Dear Friends,
Greetings of the day! Welcome to the 28th edition of weekly newsletter by OneQuantum India. Lot of actions and updates happening in our Indian Quantum Ecosystem be it Government, Defense, Private or Public Enterprises, all are marching ahead to get ahead in the future.
We are gearing up for our next event themed on Quantum Internet. Stay tuned for more updates on social media. The event is scheduled on 18th Dec at 6 PM (Mumbai Time). Our Speaker Dr. Purnima Sethi would be delivering an insightful talk.
I continue to meet various professionals / founders / academia / government officials from the Quantum Community and look forward to setting up a one-on-one interaction with you soon.
Should you have any news to share or authored an article or have delivered a talk or participated in a panel discussion related to Quantum Computing and would wish us to cover the same, feel free to ping me on LinkedIn.
Stay Safe,
Regards,
Chintan Oza
President India Region, OneQuantum
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chintanoza
Welcome to the decade of Quantum Computing
The explosive progress of quantum computing in the last five years has been thrilling. Previously relegated to research laboratories, quantum computing has gained traction in recent months, with governments and private investors around the world putting billions of dollars into quantum tech innovation. Analysts believe that quantum computers are one step closer to solving certain real-world commercial challenges that are beyond the capabilities of conventional computers. IBM, a pioneer in quantum technology research and invention, intends to dominate the quantum computer business. The Big Blue announced plans to build a 1,000-qubit quantum computer by 2023, a first in the tech industry. The Big Blue also broke new ground in November by unveiling 'Eagle,' a cutting-edge processor that is reportedly the most powerful quantum computing processor developed by IBM thus far and could blaze a historic new trail in IT.
https://www.cxotoday.com/ai/the-world-has-entered-the-quantum-decade/.
How MeitY chalked out Tech Ambitions in 2021
MeitY, or the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, is one of the most important executive ministries in the Indian government, guiding the country's development towards a developed and empowered society. From its inception, it has been the flag bearer for India's e-Development, utilizing converging technologies through its multiple programs and subordinate entities. In 2021, it announced and launched a variety of initiatives to use emerging technologies as AI, machine learning, blockchain, IoT, robotics, and big data for the benefit of millions of Indians. MeitY, or the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has been one of the most significant executive ministries in the Indian Government, driving the country's transformation towards a developed and empowered society. It has been the flag bearer for India's e-Development from its foundation, utilizing converging technologies through its numerous programs and subordinate bodies. It introduced and launched several projects in 2021 to deploy emerging technologies as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, IoT, Robotics, and Big Data for the benefit of millions of Indians. MeitY will deploy India's first Quantum Computer Simulator (QSim) toolkit in August 2021, in conjunction with IIT Roorkee, IISC Bangalore, and C-DAC. QSim is an indigenous toolset that will be an important research and instructional tool for quantum computing researchers and students. It is one of the earliest attempts in India to address the shared problem of extending the boundaries of Quantum Computing research. "QSim can serve as an essential educational/research tool, giving an ideal means to attract students/researchers to the topic of Quantum Technology and providing a platform to gain the skills of 'programming' and 'creating' genuine Quantum Hardware."
https://indiaai.gov.in/article/how-meity-chalked-india-s-ai-ambitions-in-2021
BMW and AWS Announce Winners of Quantum Computing Challenge
The winners of the BMW Quantum Computing Challenge have been declared by BMW Group and Amazon Web Services. The winners will be unveiled at Q2B 2021, a conference for the use of quantum computing. Last July, the BMW Group, in conjunction with AWS, called on the worldwide quantum computing community to create breakthrough quantum algorithms for four specific industrial issues, which would then be tested on real quantum computing technology. Around 70 teams competed in the challenge, and a winner team was chosen in each of the four categories. Throughout the contest, the BMW Group collaborated closely with the Amazon Quantum Solutions Lab Professional Services team, an elite group of professionals, right up until the winners were announced. AWS also granted credits for the usage of Amazon Braket, allowing the submitted quantum algorithms to be developed and tested. Amazon Braket provides a development environment for experimenting with and developing quantum algorithms, as well as testing them on quantum circuit simulators and running them on various quantum hardware technologies. The BMW Group received around seventy entries from throughout the world, including international and national research groups, start-ups, and established firms. The extremely high quality of the contributions opens fresh insights and provides opportunity for novel ways to problem solving, such as the invention and continued development of new algorithms. When analyzing the submitted ideas, the expert jury considered factors such as comprehensibility, practicality, scalability, originality, and usefulness to the BMW Group. Because of their tremendous potential for innovation, all fifteen finalists have been nominated for future projects. The four winners' adventure begins right away: they instantly receive the BMW Group as a client and will be involved in the continued development of the pilot projects. The organization is excited to collaborate with these four winners.
https://insidehpc.com/2021/12/bmw-and-aws-announce-winners-of-quantum-computing-challenge-at-q2b/
How Quantum Computing would transform Government IT
The United States government is investing heavily in quantum technologies. In support of the National Quantum Initiative, the Department of Energy committed $625 million in transdisciplinary Quantum Information Science Research Centers in 2020. The Biden administration is in favor of legislation that would invest more than $100 billion to promote modern technologies such as quantum computing. These investments are for a worthy cause. According to the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, quantum computing is one of the key technological fields in which the United States faces escalating competition from a growing range of countries. Because of the military and economic benefits these technologies bring, as well as the cybersecurity dangers quantum entails, all are competing for leadership.
https://gcn.com/articles/2021/12/10/quantum-promises-challenges.aspx
A breakthrough in microwave technology has solved one of quantum computing's barriers
On a quantum computer, the wiring alone can cost up to €1 million. Researchers in Finland have developed a new sort of microwave controller that overcomes one of the major challenges of scaling up quantum computers to the scale where they can be useful. The controller, which was created primarily by Aalto University and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, can operate at temperatures near to absolute zero, which is employed in quantum computers. As a result, the small — less than a millimeter wide — gadget may be housed inside the same supercooled environment as the quantum processor to which it is delivering signals. It removes the requirement for many wires to be routed into the quantum processor. Cabling may appear to be a minor issue, but it is set to become a major barrier in the scaling up of quantum computers, according to Mikko Möttönen, professor at Aalto University and VTT who headed the research.
https://sifted.eu/articles/microwave-breakthrough-quantum-computing/
Video of the week
Quantum Computing with Light
Quantum computing has the potential to alter society in a variety of ways, including the speedy discovery of new medications and vaccinations, improved supply chain efficiency, real-time optimization of transportation and navigation, and the safe storing and transfer of personal information. While there are various candidates for the physical implementation of quantum computers, integrated photonics has significant advantages. In this session, I'll go through these benefits and give an overview of the several chip-scale designs we're working on at UCSB to construct an efficient and scalable quantum photonic processor. I will cover recent breakthroughs in this field, our efforts in addressing some of the fundamental hurdles, and future potential that may allow large-scale quantum photonic computers.