This context is the ideal breeding ground for start-ups: newly created companies that don’t focus on obtaining great profitability in the short term, but instead on being the pioneers to bring this technology to the fore in industry, slowly but surely. Except for those selling access to early qubit computers, like (IBM or Fujitsu, the quantum computing field generates very little revenue today, but it promises great power in the medium term; thus, it is easy to see that the amount of business is going to be substantial.

All of this explains why Quantum Mads, the first start-up specialised in this field in Biscay, will soon be surrounded by a flourishing entrepreneurial ecosystem in quantum technologies. Its creators – Javier, Ana, Giancarlo, and Rodrigo – are four doctoral students from the NQUIRE Centre at the University of the Basque Country who have learned first-hand what quantum computing is today and the remarkable speed at which it is evolving.

The “madness” began after a hackathon (a kind of competition for brainiacs) that they won with a proposal to generate “Market Artificial Data Series” with a quantum computer. It was this brilliant collaboration that encouraged them to stop by the notary’s office and set up a limited company. But the one who had previously brought them together (sometimes with a trip to Bilbao included) was Enrique Solano, the Peruvian physicist who ended up in Biscay thanks to a grant from Ikerbasque, an organisation that is quietly attracting great scientists to the Basque Country. Solano, along with Mikel Sanz, assembled a team when no one believed in quantum computing, managing to form a pool of experts who have put Biscay on the vanguard of this technology.

What does Quantum Mads offer? All the options are still open, but the area where quantum technology has aroused the most interest is in quantum-classical hybridisation to solve major optimisation and machine learning challenges. Its first goal was, in fact, to generate hybrid investment portfolio allocation algorithms. It is clear that whoever is able to analyse the largest amount of data quickly and accurately, considering the various options available on the market, will win the day.

But the Finance sector is not the only one that can benefit from this technology. Thus, Quantum Mads is already exploring other fields – especially energy, cybersecurity, logistics route optimisation, and industrial processes in general. It has already sealed deals with IBM and Fujitsu as suppliers and with Amatech (a Bilbao-based computer group that wants to expose more conventional companies to it) as a technological partner.

These are always sectors in which minimal acceleration of data processing can translate into money if significant advantages over the competition are achieved. Perhaps the best example to understand is that of cybersecurity, as it’s easy to see the risks of a hacker cracking a password if they can try millions of combinations in a matter of seconds. To thwart these quantum hackers, it will be necessary to introduce tools that speed up protection.

In a region as industrial as that of the Basque Country, there are other sectors that may greatly benefit from these technologies. Examples include the CIE and Gestamp automotive component plants, which have to test all kinds of materials in a wide variety of situations. Another example could be the Petronor laboratories, whose mission is to produce the best fuels, in terms of both efficiency and environmental protection. In all of these cases, massive amounts of data must be processed in a short time, and quantum computing is going to be a fundamental resource.

Neither can we forget the growing biotechnology industry, which makes multimillion-dollar investments to find the ideal drug and test it through processes that generally take years.

If this research can be accelerated with real data processed in nearly real time, the cost reductions and increased revenue from going to market sooner will justify the application of the best quantum technologies.

Quantum Mads, which is now in its full expansion phase, is already exploring all these avenues. They don’t lack knowledge of quantum technology, which is why they’re willing to take this type of computing into real contexts, go to the market to attract interested parties, and test the first prototypes. Let the qubits flow!