The Creative Destruction Lab is an incubator like none other. The Quantum stream is, you guessed it, aimed at developing quantum industries and companies. It helps those with idea, skills and the drive to come together in pursuit of building tomorrows quantum companies, supported by some of the current well known and industry leading businesses such as innovators and leaders such as IBM, D-wave, Xanadu and Rigetti.
The Quantum Incubating Stream at CDL-Toronto brings together entrepreneurs, investors, scientists in quantum technologies, and quantum technology partners (D-Wave Systems, IBM Q, Rigetti Computing, Xanadu and Zapata Computing) to build ventures in the emerging domain of quantum computing, optimization, sensing and other applications of quantum. The programme involves an intensive 4-week technical and business quantum bootcamp instructed by industry and academic leaders in quantum technologies and machine learning, followed by five objective-setting sessions over 8 months.
Who Should Apply to CDL Quantum?
Both individuals and early-stage companies are encouraged to apply.
- Individual Applicants: Ideal CDL Quantum Stream candidates are creative, intelligent, and ambitious individuals with technical competency in machine learning, computational science, physics, math, statistics, or engineering; or relevant industry experience or domain expertise. If desired, individual participants will have the opportunity to find a suitable co-founding team during the CDL Quantum Bootcamp.
- Quantum Software Ventures/Teams: Startups at all levels of maturity will be considered. We accept projects (pre-incorporation), early-stage companies (pre-seed) or more mature companies (seed stage).
- Quantum Hardware Ventures/Teams: Ideal candidates are at a stage where they already have a basic prototype.
CDL Quantum Stream Features
The Quantum Stream at CDL-Toronto offers a robust set of resources for new founders to launch and scale a startup in the quantum ecosystem.
- Business Guidance and Investor Access – Objective-setting meetings with the CDL mentors – a group of highly successful entrepreneurs and investors with expertise in scaling high-tech startups, world-leading scientists and industry leaders in quantum technologies.
- Quantum Access – Quantum computing resources from our technology partners:
- D-Wave – Access to the latest D-Wave System and Software libraries;
- IBM Q – Access and hands-on technical support for the public IBM Q Experience™ systems, and IBM’s open source quantum software platform, Qiskit™;
- Rigetti – Rigetti Forest programming environment, with access to cloud-connected superconducting quantum processors and Quantum Virtual Machine (QVM);
- Xanadu – Strawberry Fields, an open-source library for photonic quantum computing, with a suite of simulators for execution on CPU/GPU, along with early private access to Xanadu’s cloud-based quantum photonic chips and PennyLane, a cross-platform Python library for differentiable programming of quantum computers.
- Zapata Computing – OrquestraⓇ enables users to compose quantum workflows and orchestrate their execution across classical and quantum technologies.
- Technical Education – 4-week technical quantum bootcamp where the potential founders learn critical technical and business skills via lectures, practical exercises, one-on-one interactions and a two-day, multi-platform Quantum hackathon.
- Business Support – Guidance on strategy and business development from top students and faculty from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
