Japanese auto giant Toyota has tapped Israeli company Quantum Machines, through its trading arm Toyota Tsusho Corporation, for a partnership that will build future quantum capabilities and provide the multinational’s Japanese customers with access to quantum technologies, the parties said this week.
Quantum Machines, founded in 2018 by award-winning quantum electronics experts Dr. Itamar Sivan, Dr. Yonatan Cohen and Dr. Nissim Ofek, built the Quantum Orchestration Platform (QOP), a hardware and software solution for operating quantum systems to facilitate research and future breakthroughs.
It also developed the QUA, a standard universal language for quantum computers that the startup says will allow researchers and scientists to write programs for several quantum computers with one unified code.
When announcing his $50 Million Investment Round Last September, Quantum Machines said it is already providing quantum computing control and orchestration systems to customers in 15 countries, including multinational corporations, government labs, academic institutions and quantum development startups.
Sivan told The Times of Israel via email that the new partnership will allow Toyota Tsusho to offer its customers Quantum Machines’ flagship OPX+ solution, which he described as a “hardware system developed from the ground up for quantum and is designed to meet the extremely demanding requirements of quantum control protocols, including precision, timing, complexity and ultra-low latency.”
The solution “enables control over quantum computing hardware using QUA, a flexible, high-level programming language that allows quantum practitioners to intuitively program even the most complex quantum programs,” he explained.
“Access to QM’s state-of-the-art quantum operating system will enable Toyota Tsusho’s customers to develop in-house quantum computing capabilities. The advantage of QM’s solution is that it covers a large part of the stack, both software and hardware. This highly integrated approach will make it much easier for organizations with quantum aspirations to develop fully functioning quantum computers,” said Sivan.
Quantum computing is a relatively new and extremely complex field, but experts say quantum computing can be extremely useful in sectors such as cybersecurity, materials and pharmaceuticals, banking and finance, and advanced manufacturing, and can lead to huge developments in broad areas such as economics, security, engineering and science.
Quantum computing uses quantum mechanics to quickly solve problems that are too complex for classical computers. Quantum computers process exponentially more data compared to classical computers, using quantum bits or qubits, the basic unit of quantum information.
While classical computers perform logic operations based on one of two positions — 1 or 0, on or off, up or down — quantum computers can hold qubits in “superposition,” a principle of quantum mechanics where they are both at the same time. In this state, quantum computers can “run through a large number of potential results at once,” according to an MIT Technology Review explanation†
These computers also operate through a concept called entanglement, where pairs of qubits exist in a single quantum state. “Quantum computers use entangled qubits in a kind of quantum daisy chain to work their magic. The machines’ ability to speed up calculations using specially designed quantum algorithms is why there is so much buzz about their potential,” the magazine said.
Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, IBM and Intel are all to race to make quantum computing more accessible and build complementary systems.
An illustrative photograph of IBM’s Quantum System One, the world’s first integrated quantum computing system. (IBM)
According to recent market forecastsThe global quantum computing market is expected to grow from approximately $470 million in 2021 to approximately $1.765 billion in 2026.
Countries like China, US, Germany, India and Japan are also collapsing millions develop their own quantum capabilities†
Japan first rolled out its Quantum Technology and Innovation Strategy in 2020 and launched eight R&D centers the following year to accelerate research. Earlier in 2022, the Japanese government announced a new plan to deploy the first homegrown quantum computer by March 2023.
The vision “focuses on the positive evolution of society by anchoring quantum technology in social and economic systems, which will create opportunities for industrial growth and a carbon neutral society, and by addressing social problems such as those of the SDGs.” [Sustainable Development Goals as defined by the United Nations in 2015],” government said†
Israeli Quantum Progress
In March, an Israeli team of researchers led by Prof. Roee Ozeri of the Weizmann Institute of Science announced that they first quantum computera major achievement that has been years in the making.
The device is one of about 30 quantum computers in the world in various stages and one of less than 10 to use ion traps, an advanced technology that traps ions (molecules with a net electrical charge) in a small space using magnetic and/or electric fields. Trapped ions can form the basis of quantum bits, or qubits, the basic unit of quantum information.
Optical elements needed to create laser pulses that can control trapped ions. (Freddy Pizanti)
In February, the Israeli Innovation Authority and Ministry of Defense said they will spend approximately NIS 200 million ($62 million) on: developing a state quantum computer and lay the foundation for Israeli numeracy in the field.
The budget will fund two parallel avenues. The Israel Innovation Authority will focus on developing the infrastructure for quantum computing capability. Meanwhile, the Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) Directorate of the Ministry of Defense will establish a national quantum capabilities center that will work with academia, industry and government partners to develop a quantum processor and then a complete quantum computer.
The initiative is part of the 2018 launch of Israel’s National Program for Quantum Science and Technology with a budget of NIS 200 million, later expanded to NIS 1.25 billion ($390 million). The program is designed to facilitate relevant quantum research, develop human capital in the field, encourage industrial projects and invite international research and development collaboration.
