{"id":560028,"date":"2023-03-06T12:00:08","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T09:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/europes-throwing-billions-at-quantum-computers-will-it-pay-off\/"},"modified":"2023-03-06T12:00:08","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T09:00:08","slug":"europes-throwing-billions-at-quantum-computers-will-it-pay-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/europes-throwing-billions-at-quantum-computers-will-it-pay-off\/","title":{"rendered":"#Europe\u2019s throwing billions at quantum computers. Will it pay off?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a279d3c3ad65\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a279d3c3ad65\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/europes-throwing-billions-at-quantum-computers-will-it-pay-off\/#%E2%80%9CEuropes_throwing_billions_at_quantum_computers_Will_it_pay_off%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Europe\u2019s throwing billions at quantum computers. Will it pay off?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/europes-throwing-billions-at-quantum-computers-will-it-pay-off\/#Dont_miss_TNW_Valencia_in_less_than_4_weeks\" >Don&#8217;t miss TNW Val\u00e8ncia in less than 4 weeks!<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/europes-throwing-billions-at-quantum-computers-will-it-pay-off\/#A_quantum_%E2%80%9Cchicken_or_the_egg%E2%80%9D_challenge\" >A quantum \u201cchicken or the egg\u201d challenge<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/europes-throwing-billions-at-quantum-computers-will-it-pay-off\/#The_three_hurdles_to_jump\" >The three hurdles to jump<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/europes-throwing-billions-at-quantum-computers-will-it-pay-off\/#It_might_not_be_a_software_problem_today_but_it_will_be_tomorrow\" >It might not be a software problem today, but it will be tomorrow<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CEuropes_throwing_billions_at_quantum_computers_Will_it_pay_off%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Europe\u2019s throwing billions at quantum computers. Will it pay off?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image?fit=796%2C417&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2023%2F03%2FUntitled-design-2023-03-03T100910.324.jpg&amp;signature=ebab474625a04401759a5279911837eb\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n                            No one may fully understand quantum computing yet, but one thing is clear \u2014 the expectations are high. And where there are high expectations, there\u2019s money.<\/p>\n<p>Both private and public funding for European quantum technologies has grown notably over the last few years. In 2021, private funding to quantum startups <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sifted.eu\/articles\/europe-risk-quantum-computing\/\">increased by 2.5x<\/a> compared to 2020, and by 8x compared to 2019. Public funding has grown as well, with the EU planning to invest <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/capabilities\/mckinsey-digital\/our-insights\/quantum-computing-funding-remains-strong-but-talent-gap-raises-concern\">$7.2<\/a> billion (\u20ac6.8 billion) in quantum computing projects by 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Understandably, most of these billions already are or will be directed to building a successful quantum computer \u2014 hardware is currently the biggest bottleneck in the deployment of this <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>. However, let\u2019s not forget that hardware alone won\u2019t be enough. Without suitable software, quantum computers will have no value.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, quantum software gets undeservedly little attention and, thereby, funding.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper channel-cta\">\n<div class=\"ica-text\">\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dont_miss_TNW_Valencia_in_less_than_4_weeks\"><\/span>Don&#8217;t miss TNW Val\u00e8ncia in less than 4 weeks!<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>The heart of tech is coming to the heart of the Mediterranean &#8211; March 30 &#8211; 31<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_quantum_%E2%80%9Cchicken_or_the_egg%E2%80%9D_challenge\"><\/span>A quantum \u201cchicken or the egg\u201d challenge<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>An obvious example that quantum software in Europe is being undervalued is the money distribution in the EU\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/qt.eu\/\">Quantum Technology Flagship<\/a> program \u2014 the ambitious initiative to support Europe\u2019s quantum innovations with a total of \u20ac1 billion in funding. The first phase of this initiative has concluded with <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu\/en\/policies\/quantum-technologies-flagship\">\u20ac152 million invested<\/a>. Of those, just \u20ac4.6 million \u2014 that\u2019s a mere 2.9% \u2014 were directed to the research and development of quantum software.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to private investments, the situation is better, albeit similar. In 2021\/2022, about <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sifted.eu\/articles\/europe-quantum-startups-mapped\/\">14.5%<\/a> of equity investments into European quantum computing startups were directed to software solutions. And it seems that in 2023, this trend continues. Europe\u2019s quantum computing startups that have raised noteworthy rounds this year \u2014 including <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/01\/23\/pasqal-raises-100m-to-build-a-neutral-atom-based-quantum-computer\/\">Pasqal<\/a> (\u20ac100 million), <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/02\/20\/u-k-quantum-computing-startup-quantum-motion-raises-50-5m\/\">Quantum Motion<\/a> (\u00a342 million), <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sifted.eu\/articles\/oxford-ionics-quantum-computing\/\">Oxford lonics<\/a> (\u00a330 million) \u2014 are all hardware-focused.<\/p>\n<p>In the tech world, such focus on the hardware is unusual \u2014 in any other field, software typically receives the largest share of investments due to easier scalability and greater profit opportunities. So why, when it comes to quantum tech, it\u2019s the other way around?<\/p>\n<p>The reason for this anomaly is this: both private investors and public funds see quantum computing as a hardware problem rather than a software problem. And to some extent, they\u2019re right \u2014 building successful quantum hardware is indeed the most burning challenge. Well, right now. But in the big picture, it\u2019s only one-third of the problem.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_three_hurdles_to_jump\"><\/span>The three hurdles to jump<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When it comes to quantum computing, there are three central problems we still need to solve.<\/p>\n<p>The first and most obvious one is to build a quantum computer. There are currently no quantum computers used for more than experiments, so this is what the industry is mainly focused on \u2014 from the world\u2019s tech giants, such as Google and IBM, to startups and academia.<\/p>\n<p>The second challenge is to reduce errors in quantum computers, enabling them to perform longer computations. Better hardware will reduce errors, but is unlikely to be sufficient by itself. We must find ways to correct quantum computing errors at the software level.<\/p>\n<p>And the third problem is to find more computing methods for quantum computers, that is, quantum software <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lications. Quantum computers will be useful for modeling physics and chemistry, but the extent of their usefulness for data processing \u2014 from machine learning to planning and scheduling \u2014 is less clear. If we could find a couple more methods to expand the scope of problems these computers can solve, that would bring fundamental progress.<\/p>\n<p>Hence, two of the three central quantum computing problems are software-related. But how come this isn\u2019t at all reflected in the distribution of funding? Given that we\u2019re pouring all (okay, most) of the available money into hardware, how is anyone expecting to be able to use this new supercomputer without the \u201cbrain\u201d that actually powers it?<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"It_might_not_be_a_software_problem_today_but_it_will_be_tomorrow\"><\/span>It might not be a software problem today, but it will be tomorrow<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A reasonable distribution of funding, to my opinion, would be 15-20% for quantum software and 80-85% for hardware.<\/p>\n<p>Quite simply, hardware is the most expensive and complex part of this technology, so it\u2019s rational to allocate the largest amount of funding to it to expedite development. And directing one fifth of the total funding to software would be sufficient to cover the R&amp;D work on new quantum computing applications.<\/p>\n<p>While the distribution of private investments doesn\u2019t look that hopeless, the EU\u2019s public funds are lightyears away from reaching this goal.<\/p>\n<p>Look, the development of quantum software takes years. It took my colleagues and me between five and 10 years to develop <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/2192435_QUANTUM_WALKS_AND_THEIR_ALGORITHMIC_APPLICATIONS\">quantum walks<\/a> as a method for solving problems. I expect a similar timescale for new problem-solving methods of comparable or larger significance.<\/p>\n<p>What concerns me is that if we continue neglecting quantum software, in just about 10 years, quantum computing will become a software problem \u2014 and a life-or-death one. There will be quantum computers with applications mainly in physics and chemistry. In other areas, they will still be mostly used for experimentation rather than for actual problem-solving.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, Europe\u2019s now spending billions on specialised computing devices that it might not know how to adapt to wider applications. And if we aren\u2019t able to provide software that would expand the application of these devices, we risk losing interest in this technology and its further development altogether. The range of applications will simply be too small for the world to care.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/europes-throwing-billions-at-quantum-computers-will-it-pay-off\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Europe\u2019s throwing billions at quantum computers. Will it pay off?&#8221; No one may fully understand quantum computing yet, but one thing is clear \u2014 the expectations are high. And where there are high expectations, there\u2019s money. Both private and public funding for European quantum technologies has grown notably over the last few years. In 2021,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":560029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/03\/Untitled-design-2023-03-03T100910.324.jpg&signature=002c909faf8d1d0759e2a6480252cba4","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-560028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=560028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/560029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=560028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=560028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=560028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}