= Universal Quantum
{c}
{tag=British company}
As of 2021, their location is a small business park in Haywards Heath, about 15 minutes north of <Brighton>https://www.midsussex.gov.uk/about-us/press-releases-and-publications/cutting-edge-tech-company-invests-in-mid-sussex/{ref}
Funding rounds:
* 2022:
* 67m euro contract with the <German> government: https://www.uktech.news/deep-tech/universal-quantum-german-contract-20221102 Both co-founders are German. They then immediatly announced several jobs in Hamburg: https://apply.workable.com/universalquantum/?lng=en\#jobs so presumably linked to the Hamburg University of Technology campus of the German Aerospace Center.
* https://medium.com/@universalquantum/universal-quantum-wins-67m-contract-to-build-the-fully-scalable-trapped-ion-quantum-computer-16eba31b869e
* 2021: \$10M (7.5M GBP) grant from the <British Government>: https://www.uktech.news/news/brighton-universal-quantum-wins-grant-20211105
This grant is very secretive, very hard to find any other information about it! Most investment trackers are not listing it.
The article reads:
\Q[Universal Quantum will lead a consortium that includes Rolls-Royce, quantum developer <Riverlane>, and world-class researchers from <Imperial College London> and The <University of Sussex>, among others.]
Interesting!
A but further down the article gives some more information of partners, from which some of the hardware vendors can be deduced:
\Q[The consortium includes end-user <Rolls-Royce> supported by the <Science and Technology Facilities Council> (STFC) Hartree Centre, quantum software developer <Riverlane>, supply chain partners Edwards, https://www.tmd.co.uk/[TMD Technologies] (now acquired by Communications & Power Industries (CPI)) and https://www.diamondmic.com/[Diamond Microwave]]
* Edwards is presumably <Edwards Vacuum>, since we know that <trapped ion quantum computers> rely heavily on good vacuum systems. Edwards Vacuum is also located quite close to Universal Quantum as of 2022, a few minutes drive.
* TMD Technologies is a <microwave> technology vendor amongst other things, and we know that microwaves are used e.g. to initialize the spin states of the ions
* Diamond Microwave is another microwave stuff vendor
The money comes from UK's "Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund".
https://www.riverlane.com/news/2021/12/riverlane-joins-7-5-million-consortium-to-build-error-corrected-quantum-processor/ gives some more details on the use case provided by Rolls Royce:
\Q[
The work with Rolls Royce will explore how quantum computers can develop practical applications toward the development of more sustainable and efficient jet engines.
This starts by applying quantum algorithms to take steps to toward a greater understanding of how liquids and gases flow, a field known as '<fluid dynamics>'. Simulating such flows accurately is beyond the computational capacity of even the most powerful classical computers today.
]
This funding was part of a larger quantum push by the <UKNQTP>: https://www.ukri.org/news/50-million-in-funding-for-uk-quantum-industrial-projects/
* 2020: \$4.5M (3.5M GBP) https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/universal-quantum[]. Just out of stealth.
Co-founders:
* Sebastian Weidt. He is <German>, right? Yes at https://youtu.be/SwHaJXVYIeI?t=1078[] from <video Fireside Chat with with Sebastian Weidt by Startup Grind Brighton (2022)>. The company was founded by two Germans from Essex!
* Winfried Hensinger: if you saw him on the street, you'd think he plays in a punk-rock band. That West Berlin feeling.
Homepage says only needs cooling to 70 K. So it doesn't work with <liquid nitrogen> which is 77 K?
Homepage points to foundational paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1601540
\Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYe9TXz35B8]
{title=Universal Quantum emerges out of stealth by <University of Sussex> (2020)}
{description=
Explains that a more "traditional" <trapped ion quantum computer> would user "pairs of <lasers>", which would require a lot of lasers. Their approach is to try and do it by applying voltages to a microchip instead.
* https://youtu.be/rYe9TXz35B8?t=127 shows some 3D models. It shows how <piezoelectric actuators> are used to align or misalign some plates, which presumably then determine conductivity
}
\Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhredTaZvTs]
{title=Quantum Computing webinar with Sebastian Weidt by Green Lemon Company (2020)}
{description=The sound quality is to bad to stop and listen to, but it presumaby shows the coding office in the background.}
\Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwHaJXVYIeI]
{title=Fireside Chat with with Sebastian Weidt by Startup Grind Brighton (2022)}
{description=
Very basic target audience:
* https://youtu.be/SwHaJXVYIeI?t=680 we are not at a point where you can buy victory. There is too much uncertainty involved across different approaches.
* https://youtu.be/SwHaJXVYIeI?t=949 his background
* https://youtu.be/SwHaJXVYIeI?t=1277 difference between <venture capitalists> in different countries
* https://youtu.be/SwHaJXVYIeI?t=1535 they are 33 people now. They've just setup their office in Haywards Heath, north of Bristol.
}