Cuts in public spending on quantitative research risk “losing decades of investment” and could leave Britain dependent on other countries to share the benefits of advanced technology, the founders of the early stage have said.
Ashley Montanaro and Toby Cubitt, two of the three founders of Phasecraft, a company that emerged from University College London and the University of Bristol, said the technology was going through a “crucial period”. The government’s decision in August to withdraw £1.3 billion of funding for technology and AI projects promised by the Conservatives has disappointed the industry, they say.
With capital investment in the sector also down this year, compared to last year, concerns are growing over Britain’s ability to compete. The United States and China.
Cubitt, Phasecraft’s chief technology officer, said: “Countries leading the way will not only be among the first to reap the direct benefits of this quantum computing, but will also be able to benefit from it. Technical, production and business capabilities are developed as part of the process.
“Those who are left behind will be left with a place where they can access quantum computing, and the ability to unlock the development of many areas of their use, will depend entirely on the will of others.”
Montanaro, the company’s chief executive, said: “Governments continue to be the main source of support for start-ups, providing twice as much on average, an important issue that the US and China understand, as both have invested heavily number.”
Phasecraft, founded in 2019, develops algorithms to move quantum computing from experimental demonstrations to practical applications. It has raised $21 million in outside capital, including venture capital firms Playground Global, LocalGlobe, and the UCL Technology Fund.
She has published eight scientific papers on her work in the journal Nature over the past four years and expanded to America last year when she hired Steve Flammia, a former research scientist and director of Amazon’s Web Services Center. Quantum Computing.
Replacing an ancient bit with a number is said to be enough to completely change the power of a computer
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Montanaro and Cubitt expressed their concerns in a letter calling on the government to better balance investment and regulation, as well as to encourage collaboration and create a deeper skills base in the UK. More than a quarter of a million people already work in the UK quantum sector.
The paper states that it is important to maintain public investment until such time that the sector is able to support itself. Failure to do so will not only reduce our ability to compete in global computing, but also risk wasting decades of domestic investment”.
Quantum computing has long promised to revolutionize solving complex problems, with methods developed by the likes of Google and IBM beating the world’s best computers. Applications could include finding new drugs and developing battery storage materials, as well as optimizing power grids to better incorporate renewable sources. Phasecraft recently won a £1 million government contract to develop quantum algorithms to improve energy efficiency.
McKinsey, a consultancy, estimates that the four sectors most likely to see the first impact of quantum computing are chemistry, life sciences, finance and mobility. They could generate benefits of up to $2 trillion worldwide by 2035. Quantum computing itself could account for nearly $1.3 trillion in value in the same year.
Cubitt said: “The simple and easy step of replacing some old bits with numbers is enough to completely change the capabilities of the computer, opening up a variety of applications that were previously unattainable, from the design of computer-driven materials to the power understand and predict complex behaviors, multi-body systems, such as those seen in nature.
“For decades, scientists around the world, often supported by ambitious government programs, have been striving to deliver on the promise of quantum computing and, with recent advances in both algorithms and hardware, it is now within reach.”
Businessmen also warned governments to impose regulations designed to hinder international cooperation in quantum computing research: “Ministers also need to remember that never in the history of development has it been possible to stop the juggernaut of a single- Putting up obstacles may slow you down, but innovation will always find a way forward.
“It is better to stand with the history that enables this innovation in the most responsible and balanced way possible, than to leave it behind; to reduce the negative impact, rather than trying to stop it.”
The £1.3 billion funding includes £800 million for the creation of a next-generation supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh and an additional £500 million in cash for the AI Research Resource, a scheme to help fund the computing power of AI.
A spokesperson for the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology said: “We are fully committed to our transformative digital sector, focusing on digital computing. We recently announced £100m of funding for five new quantum research centres, including a quantum computing center based at the University of Oxford which will develop the UK’s capabilities in both hardware and software.
“While future R&D funding is still to be determined, the government will take a long-term approach to funding cycles, giving researchers the certainty they need to keep the UK at the forefront of one- global creation.”
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