With a $15 million seed funding round co-led by Grove Ventures, Pitango First, and Eclipse Ventures, Quantum Source (QS), an Israeli firm that specializes in quantum computing, is emerging from stealth mode.
The factoring of big integers and simulations of intricate molecules are two examples of the kinds of issues that a quantum computer will be able to address. This new kind of computer has a tremendous amount of computing capacity.
With its “revolutionary” photonic technology, Quantum Source hopes to scale quantum computers to millions of qubits. It is anticipated that entire industries would undergo a transformation as a result of large-scale photonic quantum computers. These quantum computers would, for example, quicken the process of developing new treatments, reduce the time it takes for pharmaceutical companies to commercialize new drugs, and help doctors with difficult disease treatment optimization.
Photonic Quantum Technology
Quantum Source was founded by three serial entrepreneurs and a Professor from the Weizmann Institute of Science. These persons include the following: Oded Melamed, CEO, who served as the co-founder and CEO of Altair Semiconductor before it was acquired by Sony; Gil Semo, VP R&D, who was a member of the founding team of Anobit Technologies before it was acquired by Apple and later served as the director of platform architecture at Apple in Israel; Dan Charash, Chairman, who served as the co-founder and CEO of Provigent before it was acquired by Broadcom; and Prof. Barak Dayan, Senior Scientist and founder and head of the Quantum Optics lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
The race to create a quantum computer that can be used for business has accelerated significantly in recent years. The majority of research organizations and businesses working in the field, including Google, IBM, IonQ, and Rigetti, rely on matter-based technologies, such as superconducting qubits or trapped ions, and have created quantum computers with a limited number of qubits (tens or hundreds of qubits). It is necessary to have a quantum computer with millions of qubits in order to tackle problems that are useful for business.
“The difference between small quantum computers that are developed today, with tens or hundreds of qubits, and building efficient, large-scale quantum computers with millions of qubits is huge,” said Oded Melamed, CEO and Co-Founder, Quantum Source. “The photonic quantum technology that Quantum Source is developing will enable a dramatic leap forward and the realization of quantum computer systems with millions of qubits. These new full-scale quantum computers will have a significant impact on many industries, solving previously computationally impossible problems in multiple sectors, such as drug and material development, finance, and cybersecurity.”
