Accenture has announced a new strategic alliance and minority investment in 1QBit, a leading quantum computing firm that builds quantum and quantum-inspired software to help organizations solve their most demanding computational challenges. The alliance will allow Accenture to develop new quantum-inspired analytics capabilities to solve healthcare and life sciences challenges through Accenture Analytics and scale pilot opportunities identified through the Accenture Labs. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, 1QBit builds quantum and quantum-inspired software to help organizations solve their most demanding computational challenges. Its interdisciplinary team comprises mathematicians, physicists, chemists, software developers and quantum computing experts who develop novel solutions to problems, from research through to commercial application development. Earlier this year, Accenture and 1QBit announced that they collaborated with Biogen to develop a first-of-its-kind quantum-enabled molecular-comparison application that could speed up drug discovery for complex neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Striving to be an innovator in the development of quantum-inspired enterprise solutions and applications, Accenture has already filed multiple patent applications. Examples include a multi-state quantum optimization engine that solves complex optimization problems by using nested calls to multiple quantum computing devices, and quantum computing methods to improve transportation systems, for example, to optimize the flight path of a drone system.
