QuantrolOx uses machine learning to control qubits

A startup spun out of Oxford University wants to use machine learning to control qubits inside of quantum computers. The company, which was co-founded by Oxford professor Andrew Briggs, tech entrepreneur Vishal Chatrath, the company's chief scientist Natalia Ares, and head of quantum technologies Dominic Lennon, today announced that it has raised over one million dollars. Voima Venture, Remus Capital, Dr. Hermann Hauser, and Laurent Caraffa all invested in the round.

All of the standard quantum computing technologies could be applied to the company's technology. The idea is that the system will be able to tune, stabilize and improve qubits much faster than a manual tuning process can. As machines continue to improve, current methods aren'tScalable, argues the CEO.

I was talking to a US investor. He said that we don't have to wait for revenues for a quantum computer to be useful, and that we are like the picks and shovels of the quantum industry.

The company's focus is on solid-state qubits. The company has access to some systems, including through a close partnership with a lab in Finland, that it wasn't ready to reveal yet. As with all machine learning problems, there needs to be enough data to build effective models.

We're still in the very early stages of quantum computing, but if tools like QuantrolOx can help researchers speed up the process of testing their devices, that's a boon for the entire industry. A lot of companies in the industry are already using the company's control software.

The company currently has seven full-time employees and plans to hire 10 more in the near future. He doesn't expect that number to grow much in the next two years. We don't want to go higher in the stack, and we can go lower in the stack because of the hardware. We are very focused.

Building more partnerships with the builders of quantum computers is the focus of the company. The team needs access to the physical machines but also the source code that controls them so it can integrate with these systems.

There are very few standards in the quantum industry, something that is important for it to succeed. People need to start building companies.