Quantum News Briefs November 25: Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute Selects IQM Spark Quantum Computer to Boost Research • AWS Announces the Quantum Embark Program to Help Customers Get Ready for Quantum Computing” • D-Wave Names Sharon Holt to Board of Directors • Spectral Capital Announces Submission of Quantum Balance Patent •
Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute Selects IQM Spark Quantum Computer to Boost Research
The Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI) under the National Applied Research Laboratories has announced the procurement of its first full-stack quantum computer from IQM Quantum Computers (IQM), a global leader in designing, building, and selling superconducting quantum computers. The delivery and installation of the system at TSRI’s premises will take place in the second quarter of 2025.
TSRI is a government-funded academic research organization dedicated to the development of semiconductor technology and talent cultivation. TSRI boasts an open research environment and actively develops advanced semiconductor research service platforms in areas such as advanced CMOS and memory, 3D packaging, silicon photonics, compound semiconductors, and quantum computing.
Both TSRI and IQM aim to accelerate quantum computing development in Taiwan, and the acquisition of IQM Spark, a 5-qubit quantum computer with high fidelity, will help TSRI utilize the system for educational and research purposes.
With significant strides in Taiwan’s efforts in advancing low-temperature Complementary Metal-Oxide 
Semiconductor (CMOS) and quantum computing technologies, TSRI will also leverage IQM’s technical expertise for hardware integration and research efforts. Such CMOS solutions can enable large-scale quantum processors, which are needed for error correction.
This strategic collaboration will emphasize the importance of IQM’s international partnerships with Taiwan’s national quantum research teams in fostering groundbreaking technological advancements.
In Other News: “AWS Announces the Quantum Embark Program to Help Customers Get Ready for Quantum Computing”
AWS has introduced Quantum Embark, a new advisory program for customers as per the AWS Quantum Technologies Blog. Authors of post were Tyler Takeshita, Daniela Becker, Pavel Lougovski, and Stefan Natu
Quantum Embark aims to help customers get ready for quantum computing by providing an expert-led approach, as they embark on their journey. With Embark, there are no long-term commitments, and customers can get started in as little as a few weeks.
With Amazon Braket, the quantum computing service of AWS, experienced customers can already reduce their technology risk by getting one-stop-shop access to a range of diverse quantum hardware on a pay-as-you-go basis. Now, through the new Quantum Embark program, we are adding advisory services that provide more context, guidance, and expertise to help customers who are just starting their quantum journey. This program is designed to empower customers to work backwards from their most business-critical and compute intensive use cases, develop an understanding of the state of the art, pinpoint relevant quantum technologies to focus on, and ultimately make informed decisions about future resourcing and their long-term quantum roadmap.
The Quantum Embark program comprises of three standard modules delivered by the Amazon Advanced Solutions Lab: Use Case Discovery, Technical Enablement, and Deep Dive, which we’ll describe in more detail below. Customers can work through all three modules or choose which modules best suit their needs, depending on their prior work and level of experience.
D-Wave Names Sharon Holt to Board of Directors
D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS), announced on November 25 the appointment of Sharon Holt to its board of directors. The appointment comes on the heels of the October 2024 additions of John DiLullo and Rohit Ghai to the D-Wave board, as the company continues to usher in the era of commercial quantum computing.
Holt is a seasoned technology executive, investor, and board director with extensive global industry experience in semiconductors, embedded technologies, and intellectual property. Her executive roles have spanned business unit leadership, P&L ownership, business development, sales, marketing and engineering. Holt has served as a principal at Fraser Stuart Ventures, LLC, a private investment and advisory firm since 2016. Prior to that, she served as senior vice president and general manager of the semiconductor business group at Rambus Inc., a leading technology development and licensing company. Prior to Rambus, Holt held executive roles at Agilent Technologies and HP. She serves on the board of directors of Infinera Corp., a publicly traded industry-leading supplier of intelligent transport network solutions, and previously served as chairman of the board of directors of Immersion Corporation, a publicly traded developer of haptics technology for cell phones and other devices.
Spectral Capital Announces Submission of Quantum Balance Patent
Spectral Capital Corporation (OTCQB: FCCN), a pioneer in Quantum as a Service (QaaS) computing and decentralized cloud infrastructure, announced that it has submitted the first of 104 patents acquired from Chairman, Sean Michael Brehm.
One of the biggest challenges to the widespread adoption of quantum computing is the problem of balancing computing tasks efficiently between classical computing systems and emergent quantum systems. Spectral’s Quantum Balance™ patent details a dynamic algorithmic approach to determining task allocation between quantum and classical systems.
The patent application for the Quantum Balance technology will remain confidential until review by the patent office is completed, at which time the approach, if approved, will be published. In the interim, Spectral can develop the approach without waving patent priority in the event that the patent issues. The application has been submitted to counsel to be filed on a provisional basis as the first of 104 patents acquired by Spectral.
Founded in 2000 and based in Seattle, Washington, Spectral Capital (OTCQB:FCCN) is a technology startup accelerator and quantum incubator. We specialize in Quantum as a Service (QaaS), leveraging our proprietary Distributed Quantum Ledger Database technology (DQ-LDB) to offer secure, advanced storage and computing solutions.
