Zapata Computing's initial team.
Zapata Computing, a quantum computing software startup that spun out of Harvard, announced Wednesday that it has raised $21 million in a Series A round. The round was led by Prelude Ventures and Comcast Ventures, and included participation from Pillar VC, The Engine, BASF Venture Capital, Pitango Ventures and Robert Bosch Venture Capital. The raise will bring the companys total funding to about $26.45 million.
Unique among quantum computing startups, Zapata Computing isnt interested in building quantum computers. Instead, its building software applications for those systems, as well as helping large enterprises find solutions where quantum computing makes sense, no matter what hardware that customer is using.
Were creating an enterprise-hardened software platform that allows the domain experts to go as deep as they want, as well as abstract to a certain level, Zapata CEO Chris Savoie explained to me. This is not for the faint of heart. Were not out there trying to teach an undergraduate computer science major how to program a quantum computer. Were years away from that.
Zapatas focus right now is on applications where quantum computing can offer some advantages over traditional supercomputing, particularly in three key areas: simulation of chemical reactions, machine learning and optimization problems, which are of particular interest in areas like logistics and planning.
The startup was founded in 2017 and spins out of the work of Aln Aspuru-Guzik, who has been working to apply quantum computing to chemical simulations. In his lab were four postdocs, physicists Peter Johnson and Jonny Olson; computer scientist Yudong Cao; and chemist Jhonathan Romero Fontalvo. All of them were working on different applications of quantum computing, and it was their work in Aspuru-Guziks lab that grew into the basis for the company.
To run Zapata, the cofounders tapped Savoie as CEO. A serial entrepreneur and tech company executive whose PhD research had focused on molecular simulations. Apart from the companies hed previously founded, hed also worked at Verizon and Nissan. His previous startup, OLED materials company Kyulux, had licensed AI technology developed in Aspuru-Guziks lab, which began the relationship between the two.
After expressing frustration to Aspuru-Guzik over his twice-monthly commute from Boston to Japan (Which my wife said was not a tenable business plan, Savoie joked), Aspuru-Guzik invited Savoie to meet with the Zapata founding team.
They convinced me by lunchtime that there was a there there, Savoie said. And after lunch he introduced me to IBMs quantum group and a couple of other quantum groups as the CEO of Zapata Computing.
Infographic explaining Zapata's model.
With the current round of funding, Savoie intends to position Zapata as the primary quantum software solution for large enterprises. To that end, he intends to use this infusion of capital to hire talent on both the quantum physics side and the computer science side. It will also be seeking out international talent by expanding its existing footprint in Toronto and establishing an office in Barcelona in order to attract European talent.
We want to be global, and we want to have enough gasoline in the tank to do this right and hire the right people, Savoie said.
As it works to expand its position in the market, Savoie said that hes inspired by the way Oracle initially worked with large enterprises in its early days. Zapatas revenues will be largely driven initially by consulting fees as it helps to develop unique software solutions for enterprises and trains people to use them. Its long-term goals are also inspired by OracleSavoie notes that the company wants to build out the SQL of quantum software.
Not only the language, he said. But all of the stuff that makes that work in an efficient, enterprise-hardened situation.
Excerpt from:
This Startup Just Raised $21 Million To Bring Quantum ...
- Quantum computing leaps ahead in 2019 with new power and speed - CNET - December 12th, 2019
- Quantum computing could be the next big security breakthrough - ITProPortal - December 12th, 2019
- Quantum Computers Are the Ultimate Paper Tiger - The National Interest Online - December 12th, 2019
- D-Wave partners with NEC to build hybrid HPC and quantum apps - TechCrunch - December 12th, 2019
- Security leaders fear that quantum computing developments will outpace security technologies - Continuity Central - December 12th, 2019
- D-Wave Announces Promotion of Dr. Alan Baratz to CEO - HPCwire - December 12th, 2019
- Recent Research: Quantum Computing Market with Future Prospects, Key Players SWOT Analysis and Forecast To 2029 - Sound On Sound Fest - December 12th, 2019
- Tiptoe before quantum leap into the future - TimesLIVE - December 8th, 2019
- This Week in Tech: What on Earth Is a Quantum Computer? - The New York Times - December 7th, 2019
- Quantum Computers Are About to Forever Change Car Navigation - autoevolution - December 7th, 2019
- Global Quantum Computing Market Expected to Deliver Dynamic Progression until 2028| D-Wave Systems, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, 1QB Information... - December 7th, 2019
- Amazon is now offering quantum computing as a service with Braket for AWS - The Verge - December 2nd, 2019
- ColdQuanta's Latest Ultracold Technology Heads to the International Space Station - Business Wire - December 2nd, 2019
- Researchers Discover New Way to Split and Sum Photons with Silicon - UT News | The University of Texas at Austin - December 2nd, 2019
- Archer Materials invited to chair quantum computing session at London conference - Proactive Investors Australia - December 2nd, 2019
- Archer Materials to chair Quantum Computing session at London Quantum.Tech Conference in 2020 - Proactive Investors Australia - November 30th, 2019
- The Future of Computing could be Magnetic - Robert Lea - Medium - November 30th, 2019
- Innovate, and grow - Economic Times - November 30th, 2019
- Tech news: The quantum internet is on the way - IOL - November 22nd, 2019
- Device Puts Photons in the Fast Lane - Optics & Photonics News - November 22nd, 2019
- Race is on to build quantum-proof encryption - Financial Times - November 21st, 2019
- Atos partners with Zapata to deliver complete quantum computing solution to the enterprise - Quantaneo, the Quantum Computing Source - November 20th, 2019
- NTT offers researchers $1 million salaries in bid to lure top talent in cryptography, quantum computing - The Japan Times - November 20th, 2019
- Information overload: The promise and risk of quantum computing - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - November 17th, 2019
- D-Wave sticks with its approach to quantum computing - TechCrunch - November 17th, 2019
- The Quantum Computing Threat to American Security - The Wall Street Journal - November 17th, 2019
- Dell Technologies on democratising 5G and the future of quantum computing - ZDNet - November 17th, 2019
- How Serious Is the Threat of Quantum Computing to Crypto? - Finance Magnates - November 17th, 2019
- Superconducting quantum computing - Wikipedia - October 6th, 2019
- Quantum computing | MIT News - October 6th, 2019
- How Do Quantum Computers Work? - sciencealert.com - October 2nd, 2019
- What is Quantum Computing? - Definition from Techopedia - October 2nd, 2019
- How Quantum Computers Work | HowStuffWorks - September 5th, 2019
- Quantum computing could change everything, and IBM is ... - May 15th, 2019
- Quantum Computing - Intel - April 29th, 2019
- IBM expands universities in its quantum computing research ... - April 25th, 2019
- Quantum computing is a marathon not a sprint | VentureBeat - April 22nd, 2019
- The CIO's Guide to Quantum Computing - Smarter With Gartner - April 19th, 2019
- What is Quantum Computing ? Top 18 Quantum Computing ... - April 6th, 2019
- The promise of quantum computing - businessinsider.com - March 27th, 2019
- Quantum computing is coming: Heres why we need to get our ... - March 23rd, 2019
- Quantum computing will break your encryption in a few ... - March 21st, 2019
- Microsoft has formed a coalition to promote quantum computing ... - March 19th, 2019
- Quantum computing for everyone | Michael Nielsen - March 12th, 2019
- Ask a Techspert: What is quantum computing? - blog.google - March 6th, 2019
- IBM hits quantum computing milestone, may see 'Quantum ... - March 6th, 2019
- Its Time You Learned About Quantum Computing | WIRED - March 6th, 2019
- Microsofts quantum computing network takes a giant leap ... - March 2nd, 2019
- When Will Quantum Computing Have Real Commercial Value ... - February 25th, 2019
- The Case Against Quantum Computing - IEEE Spectrum - February 22nd, 2019
- How Does Quantum Computing Work? - ExtremeTech - January 31st, 2019
- Quantum technology - Wikipedia - January 23rd, 2019
- CES 2019: IBM's Q System One Is the Rock Star Quantum ... - January 13th, 2019
- Quantum Computing | The MIT Press - January 11th, 2019
- IBM thinks outside of the lab, puts quantum computer in a box - January 11th, 2019
- IBM unveils its first commercial quantum computer - January 9th, 2019
- A new type of quantum computer has smashed every record ... - December 21st, 2018
- China bet big on quantum computing. Now the US races to ... - October 26th, 2018
- US takes first step toward a quantum computing workforce ... - September 17th, 2018
- China bet big on quantum computing. Now the ... - money.cnn.com - September 17th, 2018
- The reality of quantum computing could be just three years ... - September 12th, 2018
- The quantum computing race the US cant afford to lose - September 3rd, 2018
- Quantum Computing | USRA - August 30th, 2018
- What Is Quantum Computing? The Complete WIRED Guide | WIRED - August 22nd, 2018
- Quantum Computing Market Research Report- Forecast 2022 | MRFR - August 1st, 2018
- Two Quantum Computing Bills Are Coming To Congress - July 5th, 2018
- Senate bills would make quantum computing a priority - June 10th, 2018
- What is quantum computing? - Definition from WhatIs.com - February 5th, 2018
- The Era of Quantum Computing Is Here. Outlook: Cloudy ... - January 26th, 2018
- IBM puts its quantum computer to work in relaxing, nerdy ASMR ... - January 8th, 2018
- Quantum computing is going to change the world. Here's what ... - January 8th, 2018
- Is Quantum Computing an Existential Threat to Blockchain ... - December 25th, 2017
- What is Quantum Computing? | SAP News Center - December 23rd, 2017
- Quantum Computing Explained | What is Quantum Computing? - December 21st, 2017
- New silicon structure opens the gate to quantum computers - December 14th, 2017
- Microsoft offers developers a preview of its quantum ... - December 12th, 2017
- Quantum Computing Is the Next Big Security Risk | WIRED - December 8th, 2017
- Yale Professors Race Google and IBM to the First Quantum ... - November 16th, 2017
- IBM's processor pushes quantum computing ... - engadget.com - November 16th, 2017
- Quantum computing - news.microsoft.com - November 1st, 2017
Recent Comments