French National Quantum Update: June 2023
Business plan summary
Quantum researchers and entrepreneurs have demonstrated their global leadership in several key areas during the month of June. France Quantum 2023 is the country’s quantum technology talent fair. The event centered on how French scientists and entrepreneurs moved quantum from the laboratory into real life – and this message resonated internationally. Another company based in France is establishing an international collaboration. Quantonation, a startup quantum technology venture capital firm, reports it has partnered on a project to build a quantum technology ecosystem in Quebec, Canada. PASQAL, an atomic neutral quantum computing company, announced the establishment of a factory to manufacture advanced quantum processing devices in the same Canadian ecosystem. These are just a few examples of how “French quantum leadership” is rapidly becoming “France-based global quantum leadership”.
Policy
General Secretariat for Investment Promoting Post-Quantum Cryptography
The General Secretariat for Investments (SGPI), under the authority of the Prime Minister of France, has awarded a contract to HENSOLDT France SAS for a post-quantum cryptography project. The contact originates within the framework of the French national quantum strategy 2030.
France Hosts EuroHPC’s Second Exascale Supercomputer
The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (JU) has announced the European host and operator of its second exascale system: the Jules Verne consortium, consisting of France, represented by GENCI (Grand Equipment National de Calcul Intensive) and CEA (Commission on Alternative Energy and Atomic Energy), and the Netherlands , represented by the Netherlands national supercomputer center SURF. The supercomputer is expected to be in use by the end of 2025.
Business
Kipu Quantum Signs Research Collaboration Agreement With PASQAL to Optimize Quantum Algorithms
Kipu Quantum GMBH announced a two-year research and development agreement with PASQAL, a leader in atomic neutral quantum computing, to optimize the functioning of quantum algorithms and accelerate the benefits of quantum for enterprises.
DistriQ – Quantum Innovation Zone Announces Partnership With Quantonation Ventures
DistriQ, Quantum Innovation Zone, based in Sherbrooke, Quebec, announced that it is partnering with French quantum venture capital pioneer Quantonation Ventures.
OVHcloud, Cloud Europe leader, announced the immediate availability of a new emulator, accessible via notebook, aimed at facilitating quantum computing. Coinciding with the France Quantum 2023 event taking place today at Station F, OVHcloud confirms its commitment to innovation and quantum computing giving access to a French startup C12 quantum emulator called Callisto. In the months of development, this emulator will ensure developers access to all the physics phenomena that occur in the upcoming C12 quantum processor thanks to a faithful and accurate emulator. Built from carbon nanotubes, the C12 quantum engine is designed to provide the highest computational accuracy that this emulator perfectly emulates.
The first company in France to join the IBM Quantum Network, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, its technology subsidiary Euro-Information, and IBM today announced their continued investment in quantum computing. After a successful initial phase, the organization has identified specific use cases, among many areas of interest in financial services, for the next collaboration “scaling” phase, including: customer experience research, fraud management, and risk management. This phase also intends to explore the possibilities of how quantum computing can lead to future improvements in the customer and employee experience of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale.
PASQAL To Open Quantum Computer Factory in Canada
PASQAL, a world leader in quantum computing based on neutral atoms, announced the establishment of a factory to manufacture advanced quantum processing devices at Espace Quantique 1 of DistriQ – Quantum Innovation Zone in Sherbrooke, Canada.
DistriQ – Quantum Innovation Zone Announces Launch of Quantum Studio And Partnership With Quantonation Ventures And ACET
DistriQ, Quantum Innovation Zone, based in Sherbrooke, Quebec, is pleased to announce the creation of Quantum Studio and its partnership with Quantum Ventures and ACET (Accelerator de Création d’Entreprises Technologiques).
Research
Bank of International Settlements Report on Quantum-Proofing Experiments
The Bank of International Settles reports on Project Leap, including the Bank of France. A joint experiment by the BIS Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre, the Bank of France and Deutsche Bundesbank aims to prove the financial system is quantum.
Quandela Co-Founders Received a National Order of Merit
Minister Jean-Noël Barrot presented the National Order of Merit insignia to Pascale Senellart at a recent ceremony. Professor Senellart is a French physicist who is a senior fellow at the French National Center for Scientific Research and professor at the École Polytechnique, as well as the co-founder and chief science officer for Quandela, a France-based photonic quantum computing company.
UChicago, French Science Agency Launches Partnership to Solve World Problems
The University of Chicago and France’s Center National de la Recherche Scientifique have launched a broad and ambitious partnership to address some of the world’s most pressing problems. UChicago and CNRS researchers and administrators met for a series of three-day planning meetings on the UChicago campus and at the Argonne National Laboratory. Through these intense discussions, faculty leaders came up with ideas for collaboration on IRC Discovery’s three initial academic pillars: humanities and social sciences, biology, and quantum science and technology.
Education and Events
France Quantum Notches 2023 Successful Events
France Quantum 2023 received rave reviews online and on social media channels, including LinkedIn. Co-founded by OVHcloud, France Quantum aims to create a strong French ecosystem around quantum with the mission to bring together and highlight the main players in the sector to create future champions. The event was a quantum exhibition of French research and entrepreneurship, according to attendees.
French Hybrid Quantum HPC Initiative Held
A face-to-face French HPC Quantum Initiative workshop was held at the Maison de la Simulation on 8 June. The hybrid quantum/HPC project is an innovative and unique initiative, which will allow French and European academic and industrial researchers to evaluate the potential of quantum computing for their applications free of charge in public infrastructure. It also aims to develop international collaborations to promote open research.
