When it arrives, Quantum computing will likely provide significant improvements in various applications, including aiding in combating climate change and enhancing the process of identifying drugs. Although quantum computers are operating, created by companies such as D-Wave, Rigetti, IBM, and Google, none can solve real-world problems more quickly than conventional computers. Many experts believe that the first practical computer is a decade away, or perhaps longer.
Atlantic Quantum, founded earlier this year by Bharath Kannan, Simon Gustavsson, Youngkyu Sung, Jonas Bylander, William Oliver, Shereen Shermak, and Tim Menke, aims to accelerate that timeframe by improving the fundamental technology behind quantum computing. This week, Atlantic Quantum unveiled the seed round of $9 million led by The Engine, the venture company that was spun off from MIT. Other investors in the game of seed capital are Thomas Tull, Glasswing Ventures, Future Labs Capital, and E14.
Atlantic Quantum’s primary goal Atlantic Quantum is to build hardware that improves its “coherence” in quantum computing. This reduces the chance of errors, which is the direct speed bump for these devices. Qubits, the primary computational unit of quantum computers has an advantage over the bits in the phone or computer the article you’re reading about since they don’t depend on binary 1s and 0s that are the basis of modern computer science. Instead, Qubits make use of quantum physics principles that allow them to exist simultaneously in multiple states. Furthermore, this method makes hardware exponentially stronger as the qubits are added, unlike conventional computers that only achieve linear gains.
It’s fantastic, but for the moment, qubits aren’t able to reach theoretical speeds of computation because the process can cause computational errors that must be rectified. It’s due to “decoherence” when qubits interact with their environment, which alters their quantum state. This is the subatomic equivalent to accidentally erasing part of a math equation you’re working on using your sleeves. You have to return to this part of the equation over again.
Hardware designed by Atlantic Quantum
The companies building quantum computers are doing a lot to decrease the disintegration their computers experience. One method to do this is to ensure that everything is kept at an absolute temperature as it is possible to reduce environmental interactions. Other methods are being developed and tested. However, most quantum computing companies have spent a significant amount of time scaling and building processors that include increasing numbers of qubits. According to Milo Werner, a general engine partner who is joining Atlantic Quantum’s board, this isn’t the method. Atlantic Quantum. “Until now, the emphasis of size over quantum coherence hindered quantum’s possibilities. It’s exciting to discover an alternative path to take which will bring the quantum world closer,” she stated in an announcement.
Atlantic Quantum’s benefit, according to the company, is its superconducting qubit, also known as fluxonium. Quantum computers that are in operation currently use an alternative set-up, referred to as the transmon qubit. “The features of the qubit are different from transmon in many ways, but one of the main differences is the much lower operating frequency of the fluxonium as compared to transmon,” states CEO Kannan. “This low operating rate can have numerous implications, such as longer coherence time and a more efficient control integration for the fluxonium,” Kannan adds.
Right now, Atlantic Quantum is headquartered in Cambridge and has branch offices in Sweden. Its Cambridge Office is focused on computer assembly and system integration. Co-founder Jonas Bylander, an associate professor at the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, is in charge of manufacturing and producing the chips used in Atlantic Quantum’s machines. The seed round will enable Atlantic Quantum to grow its team across both fields.
One of the reasons Milo Werner was interested in investing in Atlantic was its roots in MIT’s quantum computing research laboratory directed by William Oliver, which she claims is “second to any other.” “It has an incredible founding team that we’re very excited to invest in,” she continues. “We are focused on supporting skilled technical leaders, and we can see it within Bharath and his colleagues.
We are looking ahead to watching their progress.”
