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Top quantum computing experts leave UK for Silicon Valley

by
June 24, 2019

Some of Britain’s leading quantum computing experts have left London to found an ambitious Silicon Valley startup.

PsiQ, headed up by some of the country’s most prominent quantum practitioners, believes it can deliver commercially viable quantum computing within the next five years.

As the Financial Times reports, the exodus has renewed fears that the UK is not doing enough to retain top tech talent.

An investor in PsiQ told the FT that the scientists left because they didn’t believe they could secure the necessary funding in the UK, and that the US provides a more sympathetic environment for ambitious tech companies to scale.

Quantum computing takes a radically different approach to traditional computers. In the established system, binary ‘bits’ can take the form of ones or zeroes (on or off), while their equivalent in quantum computing, known as qubits, can occupy both states at the same time.

Experts believe quantum computing could lead to major strides in fields such as security, biology, finance, and artificial intelligence.