U.K. Startup Raises $75 Million for Quantum Error Correction Technology

U.K. quantum computing startup, Riverlane has raised $75 million in Series C funding. The latest Riverlane funding will enable the startup to meet the rising global demand for quantum error correction.

According to The Next Web, Riverlane’s Series C funding will propel the startup towards achieving the goal of having 1 million error-free quantum operations by the year 2026.

High Potential

Quantum technologies have the potential to change people’s perspectives about computation. They can unlock numerous transformative capabilities in different industries, including logistics, energy, and pharmaceuticals.

However, two things must happen to unlock these possibilities – scaling the number of physical qubits and reducing quantum computing errors.

Error Prone Pathways

There are several technological pathways for creating qubits in quantum computing. These pathways include trapped ion qubits, superconducting qubits, neutral atom qubits, and photonic qubits, among others. The common thing about each of these pathways is vulnerability to errors.

These errors can result from technical and physical challenges that include control, thermal noise, and external electromagnetic interference. Errors lead to the loss of quantum states in qubits. This affects the reliability and performance of quantum computers. The best quantum computers perform hundreds of operations before getting overwhelmed by errors.

But to ensure that quantum computers solve real problems, the number of operations needs to increase to billions and trillions of error-free operations. Quantum Error Correction technology is needed to bridge this gap – and Riverlane is providing this solution.

“In the same way that GPUs were needed to scale up AI workloads, so error-correction chips are needed to scale up quantum computers,” Steve Brierley, founder and CEO of Riverlane said.

Adding Redundancy

Quantum error correction technology works by adding redundancy. This ensures that if any qubits fails, the system does not stop but keeps working.

The technology achieves this by forming abstract logical qubits from a bigger pool of physical qubits. This makes it possible to detect and rectify errors without interfering with encoded information.

Riverlane’s quantum computing error-correction chip and software are pathway agnostic. They operate with any quantum computing approach available.

Market Positioning

Riverlane’s quantum computing market positioning is that of a technology supplier to a wide range of tech companies. This positioning has convinced tech investors to support the Cambridge startup that was founded in 2016. Brierley says investors now have a good understanding of quantum computing.

“When I founded the company the question was, ‘What is quantum computing? Why should I be interested?’ This narrative and understanding have really progressed. Now, people have a very clear understanding of the importance of quantum error correction and that it is the central next phase of quantum computing,” he said.

Riverlane will use the latest funding to scale its research and development capabilities and develop new products.