Dead or alive, Britain hands Schrödinger's industry £121M

UK's play to win a quantum computing race that is still highly theoretical

To mark World Quantum Day, the UK government says it will stump up a £121 million ($158 million) investment in the ever-distant technology that proponents claim has the potential to shake up the world.

The new funding, which will be made available over the next year, aims to give researchers the opportunity to bring their ideas for applications such as quantum health and cybersecurity to life, according to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

As part of the government's much-vaunted Plan for Change announced last year, this move is to "further secure the UK's position as a world leader in quantum" as part of the government's long-term commitment to the sector.

If it was that important, you may think that a "world leader" would invest more than £121 million. In the US, the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act has unlocked $2.7 billion over the next five years to advance practical applications of the technology.

But this is just the latest part of the UK's National Quantum Technologies Program, DSIT says, a long-term effort to back early stage research and help get quantum technologies out of the lab and onto the marketplace.

As an example, the agency cites the case of HSBC bank, which it says has been working with government-backed entities including the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) to find ways of using the technology to identify signs of money laundering.

This is said to demonstrate quantum's unique ability to analyze complex data and detect subtle patterns, to tackle fraud, one of the biggest challenges facing society, which is estimated to cost the local economy £2.6 billion ($3.4 billion) each year.

"The UK is home to the second largest community of quantum businesses in the world and this investment means they can go further paving the way for new quantum tools and products that make our lives easier, fuel growth, and help us tackle the great challenges of our era," proclaimed the Secretary of State for Science and Technology, Peter Kyle.

Of the funding pot, £46.1 million (about $60 million) will be spent by Innovate UK, the government's "innovation agency," to target a range of sectors, including computing, networking and sensing.

Some £21 million (about $27 million) will be allocated to further the work of the National Quantum Computing Centre, and £23.6 million ($31 million) is going to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for five research hubs announced last year, including investment into training and skills programs.

Perhaps the relatively small sum on offer is a reflection of the slow progress being made towards truly useful quantum computers, which, like nuclear fusion, always seem to be 10 or 20 years away.

"R&D in quantum computing is accelerating with growing investment based on the potential benefits to industries like financial services. However, the technology is still not accessible, usable, or economically viable for commercial use," said David Sewell, CTO of IT consultants Synechron.

Once available, it could significantly transform machine learning applications in financial services, he added.

"Quantum computers can process large datasets much faster than classical computers, enhancing the capabilities of machine learning algorithms. This advancement would allow banks to analyze real-time data for better decision-making, risk assessment, and fraud detection."

One of the problems the quantum sector faces is that any big returns are so far off that the companies developing it tend to run into funding issues, unless they are giants with deep pockets like Microsoft or AWS. Some, like D-Wave and Rigetti Computing, found themselves in danger of being delisted from the stock exchanges their shares traded on last year.

Nvidia chief Jensen Huang caused a temporary drop in quantum biz shares after he remarked in January that practical quantum systems are likely still 20 years away – a comment that he later disavowed.

In 2023, quantum firms received 50 percent less venture capital funding as investors jumped ship to put their money into generative AI, or else shied away from risky bets on Silicon Valley startups. ®