Phasecraft, the UK-based startup developing algorithms for quantum computers, has raised $34m in equity funding to double down on research and development (R&D) and kickstart commercialisation efforts.
The Series B was co-led by UK VC Plural, US investor Playground Global and Novo Holdings, the investment arm of Danish pharmaceutical Novo Nordisk. The round included participation from existing UK investors LocalGlobe, AlbionVC and Parkwalk Advisors.
Quantum computing is an emerging technology promising to eventually unlock unprecedented compute power, generating huge value for businesses in fields ranging from finance to life sciences. Dozens of companies are racing to build the devices — but for now quantum computers are still too small and too prone to errors to carry out calculations that are more useful than classical computers on an industrial scale.
Quantum algorithms for NISQ
Phasecraft is developing the algorithms needed to run applications on quantum computers. The company says its technology is designed for today’s limited devices, known as noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers (NISQ).
“We’re coming up with algorithms to enable quantum computers to solve problems that seem far beyond their reach currently,” says Phasecraft cofounder Ashley Montanaro.
He says the startup does this by developing more efficient quantum algorithms, as well as designing hybrid algorithms that leverage the strengths of both classical and quantum computers.
“We don’t need to sit around and wait for the hardware to improve. Instead we try to make the algorithms better to meet the performance of the hardware we have now,” says Montanaro.
The technology is hardware-agnostic, meaning it can run on any quantum computer currently on the market. Montanaro says with no clear hardware winner emerging yet, “there are significant risks in being too close or too focused on only one hardware platform.”
Phasecraft has partnered with several industrial players to develop algorithms for specific use cases, including solar cells developer Oxford PV, UK telecoms operator BT and chemicals company Johnson Matthey.
But while the company is seeing “meaningful” results, Montanaro says it has not yet reached quantum advantage — when a quantum computer can solve a real-world problem better than a classical computer.
Commercialising
So far Phasecraft has mostly focused on R&D partnerships. “We haven’t pushed commercialisation yet because we feel the opportunities after you get to the quantum advantage milestone are dramatically larger than beforehand,” says Montanaro.
But as quantum advantage gets nearer, Montanaro says the company will soon start ramping up commercialisation efforts. Phasecraft plans to double in size from just under 40 employees in the next few years, with new recruits in both R&D and commercial functions, particularly in the US, where it opened an office last year.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/phasecraft-quantum-algorithms-34m-series-b/
