We left off our last post talking with Doug Finke of the Quantum Computing Report relaying how quantum computers take advantage of the counter-intuitive world of sub-atomic particles that will one day deliver massive calculations that will enable scientific breakthroughs.

One example of quantum phenomena being leveraged is known as ‘superposition.’ Classical binary computing relies upon manipulating ‘bits’ that exist in one of two states: a 0 or a 1, essentially like a switch that’s either off or on. (For example, the binary code to instruct a computer to create this single letter to appear – A – is 01000001.) In quantum computing on the other hand, information is encoded as quantum bits, or ‘qubits.’ In superposition, qubits can exist simultaneously in both states of 0 and 1 or in gradations of the two states, enabling computational “instructions” to be processed exponentially faster than binary code.

Other quantum phenomena used includes ‘entanglement’ where a pair or larger group of subatomic particles will simultaneously mimic what happens to a single entangled particle, no matter how far they are separated by distance. Imagine two entangled photons with one located in Los Angeles and the other in New York. In entanglement, if you measure the state of the photon in L.A., the photon in New York will instantaneously follow suit and enter the same state. (Einstein called this phenomenon “spooky action at a distance.”) Massive numbers of entangled qubits can enable computations to be completed more rapidly.

In some ways, the quantum computing industry looks a lot like the early days of the computer industry in the 1950s. Doug said researchers are trying different ways to extract incredibly fast and accurate calculations through designs using photons, trapped ions, superconductors and other methods. IBM is one of the furthest along with its IBM Q System One which can be accessed publicly in the cloud. Their most advanced current system is a 20-qubit 9-cubic foot quantum computer that must be housed at a smidgen above absolute zero, or just around minus-460 degrees Fahrenheit.

Doug told me that the first quantum computer that surpasses our fastest supercomputers for certain applications (they call this reaching the “quantum advantage”) is expected within the next few years. In addition to IBM, Google, Intel, Microsoft and a variety of other tech companies, top academic and government labs, and startups are all pursuing the quantum dream in one form or another.

Industries performing early research into quantum computing include the chemical and pharmaceutical industries where advanced computational chemistry enabled by quantum computing algorithms can help discover new materials or drugs. Other early interest includes the finance industry where quantum computing can provide new approaches to portfolio management and other functions, while the automotive industry is working on a few different use cases, including calculating the best traffic routes and finding better battery chemistry for electric vehicles.

Following decades of intensive research to prove its feasibility, quantum computing startups and tech giants are now pursuing commercialization and the possibilities are endless.

Trying to write a brief introduction to the field of quantum computing feels like something a quantum computer should probably tackle. Instead, we only have my brain power to access, so my apologies in advance.

I have long been fascinated by quantum mechanics, an area of physics describing the behaviors of atoms and subatomic particles such as electrons and photons. This is the strange, subterranean realm of nature where the laws of Newtonian physics break down.

What I hadn’t understood until I got to know Doug Finke, editor and publisher of the Quantum Computing Report, is that we built our digital world on what’s known as ‘classical computing.’

Our entire computing infrastructure is founded upon the basic principles of physics and math discovered in the 19th century, such as electromagnetism and Boolean logic, from the lowliest bargain-priced desktop PC, to the snazziest new smartphone, to a supercomputer.

Quantum computing, on the other hand, leverages the insights of quantum physicists from the 1920s and ‘30s, including Einstein, Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born and others, to create an entirely new kind of computing.

Why go to all that trouble? The simple answer is to number-crunch at mind-numbing scale and speed.

Doug gave me this analogy: Imagine you’re a traveling salesperson and you need to drive the shortest route between four cities. Seems easy enough. But let’s say your boss says you need to add a dozen more cities. Then it gets more complicated and you may need to access a classical computing device to get your answer.

But what if the number of cities is 100 or more? Well, the variables are so great that even our best supercomputers can’t figure out the optimal solution, at least not in any amount of time that would be useful. That’s where quantum computing comes in.

The goal of quantum computing is to leverage phenomena found at the subatomic particle level to deliver mathematical answers millions of times faster than today’s highest-performing computing systems.

How exactly does it accomplish that amazing feat? We have Doug help answer that question in our post next week.

This is Part 2 of our discussion on Southern California’s continuing quantum boom. If you missed the first part, you can read it here.

You might not expect surfing to have much in common with quantum computing, but at this one moment in time, they share a key element: the all-encompassing importance of catching the wave.

Local startups are catching the quantum wave, including Qulab in Los Angeles, which develops advanced computational methods to automate molecular drug design; Q-CTRL, an Australian firm, HKA client and provider of quantum control firmware with a U.S. headquarters in L.A.; ORCA Computing, focused on quantum computers powered by photonics; and Qubitekk in San Diego, developers of quantum cryptography solutions.

Many European and Asia-based startups are also reportedly eyeing Los Angeles as their North American base of operations, while individual emissaries from these companies already abound in the region.

And although it’s still a nascent field, high-paying jobs are the norm in Southern California’s quantum technology industry. According to Sean Howell, head of Q-CTRL’s L.A. office, the company is offering higher salaries compared to similar positions in the Bay Area, and with a relatively lower cost of living here in the Southland.

It all adds up to a quantum advantage for Southern California. Doug Finke, HKA client and publisher of the highly influential industry resource site Quantum Computing Report — based here in Orange County — has written:

“Some of my friends who live in Silicon Valley still regard it as the center of the technology universe and believe that all worthwhile new technologies must emanate from there. But this may not be necessarily true for quantum computing. Overall, I will give the edge to Southern California.”

In the past, Doug has said the current state of the quantum computing industry closely mirrors the computer industry circa the 1950s. This is true in two key ways – first of course is how the nature of their work parallels one another, with groups in both eras working to enable faster and faster calculations by new and exciting means. But just as noteworthy is the positioning of these industries against the backdrop of their times. Just as computers went through an unimaginable boom, so too will quantum computing once all the conditions are met. And the ones in front of that boom will ride the wave just as names like Apple, Microsoft and IBM did in the past.

As a quantum computing PR and marketing agency based in Southern California, we look forward to many years of telling the stories of these exciting organizations in the region as they search to unlock the full human and commercial potential of quantum physics.

For a brief primer on quantum computing, see our previous interview with Doug, A Quantum Leap in Computing Is Coming. If you are a quantum technology or quantum computing startup, or are thinking about starting one, download HKA’s free 10 Tips for Quantum Tech Startups Seeking Funding.

Silicon Beach. Silicon Alley. Silicon Prairie.

For years throughout the U.S. various regions have tried to replicate the success (and even the name) of the Silicon Valley technology ecosystem and its potent mix of top-flight schools, world-class talent and oodles of venture capital. Business and academic leaders continue to look to the Bay Area’s achievements with considerable ‘Silicon Envy.’

While it’s true Silicon Valley-based companies mostly owned the personal computer, internet and smartphone eras, there is a new technology hotshot on the block and there’s a good chance the Valley won’t be the center of innovation and commerce of this next era. Southern California will likely rule the fascinating and limitless world of quantum technology.

Mark Gyure, the executive director of UCLA’s Center for Quantum Science and Engineering, had this to say recently:

“We sit at the heart of one of the most dynamic cities in the world and in an area where the local industry could very well dominate the quantum technology landscape for many years to come.”

How could that be? What’s different about quantum technology?

Just like the Bay Area’s success, it all starts with a thriving academic research community. Fortunately, there is ground-breaking quantum technology research going on at a half-dozen universities here in Southern California. In addition to UCLA, there is Caltech in Pasadena, USC, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, Chapman University and recent entrant UC Riverside.

There’s also a ton of private industry research into quantum technology going on around Southern California featuring such names as Google, Microsoft, IBM, JPL, Northrup Grumman and Lockheed Martin. In addition, there’s HRL Laboratories, a research center jointly owned by GM and Boeing, and the non-profit The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo conducting research on quantum-based satellite communications.

Of course, many of these companies maintain a symbiotic relationship with the local academic institutions, collaborating on various research while students trained by the universities often move on to work at these firms as well.

As a quantum-focused PR and marketing communications group located in the center of Southern California, HKA has had a front-row seat to the burgeoning quantum technology ecosystem.

In our next post, we discuss the early quantum startups here and what the region’s near-term future in the quantum world looks like. Here’s a bit of a teaser – what we’ve seen so far is only the beginning. How much do we expect to see, and when do we expect to see it? Tune in next time and find out.

In a world that turned upside down virtually overnight, it seems like a good idea to look for some positive news when it can be found.

This article from MSN Money provides that encouragement for those of us working in the world of quantum computing PR and startups: World-changing innovations that came out of global crises.

The article shows that past crises as disruptive and disconcerting as the current global COVID-19 pandemic often spur technology breakthroughs.

Case in point is the world’s first programmable, electronic, digital computer, built to break the coded messages of Nazi communications in World War II.

The Colossus Mark was mostly designed by a post office engineer in London and successfully decrypted messages sent and received by German High Command, speeding an end to the war and the Allied victory.

That’s some kind of innovation.

Other breakthroughs from WWII included jet engines, microwave ovens, aerosol spray cans and mass-produced antibiotics. The latter medical innovation is of obvious interest for today, as the medical research community works diligently to develop a viable vaccine for COVID-19.

The article goes on to say the tense U.S.-USSR standoff of the Cold War led to the development of the first microchip, satellites, human space flight and the internet, all of which helped to create the world we live in today.

The lesson to be learned is that innovation doesn’t stop for crises, and in fact, is sometimes accelerated.

For example, the unfortunate tensions between China and the U.S. over COVID-19, in addition to the ongoing trade war, has led to the U.S. government to redouble its efforts to beat China to the “quantum advantage” – creating the first quantum computer that delivers a real-world benefit that no computer on Earth could ever duplicate.

In addition, today’s early quantum computers are being enlisted in the fight against COVID-19. And the fervent hope is that, someday, quantum computers would be extremely useful in halting a similar pandemic in the future by speeding the process of drug discovery.

It appears venture capital firms have agreed that the pandemic will not slow quantum computing research and innovation as they continue to seek startups with potentially game-changing quantum technologies.

All this is to say that society will hopefully respond to this current crisis in a way that prevents it from ever happening again, saving countless lives in the future. Our educated guess is that the quantum computing startups of today will play a key role in that endeavor.

For quantum computing startup founders and CEOs, or researchers considering making the leap, as well as venture capital firms and established tech brands, there is no better global resource to stay abreast of this fascinating industry than the Quantum Computing Report (QCR), the world’s most popular site dedicated to covering the business of quantum computing.

Doug’s background is impressive, with more than four decades of technology industry experience, including stints at Intel and IBM during pivotal moments in their histories. He had the foresight to see another pivotal technology moment on the horizon and established QCR to serve quantum computing companies and researchers around the world.

For an agency focused on quantum computing PR and marketing communications, QCR is invaluable to us as well. And we are proud to say that Doug is an HKA client.

Through a random series of events that rivals that found in quantum physics, HKA Technology PR director Mike Kilroy was researching emerging technology topics to cover for the agency’s EmergingTechPR blog and came across QCR. He discovered that Doug was located in the same city as HKA’s offices here in Southern California.

Mike met Doug for coffee one day in the spring of 2019. During their chat, Doug patiently explained the basics of quantum computing. While Mike didn’t understand everything, he found it all incredibly fascinating.

HKA and QCR had too many synergies to ignore. Fast forward to today, where HKA is using its expertise in technology PR to help promote QCR as well as Doug himself as a trusted industry authority.

Doug also runs the Southern California Quantum Computing Meetup Group, offering presentations from experts on recent research and technical discussions for developers and enthusiasts. We will keep you updated on future meetups as the Southern California tech industry embraces quantum computing.