Rigetti and Commonwealth Bank of Australia Advance Quantum Computing Applications for Finance

(Medium) An experimental analysis from Rigetti Computing and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia paves the path forward for practical quantum computing in the financial services industry.
The results from Rigetti and CBA demonstrate for the first time how a quantum computer can optimise a portfolio rebalancing strategy, including real-world factors such as the number of portfolio assets, total investment value, and trading costs. Leveraging research led out of the NASA Ames Research Center, the team was able to calculate how to achieve optimal risk and return for a small portfolio on the Australian Stock Exchange.
CBA began exploring quantum software with the Australian quantum computing start-up QxBranch in 2015, prior to its recent acquisition by Rigetti. The team developed a quantum computing simulator in 2017, and have been utilising this technology to explore applications of relevance to the bank.
“Our groups have been working together to accelerate the commercial feasibility of applying quantum computing to practical use cases,” said Michael Brett, SVP of Applications at Rigetti and former CEO of QxBranch. “Bringing together quantum technologists with financial services experts was necessary to develop this application. It would not have been possible without close collaboration between domain experts from each field.”