A team of scientists from the University of Geneva, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Art, and ID Quantique has developed a faster single-photon detector that could improve the security of data transfer. Quantum key distribution (QKD), which enables the transmission of shared secret keys via optical fibres, is a highly secure way of protecting against data theft, but its widespread use is limited by the speed of the single-photon detectors used to receive the information. The researchers’ detector, which integrates 14 nanowires, achieved a detection rate that was 20 times faster than a single-wire device, enabling the generation of a secret key at a rate of 64 megabits per second over 10 km of fibre optic cable. This is five times the performance of current technology over this distance and could have applications in fields such as banking, healthcare, government, and the military.
The Railways plan to use such technologies to optimise complex logistics and transportation networks, such as those used to transport goods and raw materials. This adoption is part of a broader effort to modernise and digitise the Indian Railways and to make it more competitive and efficient.
In the USA, researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech have developed a quantum detector that could improve the performance of optical communication systems by expanding the transmission distance of signals. The detector, which is based on a superconducting nanowire, can detect single photons of light with high efficiency and low noise. This makes it well-suited for use in quantum communication, where information is encoded in individual photons.
The researchers demonstrated the detector’s performance by using it to receive a laser signal transmitted over a distance of 20 km. This could enable the development of more efficient and secure communication systems and improve the performance of satellite-based instruments that rely on optical signals.
Quantum Delta NL (QDNL) has launched a €15 million fund, QDNL Participations, to invest in early-stage quantum technology startups, typically leading rounds with up to €1.5 million investments.
The fund will also provide €50,000 funding for teams developing promising quantum technologies in the form of a SAFE note agreement that later convert into equity investments when the startup is ready.
In addition, Quantum Delta NL has launched an on-call support program, Infinity, designed to help Dutch university researchers navigate the university spin-out process and raise their first funding round with access to an 800+ deep tech investors network.
Classiq and Microsoft have launched a global program for quantum software research and education dedicated to universities and educational institutions. Through this partnership, university professors, students, and researchers can use the combined offering to teach courses and conduct research on all facets of quantum computing.
The platform enables users to quickly investigate huge, complex quantum circuits as well as construct cutting-edge circuits for near-term quantum devices. Classiq’s academic program will offer students tools and knowledge they need to learn practical quantum software-development skills while providing researchers with a streamlined means of developing advanced algorithms capable of taking advantage of ever more powerful quantum hardware.
Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech, a Spanish quantum computing startup, has announced a partnership with GMV, a telecommunications group, to install a quantum computer at the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC). The quantum computer will be installed in BSC’s Quantum Computing Lab and will be made available to researchers and businesses for quantum computing experimentation and development.
The partnership aims to establish a quantum computing hub in Barcelona and accelerate the development of quantum computing technologies and applications in Spain. This is in line with objectives set in the Quantum Spain initiative promoted by the country’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Tranformation.
Over the years, theoreticians have developed ‘quantum error correction’ schemes that rely on encoding a qubit of information in a collection of physical qubits rather than in a single one. Some of these physical qubits can then be used by the machine to check on the health of the logical qubit and correct any errors. Thus, the more physical qubits there are, the better they can supress an erros. But more physical qubits also mean more chances that two of them can be affected by an error at the same time. This is the issue that Google researchers have worked on addressing, by performing two versions of a quantum error-correction procedure. One, using 17 qubits, was able to recover from one error at a time. The second version used 49 qubits and could recover from two simultaneous errors, also showing a slightly better performance than the smaller version could achieve.
Ping An Insurance, a Chinese holding conglomerate, has joined forces with Origin Quantum, a start-up, to develop financial algorithms and hardware that could help fight financial fraud. Within the framework of this partnership, a fraud detection model was developed based on quantum neural network technology. The model is said to be able to identify abnormal transfers and transactions and effectively identify complex money laundering transactions.
In a similar development, the Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, and the Bank of Communications are working with TuringQ, a quantum computing firm, to enable the use of quantum artificial intelligence algorithms in banking, in areas such as credit card fraud detection and investment portfolios optimisation.
China has become the third country – after Canada and the USA – where a company has developed a complete computer system using quantum technology for commercial use, according to South China Morning Post. Developed by the Origin Quantum startup, the 24-qubit quantum computer named Wuyuan is based on superconducting chip technology and is said to have been delivered to an unknown user more than a year ago. While not China’s first quantum computer, Wuyuan is considered to be the first such computer built for commercial purposes in the country.
