UK Expected to Reveal 2.5 Billion, 10-Year Quantum Computing Program
The UK government is expected to a decade-long £2.5 billion funding program to support quantum computing in the country, according to the Financial Times.
The program will help the UK, already a leader in quantum, remain competitive in the rapidly emerging and increasingly competitive global quantum computing race.
The funding more than doubles that of the present £1 billion National Quantum Technologies Programme, according to UKTN. Last year, Innovate UK announced a £500,000 investment dedicated towards quantum startups.
FT also reports that the National Quantum Computing Centre on the Harwell Campus, is integral to the program, but support will be distributed around the country to create a “future network of research hubs”.
According to TQI’s Intelligence Platform, the UK is a leader in quantum innovation in Europe with a strong quantum ecosystem. UK quantum startups are increasingly attracting private investments. Quantum Motion raised over £42 million in equity funding recently, one of the largest funding efforts by a UK quantum startup.
“We’re extremely pleased to see the UK government’s commitment to quantum,” said Steve Metcalfe, chief executive of Quantum Exponential, a London-based quantum investment company, told the Financial Times. “To create a market, we need a joined-up approach between government and the investment community, which includes areas such as pension funds to ensure that there’s the level of start-up investment needed — and that ultimately, the UK plays a pivotal role in the acceleration and commercialisation of the industry.”
Richard Murray, co-founder and CEO of Orca Computing also weighed in on the expected announcement.
“The UK is a hotbed for quantum innovation, and we now really have the chance to break through commercially and develop quantum technologies further into practical uses, particularly in computing where we are already strong,” Murray told FT.
The Plan for Quantum will also address adding qualified scientists and engineers to the quantum workforce, which faces a severe shortage of trained workers.
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Matt Swayne
With a several-decades long background in journalism and communications, Matt Swayne has worked as a science communicator for an R1 university for more than 12 years, specializing in translating high tech and deep tech for the general audience. He has served as a writer, editor and analyst at The Quantum Insider since its inception. In addition to his service as a science communicator, Matt also develops courses to improve the media and communications skills of scientists and has taught courses.
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Quantum Motion
Quantum Motion is a quantum computing company focused on developing scalable quantum computing technologies. They aim to create quantum computing architectures using a silicon-based platform with a CMOS-compatible process, leveraging established semiconductor fabrication techniques to achieve practicality and scalability.
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Quantum Exponential
Quantum Exponential intends to identify different investment opportunities in the quantum computing sector focussing on NATO allied countries. These include, but are not limited to, quantum communications, quantum sensing, quantum metrology and quantum computing software and components.
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