Biscay is a region with a close relationship with the sea. Its coastal towns have a long maritime tradition, and much of its economic strength still relies on the advantages provided by the Cantabrian Sea. We can think of many examples: from the artisanal cannery business to industrial production, mainly focused on heavy industry, metallurgy, metalworking, and shipyards. Not to mention the cultural aspect, from offerings to the Virgin of Carmen (the patron saint of fishermen) to irresistible dishes like squid in its ink, cod a la vizcaína, or marmitako.

That's why we've chosen a naval analogy to explain the quantum strategy led by the Goverment of Biscay, driven by Lantik.

Imagine a shipyard tasked with building a great ship. Here, the Goverment of Biscay is the key piece, the mastermind, or in naval terms, the lever of the project's naval engineering, responsible for the design and adjustment of all parts, represented in this example as the ecosystem as a whole.

In 2021, a significant agreement with IBM laid the foundations, or rather, constructed the skeleton of the ship. It was presented to the public in November at the QuantumNow 2021 event, announcing the start of its construction.

Today, three years later, this great ship has been built, is ready to set sail, and we are witnessing its inauguration. We have the bottle of txakoli ready to break against its hull, a christening tradition that, if not fulfilled, is said to bring bad luck according to the most superstitious tales.

THE BEST MATERIALS WITH A PERFECT FIT

Over these three years, work has been done to build a robust ship capable of navigating the roughest seas and withstanding enormous waves and treacherous currents.

Reaching this point has meant adapting the proposal to current technological and scientific advancements, the emergence of new market propositions, and the constantly evolving legal frameworks.

Thus, Biscay's quantum strategy comprises major corporations from all economic sectors, leading ICT companies from Biscay and around the world, and a dozen quantum-based startups, along with leading universities and laboratories.

TALENT AND TECHNOLOGY

Ensuring the quantum ship's buoyancy has been fundamental, relying on the following ingredients: talent, technology, and solid materials to ensure its stability. All these components have been working over the past three years to consolidate their strategies.

The three universities in the region, UPV/EHU, University of Deusto, and Mondragon Unibertsitatea, have been developing projects aimed at the industrial applicability of quantum technologies with their students and teaching and research staff in their commitment to generating and retaining talent.

In parallel, various collaboration agreements with technology development and transfer centers such as Tecnalia, Ikerlan, and Vicomtech have opened the door to exploring use cases very focused on the needs of different industrial sectors.

Major corporations like Telefónica, Accenture, EY, Oesía, and Ibermática, among others, have become active agents in promoting and dynamizing Biscay's quantum ecosystem. The ICT sector in Euskadi, through the GAIA cluster, has shown its interest and actively participated in events and initiatives proposed by the ecosystem coordination.

As a final touch, and from BAT, B Accelerator Tower, the ecosystem has facilitated the creation and attraction of various startups such as aQuantum, EVA5, Falcondale, GeoAI Analytics, Global Data Quantum, Henko, Quantum Mads, Quanvia, Qubiz Team and QCentroid, which today contribute their unique flexibility and dynamism to the ecosystem.

The shipyards have been working at full throttle for the past three years. But it has been worth it; the great quantum ship is now ready to set sail.