It’s not just Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan that are making breakthroughs in quantum computing. After Goldman Sachs recently revealed the success of some of its Monte Carlo simulations using quantum techniques developed by start-up QC Ware, Cambridge Quantum Computing (CQC), said today that it’s developed an algorithm that accelerates Monte Carlo integration. And CQC is hiring.
Monte Carlo integration is used for financial risk analysis, plus drug development and supply chain logistics. CQC’s new algorithm decomposes the Monte Carlo integration, running it partially through a quantum computer and partially through a classical computer, without losing any quantum advantage.
“We are now capable of achieving what was previously only a theoretical quantum speed-up. That’s something that none of the existing quantum Monte Carlo integration (QMCI) algorithms can do without substantial overhead that renders current methods unusable,” said CQC’s senior research scientist, Steven Herbert.
Demand for quantum expertise in finance is picking up. Constantin Gonciulea, one of JPMorgan’s distinguished engineers and a key member of the bank’s quantum computing team, recently announced that he was leaving (it’s not clear where he’s going next). Goldman Sachs has been assembling a quantum computing team under William Zeng, its head of quantum research.
Cambridge Quantum Computing currently has 150 employees, and is adding to its team. COO Waseem Shiraz, said they’re expanding “significantly” across their offices in Cambridge (U.K.), Oxford, London, Munich, Washington, DC, and Tokyo. The “core team” includes “over 100 scientists, of which over 60 are Ph.D. holders,” said Shiraz, and CQC is, “always on the look-out for scientists and software engineers with a passion for quantum computing.”
Sarah Butcher – Read more on efinancialcareers.com
