1QB Information Technologies Inc. (1QBit) has officially announced the closing of $45 million “Series B” round led by Fujitsu Limited, with additional strategic investment by Accenture, Allianz, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and CME Ventures.
The $45 million funding consists of equity investments and revenue contracts.
Vancouver based 1QBit is dedicated to building quantum and quantum-inspired software to solve the world’s most demanding computational challenges.
1Qbit’s hardware-agnostic platforms and services enable the development of applications which scale alongside the advances in both classical and quantum computers. Its interdisciplinary team comprises over 50 mathematicians, physicists, chemists, software developers and quantum computing experts who develop novel solutions to problems, from research through to commercial application development.
1QBit works directly with Fortune 500 clients, such as DowDuPont and Biogen, across these sectors.
1QBit is actively involved in the global community and the conversation around computational progress as an advisor and strategic partner in the new UNICRI Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, as a 2015 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, and as a member of the WEF Global Future Councils, The Future of Computing.
“These strategic partners strengthen 1QBit’s position as a leader in applying classical and quantum computers to industry problems and expanding the breadth of our commercialization activities,” said Landon Downs, President of 1QBit.
“This strategic investment and partnership will enable our customers to use 1QBit’s software platform and deep expertise in leveraging the most advanced hardware systems, including our digital annealer, to rapidly develop improved applications for solving sampling, optimization, and machine learning problems,” said Naoko Yoshizawa, SVP, Head of Fujitsu’s AI Platform Business Unit.
“The 1QBit platform accelerates our client’s ability to leverage the most advanced quantum and classical processors available to solve their most complex business challenges, and gives them a hardware-agnostic solution that enables them to stay ahead of the computational curve,” said Paul Daugherty, Accenture’s Chief Technology & Innovation Officer. 1QBit and Accenture announced today that they have formed a strategic alliance which will help Accenture expand its analytics capabilities using quantum computing, and build a new era of intelligence for businesses and organizations.
photo credit: 1QBit