Further strengthening its management and leadership team as it extends its global leadership position
February 14, 2023
Hazra will help Quantinuum, the largest standalone integrated quantum computing company in the world, in its mission to accelerate quantum computing as it enters a period of rapid scaling.
Current CEO and founder Ilyas Khan remains in the leadership team and will focus on product development and innovation as Chief Product Officer. He also remains a member of Quantinuum’s board of directors and will take up the position of Vice Chairman.
Tokyo, Japan, Cambridge, UK, Broomfield, Colorado, February 14th, 2023 — Quantinuum today announced that Rajeeb (Raj) Hazra has been appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Quantinuum, effective immediately. In stepping down, current Quantinuum CEO Ilyas Khan will remain a leader in the company. He remains a member of the board of directors and will now become Vice Chairman. In addition, he will remain a full-time senior executive of the company and drive product development and innovation as Quantinuum’s first Chief Product Officer – a role that Khan is deeply passionate about.
Hazra has more than three decades of experience in supercomputing, quantum, and technical roles across the globe. He will work closely with Khan and the executive team to accelerate quantum computing and advance the commercialization of the company. He takes over the leadership of an organization that currently has more than 480 people, driving breakthroughs in drug discovery, healthcare, materials science, cybersecurity, energy transformation and climate change.
“Raj is uniquely qualified for this role, having proven his technical abilities in advanced technologies and supercomputing in both small and large organizations,” said Khan. “His vision and leadership skills are exactly what we need to continue to accelerate our impact in the quantum computing sector, as well as society as a whole. He has an entrepreneurial spirit, a strategic mindset, a passion for software and hardware technologies, as well as leadership experience in developing new commercial opportunities for quantum computing. He will continue to ensure that Quantinuum is ‘science-led, enterprise driven.’ I look forward to partnering with Raj as we create knowledge and real solutions for the world’s most pressing challenges.”
“With Raj at the helm, Quantinuum is well positioned to continue to expand its influence on the emerging quantum business sector, and make an impact on real challenges,” noted Darius Adamczyk, Quantinuum’s Chairman of the Board. “The time is perfect to bring Raj into the company, as we build momentum to drive the next chapter of quantum industries. He will help the company drive high-speed innovation and entrepreneurship in the quantum industry. I’m also grateful to Ilyas for his continued leadership in his new position, and thankful that he will still bring his energy to making Quantinuum successful.”
“I’m honored to step into the CEO role, where I’m excited to focus on helping Quantinuum grow and drive the innovations that will transform the way quantum computing positively impacts the world,” Hazra said. “By building on the solid foundation that Ilyas and the team have laid, we will continue to accelerate Quantinuum into the future.”
“We are excited to take this next step forward in what is an important moment in the quantum computing industry,” said President and Chief Operating Officer, Tony Uttley. “We will continue to work with our customers and partners to eventually solve some of the world’s most intractable problems that conventional computing doesn’t allow, while at the same time continuing to meet our existing commitments.”
Hazra was most recently Senior Vice President and General Manager, Compute and Networking Business Unit, and previously Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Communications, at Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU) where he was based in San Jose, California. There, he created the Corporate Strategy Office, working closely with the CEO staff to define and implement a five-year strategic plan for the company. As General Manager of the company’s largest and most profitable business unit, he was responsible for a more than $12 billion annual P&L and a worldwide team across the US, Europe, and Asia in business operations, market development, and customer support functions.
He previously spent 25 years at Intel Corporation, leading the Enterprise and Government Group, Technical Computing Group, Supercomputer Architecture and Planning, and Systems Technology Research. There he transformed the organization to focus on a world of hybrid, multi-cloud infrastructure, resulting in new products and partnerships. He also transformed the business to achieve growth after several years of decline with first-ever strategies to harness the move to hybrid multi-cloud and enterprise use of artificial intelligence and machine learning. He also has deep technical experience leading teams of several hundred researchers spread over multiple geographies.
Raj has a Ph.D. and a Master of Science in Computer Science from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, U.S., and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India.
Established: December 2021 (through the merger of Honeywell Quantum Solutions (U.S.) and Cambridge Quantum Computing (U.K.))
Quantinuum is one of the world’s largest integrated quantum computing companies, formed by the combination of Honeywell Quantum Solutions’ world-leading hardware and Cambridge Quantum’s class-leading middleware and applications. Science-led and enterprise-driven, Quantinuum accelerates quantum computing and the development of applications across chemistry, cybersecurity, finance, and optimization. Its focus is to create scalable and commercial quantum solutions to solve the world’s most pressing problems in fields such as energy, logistics, climate change, and health. The company employs over 480 individuals, including 350 scientists, at nine sites across the United States, Europe, and Japan.
About Quantinuum
Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With over 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.
November 19, 2024
Quantinuum Named Winner in Fast Company’s 2024 Next Big Things in Tech Awards
Broomfield, Colorado, November 19th, 2024 – Quantinuum, the world’s largest and leading integrated quantum computing company, has been recognized by Fast Company as a winner in the 2024 Next Big Things in Tech Awards in the Computing, Chips, and Foundational Technology category. In its fourth year, the list honors technology breakthroughs that promise to shape the future of our society. This prestigious accolade underscores Quantinuum’s advancements with its System Model H2 quantum processor, the latest in a series of groundbreaking announcements.
Quantinuum’s H2 Quantum Processor: A Breakthrough in Quantum Computing
Launched in 2023 and upgraded in 2024, the H2 quantum processor represents a major advancement in quantum computing. As the most benchmarked system with the highest quantum volume in the industry, H2 is a testament to Quantinuum’s path in leading the world to universal, fully fault tolerant quantum computing future.
"The System Model H2 represents a significant leap in computing, demonstrating capabilities that can no longer be fully simulated by classical computers." said Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, President & CEO of Quantinuum. "Its unique design has led to significant achievements, including the creation of 12 reliable logical qubits and a 100-fold enhancement in a key quantum computing benchmark, Random Circuit Sampling (RCS). These results have made our systems integral to hybrid quantum computing workflows, combining our high performing quantum systems with leading AI and HPC solutions.”
These innovations have the potential to revolutionize fields like chemistry, drug discovery, and financial forecasting, demonstrating the far-reaching implications of Quantinuum's work.
Roadmap to Universal, Fully Fault Tolerant Quantum Computing
Quantinuum’s next system, Helios, will launch in 2025 with 96 qubits and will help to unlock scientific advances that will surpass classical computing results.
About Quantinuum
Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum computing company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With over 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.
Quantinuum together with Mitsui advance unforgeable quantum tokens over fibre network in first ever trial
First successful delivery of quantum tokens using commercial QKD hardware, demonstrating fast transaction verification at the point of exchange - a crucial step toward quantum-enhanced financial security and a major advance for QKD.
Quantum tokens are designed to provide unforgeability, privacy, and fast settlement, in a single financial instrument. No previous technology can deliver these three combined benefits.
In the world’s first implementation using off-the-shelf hardware, quantum tokens were transmitted across 10km of fibre in Tokyo, using commercial quantum key distribution (QKD) devices provided by NEC*.
This is a pivotal step towards the deployment of ultra-high-security quantum tokens in use cases such as tokenized asset security and high-speed trading.
Tokyo, Japan and Broomfield, Colorado - November 18th, 2024 – In a long anticipated trial, Quantinuum ("Quantinuum", Head Office: Broomfield, Colorado, U.S.A., CEO: Rajeeb Hazra), together with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Kenichi Hori) and NEC ("NEC", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Takayuki Morita) today announced the successful delivery of quantum tokens across a 10km fibre-optic network in Japan. This is the first time such a delivery has been accomplished.
Quantum tokens are a new financial instrument that take advantage of the properties of quantum physics to meet the robust demands of asset trading without the communication overheads required by traditional financial systems. Quantum tokens are transmitted across fibre-optic quantum key distribution (QKD) networks, which are rapidly expanding around the globe. Today's announcement with Mitsui demonstrates growing industry recognition of quantum tokens' potential in financial services.
Ilyas Khan, Founder and Chief Product Officer at Quantinuum, said: “The original motivation for quantum communications was the exchange of money, as envisaged by Stephen Wiesner. Today, we have demonstrated real-world security enhancements for financial systems using off-the-shelf quantum communications hardware. This opens the door to a new era in quantum-enhanced security with wide applicability, providing commercial organisations with something concrete to utilise.”
Koji Naniwada, Deputy General Manager, Quantum Innovation Dept. at Mitsui, said: “Quantum tokens will increase the security of digital assets, while improving transaction performance and maintaining privacy. These topics are critical for our customers and partners in the financial sector and this demonstration is a valuable outcome of our partnership with Quantinuum.”
Naoki Ishida, Director with the Trading and Service Solution Department at NEC, said: “We are the first to provide a platform for realizing a quantum token system using NEC’s quantum key distribution (QKD) devices. Based on the results of this trial between Mitsui & Co. and Quantinuum, we will continue to work towards the social implementation of quantum cryptography technology.”
Quantum tokens are designed to use quantum physics to prevent forgery, while ensuring transactions can be settled near-instantly, whereas traditional payments systems rely on double-entry bookkeeping to prevent double-spending of funds. This adds time, overhead and risk to every transaction, as digital systems are consulted to confirm funds are available and to settle transactions.
Quantum tokens instead rely on the no-cloning theorem of quantum physics to prevent forgeries and double-spending. Only the intended recipient will receive the correct token data, which can only be spent at one location in the future. This enables near-instant transaction settlement by removing the need to check multiple systems or wait for network confirmations.
As demonstrated in Quantinuum’s recent work with HSBC, securing digital assets in the quantum-age is growing in urgency. The financial sector is increasingly looking to quantum technology to solve these complex problems with the power of nature.
Learn more about this new frontier of financial security, powered by quantum, in our whitepaper.
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Note:
(*) The equipment provided by NEC was partially supported by results from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ (MIC) “Research and development for construction of a global quantum cryptography network”(JPJ008957) under “R&D of ICT Priority Technology Project” (JPMI00316) and Japan’s Cabinet Office’s "Photonics and Quantum Technology for Society 5.0" project under the Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP).
About Mitsui
Mitsui & Co. is a global trading and investment company with a presence in more than 60 countries and a diverse business portfolio covering a wide range of industries.
The company identifies, develops, and grows its businesses in partnership with a global network of trusted partners including world leading companies, combining its geographic and cross-industry strengths to create long-term sustainable value for its stakeholders.
Mitsui has set three key strategic initiatives for its current Medium-term Management Plan: supporting industries to grow and evolve with stable supplies of resources and materials, and providing infrastructure; promoting a global transition to low-carbon and renewable energy; and empowering people to lead healthy lives through the delivery of quality healthcare and access to good nutrition.
Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With over 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of “Orchestrating a brighter world.” NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.
