{"id":15682,"date":"2024-09-18T08:44:04","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T08:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1410382"},"modified":"2024-09-18T08:44:04","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T08:44:04","slug":"algorithm-startup-qmill-vows-to-become-first-to-provide-quantum-advantage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=15682","title":{"rendered":"Algorithm startup QMill vows to become \u2018first to provide quantum advantage\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Espoo outside of Helsinki is turning into quite the quantum hub. The city\u2019s latest addition to the Finnish quantum computing ecosystem is QMill. <\/span><\/p>\n

The newly minted algorithm startup<\/a> just raised \u20ac4mn in seed funding to leverage near-term hardware to deliver real benefits to industry through quantum computing. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is momentum growing at the moment [in quantum], and investors can see that a lot of companies are experimenting with quantum computing now \u2014 but so far they have not found quantum advantage,\u201d Hannu Kauppinen<\/span>, QMill co-founder and CEO, told TNW. \u201cWe are the ones who will be the first to provide them with that.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Quantum advantage refers to the point when a quantum computer<\/a> is able to solve a problem faster or more efficiently than classical high-performance computers. Hitting this milestone will also unlock tremendous value across a number of industries. <\/span><\/p>\n

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The problem is that despite significant progress, quantum computers remain stuck in the so-called NISQ (Noisy-Intermediate Scale Quantum) era. These machines are prone to errors, especially when attempting to scale and control a larger number of qubits. <\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, the potential of the technology remains unfulfilled, along with its commercial benefits \u2014 unless algorithms can be sufficiently optimised to run on near-term systems. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mikko M\u00f6tt\u00f6nen, one of QMill\u2019s other co-founders and its chief scientist, has been in the field of quantum hardware for about 20 years. He says he has seen significant improvement over the past five years and that it is only \u201ca matter of time\u201d before we have an error-corrected full-fledged quantum computer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, at the moment no one knows how to use the present day machines or the machines that will be there in the next 10 years, for useful cases \u2014 for cases that businesses can benefit from,\u201d M\u00f6tt\u00f6nen added. \u201cWhat we are doing is using the near-term hardware for quantum advantage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Founder team sprung from the Finnish quantum community<\/h2>\n

The funding round was led by <\/span>Finland-based Maki.vc as well as Antler, and joined by industrial technology investor Kvanted.<\/span><\/p>\n

The funds will go toward <\/span>the development of QMill\u2019s highly resource-efficient quantum algorithms<\/span>. These will work for applications that require up to 300 physical qubits to solve optimisation problems for industries including <\/span>finance, telecommunications, real estate, energy, and supply chain logistics.
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<\/span>\u201cQMill has identified a great opportunity to leverage the current noisy intermediate-scale quantum era, rather than waiting for the quantum-computing ecosystem to evolve over the next decade,\u201d said Pirkka Palom\u00e4ki, partner at Maki.vc, adding that the investment was driven by the \u201cexceptional quality\u201d of the QMill team. <\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, the QMill founders\u2019 resumes are impressive. QMill is the brainchild of <\/span>M\u00f6tt\u00f6nen, who is professor of Quantum Technology at Aalto University and VTT; Kauppinen<\/span>, who is the <\/span>former chief technology officer of Nokia Technologies; <\/span>Ville Kotovirta, former head of VTT\u2019s Quantum Algorithms and Software Team; and Toni Annala, an L.E. Dickson Instructor at the University of Chicago. <\/span><\/p>\n

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The QMill founding team has an impressive resume. Credit: QMill<\/figcaption>