Accenture invests in 1QBit spin-off Good Chemistry Company
Accenture Ventures, the investment arm of the professional services giant, has made a strategic investment in Good Chemistry Company, a company whose cloud-based computational chemistry platform targets ways to accelerate new materials design for chemistry-related use cases.
The investment, the financial terms of which were not disclosed, comes about four-and-a-half years after Accenture invested in and first collaborated with 1QBit, Vancouver, Canada-based quantum computing software and technology research company from which Good Chemistry Company was spun off.
Good Chemistry Company’s QEMIST Cloud platform combines cloud, AI, and quantum computing in an integrated platform designed for developers. The platform’s engine enables faster, more accurate, and scalable ways to perform computational chemistry simulations, Accenture said in a press release.
“We’re doubling down on the growth potential of quantum computing and uncovering new ways to navigate its potential while empowering our clients to confidently absorb and access this breakthrough technology,” said Tom Lounibos, managing director, Accenture Ventures. “Simulating chemistry in this new way leverages easily and readily accessible computers on the cloud to perform simulations that were previously intractable even on expensive, high-performance computing environments. This brings a competitive advantage to clients and can change pharmaceutical drug discovery and more.”
Carl Dukatz, Accenture’s global quantum computing lead, added, “By building on and extending our relationship with 1QBit to the newly formed Good Chemistry Company, we are demonstrating our ongoing commitment to accelerating quantum computing innovation. We are witnessing the emergence of a new class of scalable cloud-based technology that is stretching the boundaries of what computers can solve. We recognize the potential of arming our clients with the next generation of chemistry, material science, and structural design.”
Good Chemistry Company is the latest organization to join Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight, an engagement and investment program that connects emerging technology software startups with the Global 2000 to fill strategic innovation gaps. Project Spotlight offers extensive access to Accenture’s domain expertise and its enterprise clients, helping startups harness human creativity and deliver on the promise of their technology, according to Accenture.
Accenture’s initial work with 1QBit back in 2017 involved helping biotechnology company Biogen use quantum simulation for drug discovery applications. The companies together developed a proof of concept that validated a quantum-computing molecule comparison approach and built an enterprise-ready, quantum-enabled application with transparent processes that generates molecular comparison results with deeper insights about shared traits, according to Accenture.
Among other efforts by Accenture in the quantum computing realm, the company has worked with IonQ to pursue customized quantum-based industry solutions for corporate enterprises.
Dan O’Shea has covered telecommunications and related topics including semiconductors, sensors, retail systems, digital payments and quantum computing/technology for over 25 years.
