France Invests €500M In Quantum Computing Including Alice & Bob, PASQAL, Quandela, C12, and Quobly

The French government has selected quantum computing startup Alice & Bob, among others, to participate in its PROQCIMA initiative, which aims to develop a universal fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2030. The initiative is part of France’s National Strategy for Quantum, with €500 million in funding available.

Alice & Bob’s technology, the “cat qubit”, aims to reduce the largest barrier in quantum development: error correction. This could lead to a 200-fold reduction in resources needed to execute complex quantum algorithms. Théau Peronnin, CEO of Alice & Bob, expressed gratitude for France’s investment in their fault-tolerant quantum computing.

French Government’s Quantum Computing Initiative

The French Ministry for Armed Forces has selected Alice & Bob, a hardware developer specializing in quantum computers, to participate in the PROQCIMA initiative. This initiative is part of the French National Strategy for Quantum, a €1 billion program to advance the country’s quantum computing capabilities. The PROQCIMA initiative specifically focuses on developing a universal fault-tolerant quantum computer demonstrator with 128 logical qubits by 2030 and its subsequent industrialization into a 2048-logical-qubits computer by 2035. Alice & Bob’s participation in this initiative aligns with their roadmap to deliver industry-relevant quantum solutions to the global market.

PROQCIMA Program and Funding

The PROQCIMA program is structured as a competition over the next 10 years, with five selected companies: Alice & Bob, PASQAL, Quandela, C12, and Quobly. These companies will have access to €500 million in funding as they compete and collaborate to advance the French quantum ecosystem. The program is designed to narrow the participants over time, with only three companies continuing after four years and only two receiving funding after the first eight years.

Alice & Bob’s Quantum Computing Technology

Alice & Bob’s technology focuses on the development of fault-tolerant quantum computers, which are built with error-corrected logical qubits. These types of quantum computers are expected to have the most significant impact on universal quantum computation. The company’s unique technology, the “cat qubit”, is a new type of quantum bit designed to accelerate the development of fault-tolerant applications. The cat qubit is protected against bit flips, leaving only phase flips to be corrected. This significantly reduces the overhead needed for quantum error correction, potentially leading to a 200-fold reduction in the resources needed to execute complex quantum algorithms.

Alice & Bob’s Contribution to PROQCIMA

Alice & Bob’s CEO and co-founder, Théau Peronnin, expressed gratitude for France’s commitment to invest in fault-tolerant quantum computing and stated that the initiative will support the company’s global leadership and contribute to the growth of the entire ecosystem. The company is prepared to contribute its cat qubit fault-tolerant architecture to PROQCIMA, driving innovation and committing to delivering the full potential of quantum computing.

Alice & Bob

Alice & Bob is a start-up based in Paris and Boston, founded in 2020 to realize the first universal, fault-tolerant quantum computer. The company has already raised €30M in funding, hired over 90 employees, and demonstrated experimental results surpassing those of technological giants like Google or IBM. Alice & Bob specializes in cat qubits, a technology pioneered by the company’s founders and later adopted by Amazon. The company recently demonstrated that its cat architecture could reduce hardware requirements to build a large-scale functional quantum computer up to 200 times compared to competing approaches.