Mumbai, June 9, 2021: Honeywell Quantum Solutions (HQS) and Cambridge Quantum Computing (CQC), two world-leading quantum computing and quantum technology businesses,  have come together to  form the largest,  standalone quantum computing company in the world, setting the pace for what is projected to become a $1 trillion quantum computing industry over the next three decades.
The new company will offer the world’s highest performing quantum computer and a full suite of quantum software, including the first and most advanced quantum operating system. These technologies will support customer needs for improved computation in diverse areas including cyber security, drug discovery and delivery, material science, finance, and optimization across all major industrial markets. The company will also focus on the advancement of natural language processing to fully leverage the possibilities of quantum artificial intelligence.
Honeywell will own a majority stake in the new company. In addition, Honeywell will invest between $270 million and $300 million in the new company and will have a long-term agreement to help manufacture the critical ion traps needed to power the quantum hardware. The combination is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2021.
Honeywell Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Darius Adamczyk will serve as chairman of the new company which will be Ilyas Khan, the CEO and founder of CQC. Tony Uttley, currently the president of HQS, will serve as the new company’s president.
Honeywell’s trapped ion-based quantum computing hardware recently achieved a quantum volume of 512, the highest measured on a commercial quantum computer to date, with further advances in progress. CQC is the global leader in software, cyber security and algorithms that help optimize quantum computing hardware. CQC’s software business will remain hardware agnostic and will continue to be fully compatible with all global quantum hardware providers. Honeywell has been an investor in and commercial partner with CQC since 2019.
Honeywell’s quantum computer uses trapped-ion technology, which leverages numerous, individual, charged atoms (ions) to hold quantum information. Honeywell’s system applies electromagnetic fields to hold (trap) each ion so it can be manipulated and encoded using laser pulses. These high-performance operations require deep experience across multiple disciplines, including atomic physics, optics, cryogenics, lasers, magnetics, ultra-high vacuum, and precision control systems. Honeywell has a decades-long legacy of expertise in these technologies.
CQC was founded in 2014 and is backed by some of the world's leading quantum computing companies. With a team of approximately 150 and offices in Europe, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States, CQC is a pioneer in the quantum software sector and a leader in the commercialization of quantum technologies. In this year alone, CQC has announced groundbreaking advances that make quantum computers practically useful to the finance and banking industry by enabling quantum Monte Carlo simulations; unveiled unhackable keys for cybersecurity, using Honeywell’s quantum computers to allow for the protection of corporate, governmental and private data and communications; provided details of the world’s largest experiment in quantum natural language processing, a key enabler of AI; announced commercial projects in drug discovery in critical areas that will enhance humanity’s well-being; and provided open-access to all quantum software developers to “tket,” the world’s most popular quantum software development kit.