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Quantum Campus shares the latest in quantum science and technology. Read by more than 1,900 researchers, we publish on Fridays and are always looking for news from across the country. See something interesting? Be sure to share it.
Quantum as climate play
Last month’s $139 million raise by Sygaldry — Chad Rigetti’s new company developing quantum-accelerated AI servers — was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The VC firm focuses on clean energy innovations that will “meet humanity’s needs without sacrificing prosperity or planet.” It was founded by Bill Gates in 2015.
“The AI industry is advancing faster than ever and needs a breakthrough in performance per watt,” said Breakthrough Energy’s Carmichael Roberts in an announcement, claiming that Sylgaldry could bend “the cost and energy curve at the moment it matters most."
The climate-focused deep tech firm Earth Venture Capital also participated in the funding round. The European climate VC World Fund and Prelude Ventures, which invests in “early-stage startups with the greatest potential to mitigate climate change,” have also made quantum computing investments in recent years.
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Polymer degradation
Fraunhofer Institute, Germany’s $4 billion applied research organization, has teamed with Capgemini Germany, HQS Quantum Simulations, and Airbus, among others, to develop quantum algorithms for simulating the degradation of polymers frequently found in surface coatings. The German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, is funding the collaboration.
“Optimizing the properties of functional materials requires an understanding of structural-composition-property relationships across multiple scales — from atomic-level crystal structures and defects through material microstructures to the behavior of macroscopic components under real-world operating conditions,” Fraunhofer’s Daniel Urban said. “[Q]uantum computing offers promising innovative approaches to substantially enhance the capabilities of atomistic simulations of molecules and materials.”
Read the full announcement.
Catch-22
University of Toronto’s Avi Goldfarb and University of Southern California’s Florenta Teodoridis outlined the Catch-22 faced by businesses as they consider experimenting with quantum technologies. Namely, companies “want proof [of value-creation] before experimenting, but proof often arrives only because companies experiment.”
The authors discussed “boundary-spanning” staff and publicly funded initiatives as means of addressing this predicament, including Maryland’s Capital of Quantum, the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park and the Chicago Quantum Exchange, the Mountain West’s Elevate Quantum, and Calgary, Alberta’s Quantum City.
Read the essay in MIT Sloan Management Review — quickly, because the publication will be shuttered in September after more than 60 years of operations.
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Quantum Campus is edited by Bill Bell, a science writer and marketing consultant who has covered physics and high-performance computing for more than 25 years. Disclosure statement.
