In yet another breakthrough for the world of Quantum Technology. As Quantum Computers are starting to be utilized. Billions of fundings are being raised for its further developments. Rahko, a London-based company with only a dozen members, established in 2018, has made a cutting-edge innovation of using drug discovery algorithms to Quantum Computers; enticing enough to be bought by a Boston-based biotechnology company, Odyssey Therapeutics, we report on the recent news reported by the Telegraph.
Odyssey Therapeutics, based in Boston, United States, has confirmed its $218M venture capital funding for new drugs and drug discovery technologies. It also acquired the majority stakes of a London-based start-up company that focuses on developing software that helps in drug discoveries; founded in 2018 by a group of UCL Computer Science Graduates, this quantum machine learning company called ‘RAHKO’ is advised by several of the world’s leading scientists and backed by leading venture capital firms. And partnered with the big-league tech companies including AWS, IBM, Nvidia, and Microsoft.
Solving drug discovery with quantum machine learning
Rahko
Rahko, a quantum machine learning company focusing on cutting the cost and time to discover and develop new drugs. With its current drug discovery service called Hyrax, a developing service that applies drug discovery algorithms to quantum computers; with its three powerful attributes – computational chemistry, machine learning, and quantum computing. Hyrax enables faster and cheaper AI-assisted drug discovery with significantly higher prediction accuracy using quantum computing.
Although, the UK has seen to be struggling to keep up with the best quantum companies, and many of which are still in their early development stages. Rahko’s newly discovered technology is viewed to be crucial to national security and scientific innovation.
There is a real threat if you are thinking about UK sovereignty, and a question over how you keep great start-ups, great knowledge, and talent.
Sebastian Weidt, the chief executive of Brighton-based start-up Universal Quantum
We have already known how Quantum Computers are already considered to be the new Super Computers. ‘Cause unlike ordinary computers, which string together binary ones and zeros to perform functions, quantum computers use “qubits,” which use quantum mechanics to be either one, zero, or both at the same time. This technology is predicted to boost processing power significantly.
Quantum Technology has never been cheap. US investors raise hundreds of millions of dollars to produce commercially viable quantum computers. And one of the struggles for British Quantum Companies is securing their fundings. Furthermore, the UK has previously struggled to hold on to its best talent in artificial intelligence and biotechnology from deep-pocketed US investors.
PsiQuantum, a quantum start-up founded in the United Kingdom, relocated to Palo Alto, Silicon Valley, in 2019, after getting funding from US venture capitalists. Earlier this year, the company raised $450 million at a valuation of $3.1 billion.
Cambridge Quantum, a quantum software firm, has sold a majority stake to Honeywell, which will merge it with its own quantum division. Honeywell has stated that it will invest up to $300 million in the merged company.
In 2014, DeepMind was acquired by Google in a $500M deal; while this year Vaccitech, which helped develop the AstraZeneca vaccine, opted for a US listing over the UK.