaboration to move to some form of a full stack offering is a big ticket to-do for many quantum computing players at this point."

The tie-up completes a process the companies announced in June. Under the deal, Honeywell is contributing its subsidiary and a $300 million convertible note. It'll have a 54% stake in Quantinuum, but that could change as the company tries to capitalize on quantum computing investor interest. Shares of rival IonQ have risen 162% since going public in October, despite a net loss of $14.8 million in its most recent quarter.

"We do believe within the next 12 months we will be a publicly listed entity," Uttley said.

Conventional computers have settled down on one foundation -- silicon chips studded with billions of electronic on-off switches called transistors. But for quantum computers, tech giants and startups are pursuing a wide variety of designs. It's not yet clear which will prevail. It's possible multiple approaches will survive, each adapted for different tasks.

That's because quantum computers, at least for years to come, will function as accelerators for specific jobs out of classical computers' reach. The most famous possible quantum computing ability is cracking conventional encryption, though that ability will require a lot more improvement over today's comparatively primitive quantum computers, and the US government and industry allies are working on post-quantum cryptography techniques.

Nearer-term uses for quantum computers could include optimizing financial trading strategies, quantum chemistry to develop new materials, and applying artificial intelligence technology to natural language processing, Uttley said. In coming days, Quantinuum will announce a cybersecurity product, too.

Classical computers process data stored as bits that can be either a 1 or a 0, but all quantum computers instead use qubits that store a much more complicated state. Quantum physics, the weird rules of the ultrasmall, lets quantum computers link multiple qubits together and manipulate them to perform calculations.

Honeywell's approach uses a method called an ion trap the company expects will be good for quantum chemistry. But Cambridge Quantum will maintain its ability to work with different quantum computing hardware, too, including the superconducting circuits at the heart of the machines from IBM, Google and startup Rigetti Computing. That'll tap into the best tools for the job, Khan said, and keep Quantinuum in the good graces of customers who don't want to be reliant on a single company's machines.

"They are flexible about the hardware, which is good," said Constellation Research analyst Holger Mueller. "They would lose a lot if they did abandon that."

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Quantum computing heavyweight arrives as merger creates Quantinuum - CNET

An ion chamber houses the brains of a Honeywell quantum computer.

The Commerce Department on Wednesdaybarred US firms from exporting quantum computing technology to eight Chinese companies and labs to try to keep the country from decrypting sensitive US communications and developing new military technology.

"Global trade and commerce should support peace, prosperity, and good-paying jobs, not national security risks," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

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Though still technologically immature, quantum computers eventually could crack conventional encryption. The US government also is leading an active program to develop post-quantum cryptography, but communications that are intercepted today could be exposed if quantum computers become powerful enough.

Quantum computers take advantage of the physics of the ultrasmall to perform a radically different type of computation than conventional computer chips in today's phones, laptops and supercomputers. But today they work only at small scales, are prone to errors that derail calculations and are finicky enough to require ultracold conditions.

The department also pointed to quantum computing military risks involving "counter-stealth and counter-submarine applications." It detailed in theFederal Registerthe Chinese organizations added to its entities list involving export controls.

Another market where quantum computers also have potential is simulating molecular structures that could lead to new materials. Military technology has benefited immensely from materials science in the past, so quantum computing could lead to new breakthroughs.

To capitalize on these breakthroughs, many US companies are investing billions of dollars in developing quantum computers. That includes Google, IBM, Microsoft, Honeywell, IonQ, Rigetti, D-Wave and Intel. Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in November thatChinese researchers are tied with Google in the race to develop quantum computing technology.

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US blocks export of quantum computing tech to Chinese organizations - CNET