
- Japanese telecom and tech giant has teamed up with UK quantum computing specialist
- The pair aim to develop a model for a quantum datacentre, examine use cases and figure out associated business models
- The move comes as the United Nations kickstarts its Year of Quantum Sciences and Technology
AI might be hogging the headlines right now, but quantum computing and its associated developments are coming up in the wings and Japan’s SoftBank has added to the growing noise by entering into a “wide-ranging” partnership with Cambridge, UK-based Quantinuum that will involve the duo demonstrating the practical application of quantum computing, developing a model for a ‘quantum datacentre’, and driving the commercial value of quantum computing via practical use cases.
The move is timely, as today marks the beginning of the UN’s International Year of Quantum Sciences and Technology (IYQ), the opening ceremony of which is being held in Paris at the headquarters of the IYQ’s lead agency, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).
The intent of IYQ is to maximise the visibility and presence of both itself and the transformative potential of quantum science and technology in addressing global challenges. It will serve as a platform for the exchange of ideas, and act as a showcase for best practices in quantum science education, research and industry applications. Another objective is to encourage interdisciplinary and cross-regional cooperation, and to address disparities between the “Global North and South” as well as inspiring inclusive innovation.
So what will SoftBank and Quantinuum bring to the party?
According to the companies, the combination of their respective strengths will be focused on developing innovative quantum computing solutions that will overcome the limitations of classical artificial intelligence (AI) and realise next-generation technologies. The whole world now knows about generative AI (GenAI), personified by the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
However, the hype surrounding AI technologies has been remorseless, and often exaggerated and misleading. Meanwhile, often all but unknown and little acknowledged scientists and researchers are working on quantum computing’s development beyond the limits of AI, and are addressing the many challenges that will need to be overcome to make that a reality.
The real potential lies in a hybrid model that combines central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), and quantum processing units (QPUs) in a ‘quantum datacentre’ to extend the current capabilities of AI, because each type of processing unit functioning with a hybrid system can carry out more advanced and diverse computations, provide new solutions and outperform traditional methodologies.
However, the capability of quantum computing to fully exploit its transformative potential is nascent and the SoftBank and Quantinuum partnership will focus on solving practical problems for practical purposes.
Business and financial models lacking and needed now
To that end, the partners stress the importance of building a viable business model, not least because the investment and operational costs involved in constructing and deploying quantum computers are very substantial and, as yet, there is no evident revenue-generating route to ensuring returns on investments can be made within a reasonable timeframe. That very real problem is detering some would-be players from developing and adopting quantum computing in the first place.
To make matters worse, there are very few specific use cases able to clearly show when, where and how quantum computing will be useful to potential paying customers and there is little understanding of market size and revenue models. After all, it is evidently crucial to identify market possibilities and to predict their value.
Then there’s the problem of integrating quantum computing into industry sectors, such as telecom, healthcare, automotive, logistics, materials science and, of course, AI itself.
Meanwhile, at the practical level, quantum computing remains very difficult to achieve, as it relies on hardware devices that are fragile, subject to disruption from many sources of specific interference and general ‘noise’, and which break down often and repeatedly. Meanwhile, on the software development front, the pressure is on to develop hybrid algorithms combining traditional methods with advances in error suppression, mitigation and correction technologies. All of these components are vital to enable practical commercial quantum computing.
The SoftBank and Quantinuum strategic partnership has several key goals, one of which is to create a quantum datacentre capable of combining the differing but complementary abilities of classical and quantum computers: They will use the Japanese market “as a foothold to conduct global market research in the Asia Pacific region and other regions, and explore specific business models based on that research,” noted SoftBank.
Another goal is to use quantum computing to boost AI algorithms, particularly where large-scale data analysis is concerned. And it also aims to examine and improve the commercial viability of quantum computing to make it potentially available to all types and sizes of enterprises and organisations via cost-sharing and revenue-earning models that will make it quicker, easier and cheaper for them to move over to quantum computing without incurring massive costs. For example, one avenue that the partnership will explore is to provide quantum computing as a cloud service via subscription-based contracts.
The partnership will also focus on identifying concrete use cases for quantum computing, particularly in data-heavy/computer-intensive industries. For example, in the materials science field, quantum computing will be applied to simulate molecular and atomic behaviours in the quest for new materials for the production of new, more powerful, longer-lasting batteries and solar cells.
One of the most promising avenues of exploration will be in telecom, where quantum computing will enhance network optimisation, increase defences against fraud, enhance data security, and detect (and even predict) network problems before they happen.
Commenting on the formation of the strategic partnership, Ryuji Wakikawa, head of the Research Institute of Advanced Technology at SoftBank, stated: “SoftBank believes in the potential of quantum computers and has been testing and evaluating various internal issues using quantum computers, and has started to obtain certain results. However, as a telecoms operator, there are still many challenges remaining regarding how to provide quantum computing services in Japan. Through our collaboration with Quantinuum, which possesses the world’s highest-performance quantum computer hardware, we aim to be the first in the world to identify problems that can only be solved by quantum computers and look forward to significantly accelerating the practical application of quantum computing.”
Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, the president and CEO of Quantinuum, added: “Our partnership with SoftBank represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of quantum computing. By combining our strengths, we are poised to unlock innovative solutions that will not only enhance the capabilities of AI but also tackle challenges that have long been beyond reach. Together, we are laying the groundwork for a future where quantum technologies drive transformative advancements across multiple industries.”
– Martyn Warwick, Editor in Chief, TelecomTV
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