Quantum-as-a-service startups give clients access to quantum computing, often through cloud services. And their popularity has taken off fast. This isn’t some future tech 10 years away from now, it’s happening right now.
“Two years ago customers didn’t know where to even get started with quantum computing. Now we see more and more companies with existing quantum experience in-house,” says Ilana Wisby CEO of Oxford Quantum Circuits — the first startup to offer cloud access to its quantum computers in Europe through Amazon Web Services.
Finance is one of the biggest applications for quantum computing. Experts are hoping that the technology can optimise investment portfolios and boost returns by millions
Quantum algorithms are particularly good at optimisation problems. For example, Terra Quantum AG is working on a pilot programme helping a logistics company optimise the routes of fleets comprising thousands of trucks — which may be able to significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
Swiss company Terra Quantum AG has developed quantum algorithms that can optimise portfolios of collateral investments. Compared to classical approaches, the algorithm was 10 times faster and improved the portfolio’s performance by six basis points — for a European bank posting €400bn in collateral, that would translate to a return around €240m a year better, says Terra Quantum’s CEO Markus Pflitsch.
Another application of quantum computing is “predictive maintenance” — Spanish quantum startup Multiverse Computing has been working with Bosch to predict where supply chains are going to fail and optimise when and where maintenance is needed. The company is also using this approach to help a hospital in Barcelona predict which patients are going to require attention in the next 20 minutes and optimise the use of its ICU beds.
By 2026, quantum computers will be able to perform tasks that classical computers could take thousands of years for a classical computer to solve, which could be a huge boost for the pharma industry and shorten the time it takes to develop a drug by several years.
