Räsänen Markku, Mäkynen Henrikki, Möttönen Mikko, Goetz Jan
IQM, Keilaranta 19, 02150 Espoo, Finland.
Present Address: QCD Labs, QTF Centre of Excellence, Aalto University, 00076 Aalto, Finland.
EPJ Quantum Technol. 2021;8(1):5. doi: 10.1140/epjqt/s40507-021-00095-x. Epub 2021 Feb 25.
Quantum computing holds the potential to deliver great economic prosperity to the European Union (EU). However, the creation of successful business in the field is challenging owing to the required extensive investments into postdoctoral-level workforce and sophisticated infrastructure without an existing market that can financially support these operations. This commentary paper reviews the recent efforts taken in the EU to foster the quantum-computing ecosystem together with its current status. Importantly, we propose concrete actions for the EU to take to enable future growth of this field towards the desired goals. In particular, we suggest ways to enable the creation of EU-based quantum-computing unicorns which may act as key crystallization points of quantum technology and its commercialization. These unicorns may provide stability to the otherwise scattered ecosystem, thus pushing forward global policies enabling the global spread of EU innovations and technologies. The unicorns may act as a conduit, through which the EU-based quantum ecosystem can stand out from similar ecosystems based in Asia and the United States. Such strong companies are required because of the level of investment currently required in the marketplace. This paper suggests methodologies and best practices that can enhance the probability of the creation of the unicorns. Furthermore, we explore future scenarios, in which the unicorns can operate from the EU and to support the EU quantum ecosystem. This exploration is conducted focusing on the steps to be taken and on the impact the companies may have in our opinion.
量子计算有望为欧盟带来巨大的经济繁荣。然而，由于需要对博士后水平的劳动力和精密基础设施进行大量投资，且目前尚不存在能够为这些运营提供资金支持的市场，因此在该领域创建成功的企业具有挑战性。本评论文章回顾了欧盟近期为培育量子计算生态系统所做的努力及其当前状况。重要的是，我们为欧盟提出了具体行动建议，以推动该领域朝着预期目标实现未来增长。特别是，我们提出了一些方法，以促成在欧盟创建量子计算领域的独角兽企业，这些企业可能成为量子技术及其商业化的关键凝聚点。这些独角兽企业可为原本分散的生态系统提供稳定性，从而推动全球政策，使欧盟的创新和技术得以在全球传播。独角兽企业可充当一种渠道，通过它，以欧盟为基地的量子生态系统能够在亚洲和美国的类似生态系统中脱颖而出。鉴于当前市场所需的投资规模，需要这样强大的企业。本文提出了一些方法和最佳实践，可提高创建独角兽企业的概率。此外，我们还探讨了未来的情景，即独角兽企业能够从欧盟开展业务，并支持欧盟的量子生态系统。这种探索聚焦于应采取的步骤以及我们认为这些企业可能产生的影响。
