AMETIC Event
On October 17th, at the CEOE headquarters in Madrid, Spain, AMETIC — the Association of the Digital Industry in Spain — presented an update of its Report “The Quantum Spain 2022: a business vision”. The conference was opened by Salvador Estevan, general director of Digitization and Artificial Intelligence of the Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation, and Pedro Mier, president of AMETIC, who assured the audience that quantum technologies will play a disruptive role in the coming years. Mier also pointed out that if Spain can join forces and align the scientific and university community, technology centres, public administrations and the business sector, the country can play a relevant role in the future of this promising sector.
Thriving Ecosystem
And it’s true: Spain boasts a thriving quantum startup scene. According to our Quantum Intelligence Platform, Spain has approximately 14 companies that are either pure-play quantum or involved in quantum tech in some way.
Multiverse Computing, Qilimanjaro, Quantum Mads, and Qapitan Quantum are four commercial examples of this. In research, too, Spain’s universities are playing a key role in the advancement of the industry. The University of Valencia, it should be noted, even has several spinout companies to boast of in DAS Photonics, VLC Photonics and iPronics.
The presentation of this report was a great opportunity to learn from the authors and coordinators of this effort, in an informative and thought-provoking panel hosted by Alberto García García, Quantum Computing Lead at Accenture. Also involved was Jaime Gómez García, Head of Architecture and Quantum at Crypto & Blockchain CoE at Santander, Antonio Abad, Chief Technical and Operations Officer at Hispasat, Ricardo Enriquez, Leader at Repsol Quantum Advisory Team, and Juan Antonio Relano Pinilla, CIO at Bosch España.
Must-read
Another person at the forefront of all things quantum in Spain at the event was Esperanza Cuenca Gómez, Head of Strategy and Outreach at Multiverse Computing, a San Sebastián-based company that provides software for companies spanning through more than 10 verticals such as finance, manufacturing, energy, mobility and engineering amongst others.
“The Quantum Spain: an entrepreneurial vision is a must-read for those wanting to gain an understanding of the Spanish quantum ecosystem, as well as a vision of how quantum computing can contribute to their businesses,” said Cuenca Gómez, talking to The Quantum Insider.
In a related LinkedIn post published the day after the event, Cuenca Gómez remarked it was very positive to see strong institutional support with tangible actions like the welcoming words by Pedro Mier, AMETIC president, the inauguration by Salvador Estevan Martínez, General Director for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence at Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital, and the presentation by Luis Fernando Álvarez-Gascón, Innovation Commission President at AMETIC and Alfonso Rubio-Manzanares, Innovation Commission Vice-president and Quantum Technologies Working Group Coordinator at AMETIC.
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