CEA Leti and Fraunhofer IPMS Expand Collaboration: Week in Brief: 5/31/24

Fraunhofer IPMS, a research and development institute for miniature photonic systems, hosted German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French President Emmanuel Macron during a three-day official French state visit to Germany. As a part of the visit, leadership from the French research institute CEA-Leti and Fraunhofer IPMS signed a memorandum of understanding for further collaboration between the two entities in the areas of microelectronics, quantum technologies, and solar and hydrogen technologies.

French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Fraunhofer IPMS during their three-day official visit to Germany. Courtesy of Fraunhofer IPMS.

WARSAW, Poland — Quantum computer builder IQM Quantum Computers has expanded its global operations into Warsaw, Poland, marking the company’s seventh global office. As part of the expansion, IQM has signed a memorandum of understanding with Gdansk University of Technology to develop quantum applications focusing on transformative fields such as personalized medicine. IQM also plans to build a quantum educational ecosystem, with a particular focus on educating students in the quantum field.

Representatives for IQM and the Gdansk University of Technology at the memorandum of understanding signing. Courtesy of IQM Quantum Computers.

ATLANTA — Tronless Computing, Inc., a photonics development company, has opened in Atlanta. Founded by Derek W. Bailey, CEO and founder of electric car manufacturer Derek Automotive Technologies, Tronless will focus on using light-based computing for AI, bio-research, and blockchain applications. According to Bailey, Tronless holds patents for photonic switches and new programming languages that will allow the company to build the next generation of transistors, transforming electron-based transistors into photonic devices.

PARIS — Neutral-atoms quantum computers company Pasqal has signed a collaboration with provider of technology consulting and digital solutions Tech Mahindra to accelerate the development and adoption of quantum solutions across multiple industries globally. The collaboration will work on building use cases, including drug discovery and optimization in pharma; material discovery for manufacturing and other industries; satellite planning for aerospace; complex datasets analysis and complex financial modeling in banking, financial services, and insurance; cybersecurity enhancement; and energy consumption optimization in utilities.

Members of the Q*Bird team. Courtesy of Q*Bird.

DELFT, The Netherlands — Q*Bird, a provider of quantum networking equipment, has raised a €2.5 million ($2.7 million) round to accelerate its growth in the quantum security market. The company is the developer of a quantum cryptography product dubbed Falqon for which is deployed under a large scale trial at the Port of Rotterdam. The company expects to launch the product later this year and has signed three other contracts to deploy quantum networks across Europe. Q*Bird has also established a partnership with Eurofiber to enhance network security. The funding was jointly led by QDNL Participations and Cottonwood Technology Fund, with participation from InnovationQuarter.

CHESHAM, U.K. — Designer of lenses and optical systems Resolve Optics has opened new cleanroom facilities at its Chesham, U.K. headquarters. The investment provides an ISO 6 clean room (class 1000) environment within the work areas used for assembly of lenses, optical systems, and modules for the aerospace, defense, medical, and nuclear industries. The company also installed new optical assembly benches with easy clean surfaces throughout the production facility.

Members of Silicon Photonics CoE-CPPICS with members of the SilTerra Malaysia team. Courtesy of IIT Madras.

CHENNAI, India — The Silicon Photonics Centre of Excellence - Centre for Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuits and Systems (Silicon Photonics CoE-CPPICS) at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has partnered with semiconductor foundry SilTerra Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. for the joint development of programmable silicon photonic processor chips for quantum computing and communication system level applications. The partnership will also include joint research and development on silicon photonic devices and circuits for energy efficient high-speed interconnect solutions for data centers, high-performance computing, and for AI/ML applications.

CORK, Ireland — Researchers at University College Cork (UCC) and the Tyndall National Institute based at UCC have won a combined €2.3 million ($2.5 million) in funding for projects on AI energy management and integrated photonics. The funding has been awarded under the Frontiers for the Future Programme and includes projects based on quantum dot technology and autonomous open energy communities.

LOS ANGELES — The University of California, Los Angeles has received an almost $1 million grant worth of federal funding to create a Quantum Information Science Hub. The grant will fund the purchase of a laser used to refine and develop qubits with the goal of creating a quantum computer. The grant was facilitated through California Representative Ted Lieu’s office.

NOIDA, India — HCLTech, a technology company, and Arm, a technology provider of processor intellectual property, have entered into a collaboration to augment custom silicon semiconductor chips that support AI-driven business operations. HCLTech will leverage pre-integrated Arm Neoverse Compute Subsystems to minimize development risks and deliver solutions geared toward improved performance and scalability for AI workloads.