Qedma Secures $26M With IBM Backing for Quantum Tech
▼ Summary
– Quantum computers face significant error challenges, hindering applications in finance, drug discovery, and materials science.
– Google and IBM are advancing error correction, with IBM aiming for a fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029 and partnering with startups like Qedma.
– Qedma’s software, QESEM, suppresses and mitigates errors, enabling larger quantum circuits to run accurately on current hardware.
– IBM emphasizes collaboration across hardware and software layers to achieve quantum advantage, which may first appear in academic rather than practical problems.
– Qedma’s $26M Series A funding will expand its team and support hardware-agnostic software development to accelerate quantum advantage without requiring more qubits.
Quantum computing faces a critical challenge: errors that threaten to derail its potential in fields like finance, drug discovery, and materials science. While companies like Google and IBM push hardware advancements, startups like Israel-based Qedma are tackling the problem from a different angle, software-based error mitigation. Backed by a $26 million Series A round led by Glilot Capital Partners, with participation from IBM and others, Qedma aims to make quantum algorithms run more accurately on existing hardware.
Qedma’s flagship software, QESEM, analyzes noise patterns to suppress errors during computation and mitigate others afterward. According to co-founder Dorit Aharonov, this approach allows quantum circuits up to 1,000 times larger to function reliably without waiting for hardware-level error correction. IBM, which collaborates with Qedma through its Qiskit ecosystem, sees value in such partnerships to accelerate progress. Jay Gambetta, IBM’s VP of Quantum, emphasizes that achieving quantum advantage, proving quantum computers outperform classical ones, will require a collective effort across the industry.
While the definition of “useful” quantum advantage remains debated, Qedma’s CEO Asif Sinay believes demonstrations could emerge within the year. The startup, which counts former Talpiot military program alumni among its founders, has already tested its software on IonQ’s Aria system and collaborates with Japan’s RIKEN on quantum-supercomputer hybrid applications.
The new funding will expand Qedma’s team from 40 to 60 employees, blending researchers, engineers, and sales personnel. Unlike hardware-focused competitors like Alice & Bob, Qedma’s agnostic approach works across quantum architectures. Its software lets end users, such as chemists or financial analysts, define problem parameters without deep quantum expertise.
Despite progress, questions linger about when quantum computing will deliver tangible breakthroughs. Qedma’s strategy hinges on optimizing existing systems rather than waiting for million-qubit machines. As Netanel Lindner, the startup’s CTO, puts it: “We can achieve quantum advantage before reaching unrealistic qubit counts.” Whether through software or hardware, the race to unlock quantum’s potential is far from over.
Image Credits: Qedma
(Source: TechCrunch)
