{"id":41396,"date":"2025-09-24T21:23:27","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T21:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/41396\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T21:23:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T21:23:27","slug":"why-the-us-uk-quantum-computing-pact-is-vital-for-the-nascent-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/41396\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the US-UK quantum computing pact is vital for the nascent technology"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the United Kingdom received President Donald Trump for his second state visit, a week characterized by pageantry and protests, one development went largely overlooked: the signing of a memorandum of understanding<\/a> between the two allies to advance the development of quantum computing.<\/p>\n

Under the pact, which also made mention of artificial intelligence and nuclear energy, the governments agreed to work together to \u201crealize true quantum advantage,” or get to the point in which quantum computers broadly outperform classical machines.<\/p>\n

Propositions include the creation of a \u201cQuantum Industry Exchange Program,” and a joint benchmarking taskforce to create industry-wide standards for quantum computing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth nothing that an MoU is nothing more than a non-binding agreement. However, it builds on both countries\u2019 efforts to legitimize quantum, which is often seen as the next frontier in technology.<\/p>\n

Just this past week, IonQ and Rigetti Computing, two of the best-known quantum pure plays in the U.S., announced separate deals with the federal government<\/a>.<\/p>\n

IonQ plans to partner with the Department of Energy to deploy quantum technology in space, while Rigetti was awarded $5.8 million to build quantum networking and sensing technology over the next three years. (Barron\u2019s first reported on this contract<\/a> at the end of August).<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery bit of federal involvement in the R&D area helps all of us in the ecosystem,” Rigetti CEO Subodh Kulkarni told Barron\u2019s, referencing the quantum industry at large. \u201cThe race is on, and it\u2019s great to see the U.S. government step up with projects like this.”<\/p>\n

In July, the European Commission put forward a strategy to position Europe as a global leader in quantum<\/a> by 2030. The U.S. has its own programs such as the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative<\/a> under the Department of Defense.<\/p>\n

A report published by McKinsey earlier this year showed that Japan was outpacing its allies in terms of quantum investment<\/a>. At the time, the Japanese government had pledged a total of $7.4 billion to develop the technology. The next largest contributor was the U.K. at just $3.5 billion.<\/p>\n

Motivations are the same across the board. The U.S., the U.K., and other countries are fighting to be the first to develop commercially viable quantum and snap up their share of the global market.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to mention the security issues associated with the advent of such powerful systems. Barron\u2019s previously reported how quantum computing could disrupt the blockchain technology<\/a> underlying Bitcoin, the world\u2019s biggest cryptocurrency, cracking the encryption that has protected data for decades.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s even more at risk. Matt Kinsella, CEO of Infleqtion, asserted that quantum networking<\/a> could play a vital role in a conflict, saying GPS, or global positioning systems, would be \u201cthe first thing that\u2019s going to go” in a hot war.<\/p>\n

Quantum\u2019s potential role in national security might explain why the DoD has taken such an interest over the past few years. Rigetti, for one, has active contracts dating back to 2023, which largely center on chip fabrication.<\/p>\n

Quantum may be nascent, but the growing federal involvement shows it has caught the eye of more than just speculative investors looking to buy into the next \u201cit” technology.<\/p>\n

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the partnership at a press conference Thursday, going so far as to say quantum could change lives. \u201cIt\u2019s our chance to ensure that technologies like AI, quantum and others amplify human potential \u2026 solve problems, cure diseases, make us richer and freer,” Starmer continued.<\/p>\n

The use cases may sound vague, but scientists have been exploring applications in everything from science to supply chain optimization<\/a> to banking.<\/p>\n

The technology continues to develop. Companies have been looking for ways to build bigger machines while cutting down on errors. Major players, from privately held Quantinuum<\/a> to industry giant International Business Machines, expect t0 have fault-tolerant machines<\/a> by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n

It will be years before investors know whether quantum is the transformative technology they\u2019ve been promised, though there are signs that indicate it just might be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the United Kingdom received President Donald Trump for his second state visit, a week characterized by pageantry…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41397,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[218,241,61,60,1259,12752,243,31168,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-41396","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-computing","8":"tag-artificial-intelligence","9":"tag-computing","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-national-security","13":"tag-nuclear-energy","14":"tag-quantum-computing","15":"tag-quantum-industry","16":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}