29Jan2024

UK-funded 'LYRA' project aims to deliver a quantum networking unit for future data centers.

University of Cambridge spin out Nu Quantum is collaborating with telecommunications equipment giant Cisco to advance quantum networking technology.

The two firms are working on a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-funded research project called LYRA that will aim to deliver a world-first, modular, 19-inch rack-mounted and scalable quantum data center prototype - with Cisco as a prospective future end user.

Modular architecture Running for 18 months, the LYRA project began in October 2023 and is valued at 2.3million, with other collaborators involved.

Nu Quantums VP of product management Ed Wood says that Nu Quantum will be delivering a control module comprising rack mount control electronics, and an optical module featuring discrete single-photon detectors.

The combination of the two modules will form a complete 'Quantum Networking Unit', or QNU.

This modular architecture allows in-field upgrades to support different quantum computer modalities and alternative wavelengths, announced the two companies.

The solution also incorporates a new high-precision timing-architecture and digital control bus, allowing the system to easily scale to support a large cluster of quantum-compute nodes.

Under the collaboration, Cisco says it intends to contribute to key system requirements and help to evaluate final deliverables.

Out of the lab Carmen Palacios, the co-founder and CEO of Nu Quantum, said in a joint release: We are honored to be awarded the contract from UK SBRI to pilot the first prototype of a quantum data center in the world, and to have an amazing partner like Cisco.

"LYRA takes the cornerstone quantum networking units from [the] optical bench to a deployable, prototype-product, capable of supporting test-bed integration with trapped-ion qubits and software stacks.

"The LYRA QNU is designed for future support of different qubit modalities and is a huge step forward in bringing quantum out of the lab and into real world use.

The optical module is wavelength-specific, typically matching the native emission wavelength of the ion or atom used as a communications qubit. This is required as wavelength conversion is to be avoided where possible, Wood explained.

It is a lossy process that will damage the overall performance of the system. But the modular nature of the system means that the control module can be retained and a new optical module at a new wavelength installed.

Although interfacing to the qubit is beyond the scope of LYRA - the project only requires presentation of the photons from the compute nodes into fiber - the distance of the quantum links will ultimately relate to the wavelength of the photons.

Wood says that tens of meters should be possible for any wavelength. LYRA is very specifically about use inside a datacenter (highest rate and fidelities), not long-range inter-datacenter connections, he added.

Peter Shearman, Ciscos head of co-innovation, stated: It is increasingly accepted that to reach its potential quantum networking will be needed to scale quantum computing to a fault-tolerant era.

"We are delighted to partner with Nu Quantum to accelerate this journey towards a modular, qubit-agnostic and data center-optimised future.

Link:

Cisco and Nu Quantum collaborate on quantum networking - Optics.org

Aging, Disease Insights Seen Aided by Quantum Computing - Aging, Disease Insights Seen Aided by Quantum ...  IoT World Today

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Aging, Disease Insights Seen Aided by Quantum Computing - Aging, Disease Insights Seen Aided by Quantum ... - IoT World Today

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Is Q-Day The Day Quantum Computing Hacks Everything Approaching? - Techopedia

As a result, KQC's ecosystem of users will have access to IBM's full stack solution for AI, including watsonx, an AI and data platform to train, tune and deploy advanced AI models and software for enterprises.

KQC has operated as an IBM Quantum Innovation Center since 2022 and will continue to offer access to IBM's global fleet of utility-scale quantum systems over the cloud.

At the same time, it is expanding its quantum computing collaboration with IBM and the two plan to deploy an IBM Quantum System Two on-site at KQC in Busan, South Korea by 2028.

"KQC is providing versatile computing infrastructure in Korea through our collaboration with IBM, said Ji Hoon Kweon, chairman of KQC.

Our robust hardware computing resources and core software in quantum and AI are poised not only to meet the growing demand for high performance computing, but also to catalyse industry utilisation and ecosystem development.

The joint collaboration includes an investment in infrastructure to support the development and deployment of generative AI.

Plans for this enhanced infrastructure include advanced GPUs and IBM's Artificial Intelligence Unit (AIU), managed with Red Hat OpenShift to create a cloud-native environment.

Together, the GPU system and AIU is being established to offer members the optimal hardware to power AI research and business opportunities.

"We are excited to work with KQC to deploy AI and quantum systems to drive innovation across Korean industries. With this engagement, KQC clients will have the ability to train, fine-tune, and deploy advanced AI models, using IBM watsonx and advanced AI infrastructure, added Daro Gil, senior vice president and director of research at IBM.

The collaboration will also include access for KQC's clients to Red Hat OpenShift AI for management and runtime needs, and IBM's watsonx platform to power generative AI and lay the foundations for future computing technology.

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KQC and IBM partner on bringing IBM watsonx and quantum computing to Korea - Capacity Media

Nu Quantum & Cisco Partner to Develop Groundbreaking Modular Quantum Network Prototype with 2.3 Million ($2.9M USD) in UK Government Funding  Quantum Computing Report

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Nu Quantum & Cisco Partner to Develop Groundbreaking Modular Quantum Network Prototype with 2.3 Million ($2.9M USD) in UK Government Funding -...

MCLEAN, Va., January 30, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Qubrid, a leading GPU Cloud and Quantum Computing company announced immediate access to its leading hybrid GPU-QPU cloud computing platform focused at solving complex real-world problems. The Qubrid Cloud Platform (QCP) shortens access to GPUs and QPUs making them accessible and programmable using an easy-to-use web interface.

What can I do with Qubrid Cloud today?

The Qubrid platform is open now for developers, researchers and scientists to login and start working on AI/ML or Quantum Computing projects. You would be able to:

Run AI/ML Programs on GPU

Simulate Quantum Computing programs on GPU

Run Quantum Computing programs on QPU

Reserve hard to get GPU instances

Instantly access Jupyter Notebook programming environment

Program in Python or Qiskit

Use pre-loaded AI packages including Pytorch, TensorFlow, Keras etc.

Why Qubrid GPU Cloud Platform?

There are multiple reasons why QCP can be right for you:

Budget if you dont have the budget for fully assembled on-premise GPU systems, you can spend a fraction of the price of systems and run your programs

Scale You can scale from single GPU per node to thousands of GPUs in a cluster without worrying about purchasing expensive hardware

Zero maintenance with QCP, you dont have to worry about setting up hardware or installing OS or AI packages. All that is done by us so you can just focus on developing your AI/ML/LLM applications.

Use while waiting for your on-premise hardware if you have ordered long lead-time GPU systems, you can get a head-start using GPUs in the cloud to fill in the gap until your systems arrive at your door.

How do I access QCP and whats the pricing?

The Qubrid platform offers high volume GPUs on an on-demand basis. Additionally, for high-end GPUs, customers can reserve instances on monthly, six-monthly or annual subscription basis. The platform is available for immediate login using below link:

https://platform.qubrid.com

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Pricing for on-demand GPUs and QPUs is available after logging in.

For high-end GPUs which require reserving instances in advance, pricing is available at:

https://www.dihuni.com/product-category/gpu-cloud/

"Our vision of accelerating AI and making GPU and Quantum Computing resources available to everyone is now real and available for customers," said Pranay Prakash, chief executive officer at Qubrid. "We invite developers from startups, universities, commercial and government entities to use our platform whether youre working on a Deep Learning application, LLM, Generative AI or solving a logistics optimization problem using Quantum Computing, you will be able to use the Qubrid platform with ease and with necessary tools required for your applications."

About Qubrid

Qubrid is an advanced AI company with a mission to solve complex, real-world problems in multiple industries. Our cutting-edge Qubrid Cloud Platform (QCP) harnesses the power of GPU, CPU and quantum processing unit (QPU) computing infrastructure providing unparalleled speed and accuracy to solve complex optimization problems, perform simulations, and conduct data analysis.

Visit Qubrid at https://www.qubrid.com

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Qubrid GPU Cloud Platform Early Access Available Immediately for Generative AI, LLM and Quantum Computing ... - Yahoo Finance

Insilico researchers have presented an image of how combining methods from AI, quantum computing, and the physics of complex systems can help advance new understandings of human health.

In a new paper, the team have also detailed the latest breakthroughs in physics-guided AI.

The research is published in WIREs Computational Molecular Science.

Although AI has been helpful in processing large, complex biological datasets in order to find new disease pathways and connect ageing and disease at the cellular level, it still faces challenges in applying those insights to complex interactions within the body.

To understand the inner workings of living organisms, scientists need multimodal modelling methods. These models need to manage three key areas of complexity: the complexity of scale, the complexity of the algorithms, and the increasing complexity of datasets.

While we are not a quantum company, it is important to utilise capabilities to take advantage of the speed provided by the new hybrid computing solutions and hyperscalers, said co-author Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and co-CEO of Insilico Medicine.

As this computing goes mainstream, it may be possible to perform very complex biological simulations and discover personalised interventions with desired properties for a broad range of diseases and age-associated processes.

We are very happy to see our research centre in the UAE producing valuable insights in this area.

Biological processes within living systems range from cells to organs to the whole body, with lots of interactions between systems. These processes need to be interpreted on multiple scales simultaneously, and access to biological data has reached unimaginable levels.

The 1000 Genomes Project, for example, is a catalogue of human genetic variation which has identified over nine million single nucleotide variants. As well as this, the UK Biobank contains full sequences from 500,000 genomes of British volunteers.

Massive computing power is needed to analyse and process it.

Quantum computing is positioned to augment AI approaches, allowing researchers to interpret across multiple levels of the biological system simultaneously.

Qubits hold values of 0 and 1 simultaneously, having greater computing speed and capability compared to classical bits.

The team note the major advances in quantum computing that are already underway, such as IBMs debut of both a utility-scale quantum processor and the companys first modular quantum computer.

The team believe that a physics-guided AI approach will help to increase understanding of human biology. This is a new field that combines physics-based and neural network models.

By combining quantum computing with complex systems, the collective interactions of small-scale elements can be observed at larger levels of reality.

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Insilico Medicine reveal how quantum computing can unlock understanding of ageing and disease - Innovation News Network

Quantum computing investment from VC firms declined by 50% last year, a new study has found. According to the State of Quantum 2024 report by IQM Quantum Computers, OpenOcean and Lakestar, global VC investment dropped from $2.2bn in 2022 to $1.2bn, with most of the decline coming from US funds. This fall was dwarfed, however, by government spending commitments on quantum computing amounting to $40bn over the next decade.

While venture funding temporarily cooled, our research confirms the steady momentum towards the quantum era, said OpenOceans general partner, Ekaterina Almasque. The findings signal that 2024 can become a year of growing confidence in quantum computings potential, despite still a relative lack of private capital flowing into that space. Significant use cases [are] emerging to unlock its commercial promise.

Quantum computing investment in the US tanked by approximately 80% and 17% in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the report, with small gains of 3% in the EMEA region. Waning VC interest in quantum computing could be explained by several factors, it said, beginning with inflated expectations in the technology dating back to 2022. Interviewees for the report agreed that tempered expectations were called for among investors interested in exploring quantum computing in greater depth, along with an understanding that the practical implications of quantum computing could still be years away.

Generative AI also dragged attention and funding away from quantum startups, with VC firms taking the general position that short- and medium-term returns were more likely in the former sector over the latter. Data cited in the report by investment platform Sampo also suggests quantum computing is failing to attract interest from those funds that traditionally invest in hardware startups.While there is no significant difference in average fund size between hardware and quantum computing investors, wrote Almasque in her forward for the report, there are more than [five] times as many investors in hardware than in quantum. This suggests that the quantum ecosystem, across all layers of the stack, is lacking a diverse pool of potential investors.

Despite this, however, there are signs that the broad-based decline in quantum computing investment among VC firms might be in line with declining investment in deep tech generally, with the latter also declining by 50% year on year. Several developments late in 2023 also suggested a recovery in interest among VC firms in quantum. This included a Series B fundraising round for Oxford Quantum Circuits that raised some $100m. As such, investors and vendors quoted in the report were reluctant to label the decline in quantum computing investment from VC firms as a sign that a new quantum winter has taken hold.

It is a great catchphrase, said Citi Global Insights quantum technologies lead, Tahmid Quddus Islam. Even so, investment is down across the board, so you could say we are in more of a deep tech winter.

Declining quantum computing investment levels from the private sector were also completely dwarfed by spending commitments on quantum initiatives from national governments. According to the report, some $40-$50bn has been allocated by the UK, the US, the EU and 30 other governments. 20 of these, it said, have formulated a formal coordinated policy approach to the promising technology.

The mismatch in interest between the private and public sectors in quantum computing in 2023 should not be considered surprising, argues Michael Orme, a senior analyst at GlobalData. Last year it was clear, Orme told Tech Monitor, that the private market for quantum computing startups was overcapitalized and oversupplied as far as VC firms were concerned, with few short-term prospects for commercializing the technology on the horizon. Governments, meanwhile, have different priorities.

The arrival of fully fledged fault-tolerant quantum computing willbe crucial to national security from data protection to sci-fi weaponry, and to achieving leadership in strategic science-based industries or at least staying in contention, says Orme. As such, he adds, if youre the US, China, Russia, Israel or even the UK, you must create a quantum ecosystem and stay in the vanguard.

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VC quantum computing investment crashed in 2023 - Tech Monitor

A new report claims private investment fell by roughly 80pc in the US, but that quantum technology is still on a positive trajectory thanks to government contracts and commitments.

Private investment into quantum computing start-ups saw a steep decline last year, raising concerns for the future of early-stage companies in this sector.

Thats according to a new report analysing the global quantum sector last year and the outlook for 2024. The State of Quantum report claims venture investments into quantum technology soared to more than $2bn in 2022, but fell by roughly 50pc worldwide in 2023.

This report was developed by IQM Quantum Computers, OpenOcean and Lakestar, in partnership with The Quantum Insider. It claims that quantum technology is moving beyond theory and that start-ups are transitioning from the lab to the market. More quantum research centres have been founded, showing a growing interest by governments into this technology.

The State of Quantum report suggests that the decline in private investment does not mean there is a quantum winter and attributes the drop to a general slowdown in venture capital and the deep-tech market.

Quantum technology remains a niche sector, accounting for less than 1pc of total VC funding, the report said. So, while the quantum technology industry is adjusting after a period of heightened investment, it is not entering stagnation and industry insiders maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook for its future trajectory.

George Gesek, the CTO and co-founder of QMware, said this is nothing like a quantum winter and does not compare to the quantum ice age a decade ago when very few investors would go near quantum technology.

Now we are in an era where investors recognise the opportunities available with quantum and are rushing to back the tech, anxious about missing the arrival of a quantum spring, Gesek said.

Despite the positive outlook of the report, some interviewees have concerns that early-stage quantum start-ups will struggle as they progress to series B funding rounds and beyond.

The report also claims that the decline in private investment is being picked up by government-backed funding commitments and contracts, which are bridging the gap in investor apprehension.

The analysis claims that governments have committed more than $40bn into quantum technology over the past 10 years. Ireland is also taking a greater interest in quantum technology, as it revealed a national strategy last year that aims to harness research across the country to create a competitive advantage over other global players in this field.

As governments adopted an increasingly critical role in quantum technology, so did quantum national labs and research facilities across Europe, North America and beyond, advancing its development from theoretical quantum research to initial practical application, the report said.

In terms of private investment, the report claims that the US saw the biggest decline, with 2023s venture funding being roughly 80pc less than it was in 2022. The report noted that 2022 was a significant year for quantum technology investments in the region.

The Asia-Pacific region saw a decline of roughly 17pc last year, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa was the only region to have a boost in overall private investment, being roughly 3pc higher last year than in 2022.

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Private investment into quantum tech plummeted last year - SiliconRepublic.com

Themes like cryptocurrency and AI have driven the market higher in recent years. Quantum computing could be the next hot theme that takes the market by storm, and investors should consider getting ahead of the trend and looking into it now.The Defiance Quantum ETF (NYSEARCA:QTUM) is an exciting ETF dedicated to this high-tech theme.

Im bullish on QTUM based on the long-term potential of quantum computing, its carefully selected portfolio, and its excellent track record of performance over the past five years. We are still in the early stages of quantum computing, so this could be a high-risk, high-reward investment.

An investment like this is likely best as a smaller allocation for risk-tolerant investors, but as we will discuss below, QTUM does a good job of mitigating some of these risks with a diversified portfolio that benefits from the rise of quantum computing without being solely reliant on it.

Without getting too into the weeds, quantum computing uses quantum mechanics to perform calculations exponentially faster and more efficiently than typical computers.According to QTUMs sponsor, Defiance ETFs, they process information in a radically different manner and therefore have the potential to explore big data in ways that have not been possible until now.

While not all use cases are known at this point in time, quantum computing will likely have a major impact on applications like machine learning and encryption and could impact fields like industry, defense, academia, and beyond. Renowned management consulting firm McKinsey & Company says quantum computing may provide an exponential increase in computational performance for certain problems and transform communication networks by making them more secure.

While the space is in its infancy, its growing fast. CB Insights reports that venture capital investment in the space grew by 500% between 2015 and 2020. Meanwhile, McKinsey named quantum computing one of its top 15 trends in its 2023 McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook and reported that the industry received $2 billion in equity investment in 2022, while job postings for the space grew by 12%.

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McKinsey also rated quantum computings adoption as a 0 on a scale of 0 to 5, with 0 indicating no adoption. This is an important reminder that practical, scalable quantum computers are still in the early stages of development, so their commercial success isnt necessarily set in stone. However, this score of 0 also indicates that there is a long runway of growth ahead if quantum computing becomes commercially viable.

According to fund sponsor Defiance, QTUM seeks to provide exposure to companies on the forefront of machine learning, quantum computing, cloud computing, and other transformative computing technologies.

It does this by investing in its underlying index, the BlueStar Quantum Computing and Machine Learning Index (BQTUM), an index comprised of leading global companies engaged in the research & development or commercialization of systems and materials used in quantum computing.

These companies include those engaged in advanced traditional computing hardware, high powered computing data connectivity solutions and cooling systems, and companies that specialize in the perception, collection, and management of heterogeneous big data used in machine learning.

The fund launched in 2018 and is still relatively small, with $208.4 million in assets under management (AUM).

QTUM is nicely diversified. It owns 71 stocks, and its top 10 holdings account for just 16.7% of assets, so this isnt an ETF that is overly exposed to a small handful of holdings. This is because the funds underlying index is equal-weighted and rebalanced semi-annually.

Below is an overview of QTUMs top 10 holdings using TipRanks holdings tool.

One appealing aspect of QTUM is that because quantum computing is still in its early phases, the fund doesnt limit itself solely to the few publicly-traded companies that are focused on quantum computing as their core business, such as IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) and Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI).

This seems like a prudent approach, as there are only a few of these companies, and they are likely years away from turning a profit. While QTUM invests in these companies, it spreads its risk by also investing in companies that will facilitate the growth of quantum computing and those that will benefit from it.

For example, the fund holds a large number of semiconductor stocks like Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL), and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).

It also owns Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM), which fabricates the semiconductors for many of these companies, and stocks like Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), which provide the equipment needed to manufacture semiconductors. These stocks can be thought of as the picks and shovels way to gain exposure to quantum computing.

QTUM owns mega-cap tech stocks like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and IBM (NYSE:IBM) that are working on developing quantum computing technology but are not reliant upon it for revenue or earnings today.

You may be surprised to find stocks like Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON) in QTUMs holdings since investors often think of it as more of an old school industrial company than a tech stock, but Honeywell has established a strong foothold in quantum computing. In fact, its quantum computing subsidiary, Qauntinuum, recently raised new funding that values it at $5 billion.

This measured approach is a sensible way to invest in this nascent space, and it has led to excellent returns over the years, as youll see below.

QTUMs portfolio has translated into a very strong performance over the years. The fund lost 28.8% of its value in 2022 when the tech sector and more speculative growth stocks took a major haircut. However, it bounced back with a spectacular total return of 39.9% in 2023 when tech stocks staged a major rebound.

This excellent 2023 performance was nothing new for QTUM the fund posted a 35.2% return in 2021, a 42.1% return in 2020, and an incredible 48.0% return in 2019.

As of December 31, the fund generated an annualized 10.5% three-year return and an annualized 25.2% five-year return.

These stellar annualized returns not only easily outperformed the broader market but also slightly outperformed the high-flying Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ), which invests in the 100 largest non-financial stocks on the tech-centric Nasdaq (NDX) exchange. As of December 31, QQQ generated an annualized three-year return of 10.0% and an annualized five-year return of 22.4%.

QTUMs expense ratio of 0.40% isnt cheap, but it isnt overly expensive either, especially when considering the funds strong performance.This 0.40% expense ratio means that investors will pay $40 in fees annually on an investment of $10,000. Assuming that the expense ratio remains 0.40% and the fund returns 5% annually, investors will pay $505 in fees over a 10-year time span.

Turning to Wall Street, QTUM earns a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 44 Buys, 27 Holds, and one Sell rating assigned in the past three months. The average QTUM stock price target of $62.08 implies 11.2% upside potential.

In conclusion, Im bullish on QTUM based on its stellar track record of performance and the long-term potential of quantum computing. I also like that the fund smartly casts a wide net and invests in stocks that will benefit from the rise of quantum computing, those that will help fuel its growth, and some pure-play quantum computing stocks.

Quantum computing is still in its early stages and a long way off from being commercially successful, but QTUM takes the right approach of investing in stocks that will give investors exposure to the upside of quantum computing without betting the entire farm on it.

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QTUM ETF: Quantum Computing Could be Tech's Next Hot Theme - Yahoo Finance