Singapore has launched two national quantum programmes to accelerate developments in the quantum computing space.
The first is the National Quantum Computing Hub (NQCH). It will focus on strengthening talent development and enabling researchers to explore how quantum computing can support industries such the finance and chemical sectors.
The second is the National Quantum Fabless Foundry (NQFF), which will support micro and nanofabrication of quantum devices.
Both programmes are part of the Quantum Engineering Programme (QEP) 2.0, which aims to apply quantum technology to solve real-world needs and build up Singapore’s quantum engineering capabilities.
“Our investment in quantum computing and quantum engineering is part of our approach of trying to anticipate the future, and proactively shaping the future that we want,” says Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat at Asia Tech x Singapore Summit this morning.
Use cases of quantum computing
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Said to be a game-changing technology, quantum computing harnesses the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems too complex for classical computers in a fast and efficient way. It does so by creating multidimensional spaces where the patterns linking individual data points emerge.
Since quantum computing can be applied to any industry, there are limitless way of using it. As Dr. Si-Hui Tan, chief science officer at Horizon Quantum Computing, shares during a panel discussion at the Asia Tech x Singapore Summit: “The problems quantum computing can solve are only restricted by our imagination.”
One real-world use case quantum computing is for drug discovery as it is good at simulating nature, such as simulating behaviours of chemicals and drug interactions, says Dr. Scott Crowder, vice president of IBM Quantum, at the same panel discussion.
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He adds that the technology will be useful to enhance machine learning as it can draw complex patterns from data. This can, in turn, perhaps help financial institutions with portfolio optimisation or fraud detection and prediction.
Making quantum computing mainstream
As quantum computing is a nascent technology, collaborations between industry, academia and even the community are necessary for the technology to further develop and commercialise to become mainstream. “No one organisation can do everything, [even if they have the right talent and capabilities.] We also need to build an ecosystem of people who are passionate about quantum technology to deliver more [real-world use cases],” says Crowder.
John Roese, global chief technology officer at Dell Technologies, agrees. “[The good news is that the] developer ecosystem around quantum computing is already established as an open ecosystem. Tools are generally available to democratise quantum computing. [We can only attain] breakthroughs in this space by collaborating instead of innovating in an isolated way.”
Securing quantum computing
No technology is 100% secure, especially when it connects with the real-world. Organisations should therefore not neglect cybersecurity when they experiment with or adopt quantum computing.
“[Quantum computing should not be thought as an] isolated tech domain. In the real-world, quantum computing fits into the multi-cloud ecosystem [so organisations should consider vulnerabilities that quantum computing introduce] as part of their multi-cloud security strategy,” Roese advises.
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To help businesses in Singapore use quantum computing securely, the QEP launched the National Quantum Safe Network (NQSN) in February this year.
NQSN will deploy commercial technologies for trials with government agencies and private companies in Singapore, conduct in-depth evaluation of security systems, and develop guidelines to support companies in adopting such technologies.
To support its development, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Institutes of Higher Learning, industry and research partners will collaborate on the operation and implementation of NQSN on Singapore’s fibre network infrastructure.
