First Quantum, Inc. Becomes First Korean Startup to Join The IBM Quantum Network

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Insider Brief

  • First Quantum Inc. announced it joined the IBM Quantum Network, making it the first Korean startup in the network.
  • First Quantum will be able to access the strategic support to unlock value for the business, technical support and access to IBM’s advanced quantum systems.
  •  The company is co-founded by Suk Whan Chang, a seasoned investment specialist and an entrepreneur, and University of Seoul prof. Doyeol Ahn (David), a quantum computing and quantum information expert.

PRESS RELEASE — First Quantum, Inc. announced it has joined the IBM Quantum Network, a global community of Fortune 500 companies, startups, academic institutions and research labs working to advance quantum computing and explore practical applications.

As of September 2022, the first Korean startup in the IBM Quantum Network, First Quantum, Inc. received strategic support to unlock value for the business, technical support and access to IBM’s advanced quantum systems.

First Quantum Inc.’s corporate strategy is to focus on quantum circuit and algorithm optimization and increase hardware efficiency, and reducing complexity through its proprietary quantum Karnaugh Map technique. One of the goals will be to work on implementations using Qiskit Runtime, IBM’s quantum computing service and programming model that extends the existing interface in the open-source Qiskit SDK with a set of new primitives to optimize workloads.

First Quantum, Inc. is co-founded by Suk Whan Chang, a seasoned investment specialist and an entrepreneur, and University of Seoul professor Doyeol Ahn (David), a quantum computing and quantum information expert with more than 20 years of experience.  Prof. Ahn is also an IEEE Fellow, an American Physical Society Fellow, a recipient of the UIUC Distinguished Alumni Award, and an inventor of more than 30 patents.

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In addition, Prof. Ahn has worked on many quantum computing-related research projects sponsored by the Korean government and is currently working on computational fluid dynamics through a research grant from the US Air Force Office of Science and Research (AFOSR).

Joining the IBM Quantum Network is an opportunity for First Quantum to share and collaborate with other members to develop its skills further.  It is also a chance to expedite work on near-term use cases so that industry players understand and recognize the application benefits.  First Quantum Inc.’s algorithm development will initially focus on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) problems, especially hypersonic turbulent flow.  As the company grows, there will also be an expansion opportunity into financial portfolio optimization, financial derivatives, and quantum chemistry.  The company is actively looking to train our engineers and actively recruit engineers both locally and abroad.

For more market insights, check out our latest quantum computing news here.

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. [email protected]

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