Quantum Speed
“Quantum Speed” – a cartoon that illustrates how the challenges of getting to a minimum viable product with quantum technology make a strong case for collaboration and partnership.
For most new technology, a startup can create a basic working model of the kernel of value and test it with customers to make sure they are tracking towards a market need.
For deep technology companies, this is a lot harder, since the market need might not be fully developed or overcoming the initial hurdle of technology viability makes testing in front of customers a distant dream.
This is particularly the case for quantum computing, which faces the perceived challenge of a technology looking for a market need (as opposed to being customer lead) and long development times placing strain on finding capital and top talent.
To address this, quantum companies are often partnering with each other or with customers to help move the market along.
For example, in the financial sector, the banking giant HSBC joined forces with 12 other companies through the NEASQC project to develop possible use cases for the technology, from carbon capture to energy infrastructure risk assessment and breast cancer detection.
In some of these deep technologies joining an ecosystem of partners is a more important signal of a startup’s potential success than landing a name-brand customer.
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