Quantum technology may finally be having its moment.
Earlier this month, one of the few quantum technology companies, Rigetti Computing, was made public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company or SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company). It came close to becoming the first publicly traded company to focus expressly on commercializing quantum technology when another team, IonQ, was also made public through a merger with another SPAC in October. Meanwhile, another rival in space, D-Wave, says he now also plans to go public through again a SPAC.
While the move to public markets is an indicator that quantum technology is progressing beyond the realm of theory, an even stronger sign is the announcement of A, who reported that he is separating the six years accumulated in the old group of quantum technology, SandBoxAQ in an independent company.
Jack Hidary, who was previously director of artificial and quantum intelligence at SandBoxAQ and is a longtime X Prize board member, will continue to lead the 55-person team in Mountain View, California, which describes itself as an enterprise SaaS company that is developing products for telecommunications, financial services, health , government, computer security and other sectors.
SandBoxAQ he has also assembled an enviable cast of advisers, including former Alphabet Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt; Blythe Masters, the former JPMorgan Chase executive who helped create credit default swaps; and John Seely Brown, former Xerox PARC chief scientist.
It's also rolling out with an undisclosed amount of "nine-figure" funding. Among its new outside investors is Breyer Capital, whose founder, Jim Breyer, also joined the advisory board of SandBoxAQ. Section 32, Guggenheim Investments, TIME Investments and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates are also in the investor mix.
Indeed, market demand partly explains Alphabet's decision to launch SandBoxAQ. According to Gartner, by the next year, 20% of global organizations are expected to budget for quantum computing projects, up from less than 1% in 2018.
Among customers who already pay SandBoxAQ for their computing power are Vodafone Business, SoftBank Mobile and Mount Sinai Health System.
But judging from a recent conversation with Breyer, perhaps an even more important driver of the growing interest in quantum technology is the realization that while quantum computing is true and fault-tolerant—that is, the ability to harness the physics technology to explore numerous possibilities and determine a likely outcome: It could be five or more years away, other related technology, such as the so-called quantum sensing technologies – is fast becoming a reality.
In fact, instead of working on quantum computers, SandBoxAQ focuses on how quantum technology intersects with AI, developing applications to strengthen cybersecurity platforms, among other aspects. According to own words of the company "there are many aspects of quantum physics and technology that can be commercialized in the short term without the need for quantum computers ... using today's high-performance computers." The quantum simulations The resulting results can address real-world scientific and business challenges across a broad spectrum of industries, from financial services and healthcare to aerospace and manufacturing, communications, and materials science.
The remarks echo comments made by Breyer when he said that there are “enormous national security opportunities for quantum companies… But what really excites me today from an investment standpoint is not necessarily large super-intensive quantum computers. in capital… rather areas like quantum sensing.”
"For example, in a very high power 1000x light microscope it can be applied to medicine," Breyer said by way of explanation. "There are quantum sensing technologies today that are being tested in some of our large hospitals in the United States that I think will revolutionize areas like cardiology and drug discovery."
In fact, Breyer suggested, while quantum computing platforms will eventually play a role in helping detect disease faster, improve security systems and protect all kinds of data, they could also be used to attack some of those systems, which is in Part of the reason why the largest organizations, including governments and corporations, are no longer waiting for those massive quantum computers to arrive, or shouldn't be, in any case. “We have to integrate it,” she said.
“There are quantum technologies today where they are not at the point where quantum computing will be in four or five years, but they are making a big difference,” he said. The team of SandBoxAQ, he suggested at the time, is among those leading the charge.
