Quantum computing has gained significant interest over the years because of its potential to solve problems beyond the reach of the most powerful supercomputers.
Singapore’s Horizon Quantum Computing is a startup that aims to make quantum computing much easier to access and in turn become a part of a bigger tech revolution.
In a recent interview, Horizon’s Founder and CEO Joe Fitzsimons, originally from Dublin, give us a glimpse into his entrepreneurial journey.
Excerpts from the conversation:
Tell us more about Horizon Quantum Computing. What makes its approach unique from other quantum focussed companies?
At Horizon Quantum Computing, we are building tools to simplify the process of developing software for quantum computers.
We think about programming and quantum computers in a way that is more like programming a general computer rather than using some kind of special-purpose hardware accelerator.
Our approach is unique. We are developing capabilities that, as far as I am aware, no other
company or academic group have.
We build quantum algorithms directly from conventional computer code, automatically identifying places where it can be sped up.
What type of job were you working in before launching of your own business?
Most recently, I was a tenured associate professor at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and a principal investigator at the Centre for Quantum Technologies.
Joe Fitzsimons at EmTech Asia
Why did you pick Singapore to launch your company?
I did my undergrad in Ireland. But about six months into my PhD, my supervisor moved to Sydney and at that time I was going out with someone who later became my wife. And I thought that moving to Australia would not be great for
the relationship, and instead, I looked to continue my journey somewhere closer by.
So in 2005, I moved to Oxford to do a doctorate and ended up staying on as a research fellow. Artur Ekert, the then director of Centre for Quantum Technologies in Singapore and a fellow at the same Oxford college as me, suggested I apply to SUTD.
I joined SUTD 3 years later. So I’ve been in Singapore for 10 years already. It’s been a fantastic place to be in terms of support for entrepreneurship, but also culturally, it’s been a very good fit as well. Even though, it was a coincidence on how I ended up here.
What sparked your decision to quit your job?
I was at a point where my view of quantum computing was that we were at this inflection point where progress in the field was starting to shift out of academia and towards the industry.
Just in terms of judgment, I thought it was the right time to make the transition. If I had done it beforehand, I think the technology wouldn’t be quite there. And if I delayed it I felt that it would have been too late.
It would be like trying to start a computer company today. Maybe it’s possible, but it’s not the same.
For a long time, I have viewed quantum computing essentially as a new computer revolution.
What have been your biggest challenges in building your company and how did you overcome it?
One of the challenges is that quantum computing inherits a hardware risk. We’re a software company but we also depend on running on hardware and that hasn’t been developed fully yet.
The other challenge is hiring. Recruiting skilled quantum computing people is tough.
But we’ve been active in the quantum area for quite a long time, so a fair number of researchers and people coming out are prepared to take the risk and work with us with the vision of making good scientific progress as well as from a business perspective.
We are also working quite closely with hardware manufacturers and have been developing techniques to reduce the error rate in processors and software. And have seen some success on this.
What are some things that quantum computers can do that other computer cannot?
There are potentially many examples of problems that are hard for computers
to solve.
In quantum computers, there’s something we call amplitudes which allows it to solve more complex calculations than a conventional computer.
Take the example of aircraft loading. Maybe, you want to put on as much as much weight as you can, but you need it to be distributed in such a way that the centre of gravity is within a particular region. But you also have the restriction
that each of the packets you put on can only be in certain positions.
To figure out the optimal configuration or the best order to load the parcels can be very problematic. So just finding a solution to these can take a very long time on a regular computer, especially with so many restrictions.
Company logoWhen do you plan on bringing your product to the market?
We have already started working with our early customers right now but it will be a little while before we’re ready to announce dates on that.
What are some of the short-term milestones that you wish to achieve with Horizon?
At the moment, our priority will be getting the first version of our tools up and running. We will continue working with our existing customers and attracting more early adopters in key industries such as finance, aerospace and energy
that we feel would benefit from quantum computing.
As the quantum hardware still needs to be further developed, I would not recommend anyone to go ahead and spend US$20 million today on a quantum device to solve business-related problems.
But it totally makes sense for various industries to identify what would be the impact of quantum computing for them
and start working today on the use cases for this revolutionary technology.
Source: e27
