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FROM THE EDITOR.

Big news from Q-CTRL this week. The team announced a demonstration of quantum-assured navigation in real-world ground and airborne tests, achieving commercial quantum advantage. More about this below, but, if it holds, it has enormous implications. Congratulations to this team!

And now…

If any of you have had the fun experience of telling friends or family that you work in quantum computing, or quantum sensing, or quantum anything and have noticed an expression on their faces like they were watching antlers — not cute white-tailed variety, but full moose-sized antlers — spontaneously grow out of the sides of your head, then you should have appreciated the hard work that a lot of people in the community performed during World Quantum Day.

Special lectures, presentations, talks and a bunch of other events were held to raise awareness about the massive coolness of quantum science and the massive potential of quantum technology.

Some worry about quantum hype, but quantum unawareness (it’s really not as catchy as hype. Will workshop this.) could have equally detrimental effects. For example, what if quantum tech suddenly becomes viable and there aren’t enough scientists or workers available. That sounds like a problem.

So, while these Quantum Day activities, like contests for grade school students, movie premiers, live demonstrations, etc., may sound frivolous, they are part of an earnest and worthwhile effort.

Next year, I plan to hold the inaugural untimed Matt Swayne World Quantum Day Heisenberg 5 K because if we know our exact position, how can we really know the time?

Have a great weekend and a blessed Easter weekend for all of those who celebrate.

— Matt, Chief Content Officer at The Quantum Insider

INSIDER BRIEF.

• To Observe The Impossible Phase…

• Quantum Needs More Than Just Physicists

• 121 Million Pound Boost

• Real Experiment, Quasicrystals 

• Quantum Image Classification

• Quantum Computing Eases Congestion

•  Mesa Quantum Earns State Grant

• HRL Laboratories, Boeing Prepare to Take Quantum to Space

• How to Build a Quantum State

• Quantum Hacker Reward

• Quminex Pre-Seeded

• Creotech to Spin Off Public Company

• Validating CMOS Process

ANALYST NOTES.

The Noteworthy & Nuanced

Researchers at Rice University have achieved the first direct observation of a superradiant phase transition (SRPT), a quantum phenomenon predicted over 50 years ago. By coupling magnetic subsystems—rather than relying on quantum light fields—they demonstrated the transition in a crystal composed of erbium, iron, and oxygen under extreme cooling and a strong magnetic field. This finding could lead to improved quantum sensors and more reliable quantum computing systems.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for some pocket change, a new global competition, the QDay Prize, is offering a reward of one Bitcoin to anyone who can use a quantum computer to break elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) using Shor’s algorithm. The challenge, organized by Project Eleven, prohibits classical shortcuts and targets ECC keys up to 25 bits. It highlights concerns around estimates suggesting that full-scale attacks on 256-bit ECC keys may become feasible within a decade.

Just in time for the busy Easter weekend, researchers from the University of Melbourne and Ford Motor Company have demonstrated a quantum-classical algorithm capable of optimizing traffic flow. Using the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) and a noise-resilient variant (CF-QAOA), the team achieved high-accuracy routing solutions on existing quantum hardware. Despite the limitations of current devices, the results suggest that hybrid quantum methods could play a valuable role in solving complex optimization problems such as traffic congestion. — Alan Kanapin, Analyst at The Quantum Insider

The Research Rundown

This week, quantum systems showed signs of traction in one of the most complex and consequential verticals of our time: transportation. From self-driving cars to GPS-denied aircraft, the domain is fast becoming a testbed for what quantum can offer us, whether through sensing, learning, or reasoning. Q-CTRL’s field-validated quantum magnetometer suite, used for GPS-free navigation, was one of the more rigorously substantiated claims of commercial quantum advantage to date. Meanwhile, Honda Research Institute and BlueQubit turned to quantum machine learning for dynamic scene classification, running image classifiers on IBM and Quantinuum hardware using real-world automotive data. Their Block Amplitude Encoding method hit a 94% accuracy rate, rivaling classical neural nets on complex datasets, demonstrating that high-dimensional, safety-critical learning tasks are no longer beyond quantum’s near-term reach.

What ties these projects together is more than just quantum encroaching on the transportation stack. Both cases build on the premise that nature—or the systems we build to navigate it—presents information too complex, too noisy, or too nonlinear for our existing tools to fully parse. Quantum technologies, with their ability to encode and correlate across vast dimensional spaces, are shining.

And as the push for practical utility continues (forever and always a theme), the call for standards does, too. The BenchQC initiative, detailed this week in a paper led by Fraunhofer and BMW Group collaborators is systematically tracking quantum utility across optimization, simulation, and machine learning applications. It treats benchmarks not as bragging rights but as shared scaffolds: a way for developers, researchers, and industry alike to assess progress, pinpoint gaps, and chart more rational courses forward. Without that kind of shared language, we risk speaking in claims and aspirations rather than capabilities. — Cierra Choucair, Journalist & Analyst at The Quantum Insider

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INSIDER SPOTLIGHT: Q-CTRL Overcomes GPS-denial With Quantum Sensing, Reports Quantum Advantage

➡️ Australia's Q-CTRL has successfully demonstrated quantum-assured navigation in real-world ground and airborne tests, reporting commercial quantum advantage — outperforming conventional GPS alternatives by up to 50 times.

➡️ The quantum-assured navigation system, Ironstone Opal, uses quantum sensors and advanced "software-ruggedized hardware" to detect Earth's subtle magnetic signals, enabling reliable GPS-free navigation resistant to jamming and spoofing.

➡️ Tests showed that Q-CTRL's solution delivered unmatched performance under varied conditions—achieving positioning uncertainty as low as ~0.01% of the distance traveled, dramatically outperforming traditional inertial navigation systems (INS).

➡️ With applications across defense, aerospace, and autonomous vehicle sectors, Q-CTRL is partnering with government and industry leaders, including the Australian Department of Defence, the US Department of Defense, the UK Royal Navy, Lockheed Martin, and Airbus, to bring quantum navigation to market.

➡️ The company’s proprietary AI-powered "magnetic denoising" software uniquely combats real-world interference without extensive calibration, achieving faster, more accurate positioning—up to 3x better and 15x faster than competitive algorithms.

Analyst Commentary

Q-CTRL’s landmark field trials is being seen as a a leap forward—not just for the company or Australia’s quantum ecosystem, but for quantum commercialization itself. This isn't a theoretical milestone; it's quantum technology successfully deployed in challenging, real-world environments, showcasing tangible commercial advantage and strategic relevance.

At the core of Q-CTRL’s breakthrough lies a nuanced combination of advanced quantum sensing, AI-driven noise suppression, and integration within practical hardware systems. The technology addresses urgent global needs: growing vulnerabilities in GPS-reliant navigation caused by geopolitical instability and deliberate interference. With daily GPS disruptions now costing billions globally, quantum navigation is not just innovative—it's becoming strategically essential.

What sets this apart is how Q-CTRL has translated complex quantum sensing into robust, field-ready systems. Previous quantum experiments often stumbled at the lab-to-field transition, impeded by electromagnetic interference and operational complexity. Q-CTRL overcame this by developing sophisticated software ruggedization that stabilizes quantum sensors under real-world conditions, delivering exceptional accuracy even in electrically noisy environments like aircraft cockpits and vehicle interiors.

This achievement marks the arrival of quantum sensing as a genuinely commercial-ready technology. Boston Consulting Group’s projection of quantum sensing as a $3 billion market by 2030 now feels attainable, thanks in large part to these tangible demonstrations. Q-CTRL’s approach of coupling hardware miniaturization with powerful software algorithms positions it uniquely for widespread adoption across multiple sectors.

Strategically, Q-CTRL’s solution aligns perfectly with the evolving landscape of defense and civilian autonomous systems, offering unmatched stealth and reliability. Its collaboration with heavyweight partners — from Lockheed Martin and Airbus to major defense organizations — suggests the strategic implications and global confidence in this technology.

Looking ahead, Q-CTRL's success sets a precedent and not just for quantum sensing. If quantum navigation can surpass conventional benchmarks today, it sets expectations for broader quantum technologies tomorrow.

In short, this could be an inflection point, a clear indicator that quantum technology’s future isn’t speculative; it’s operational, necessary, and commercially viable. Australia and Q-CTRL have raised the bar, demonstrating what the next chapter in quantum commercialization truly looks like.

DATA SPOTLIGHT.

Oxford researchers have demonstrated a 25-nanosecond controlled-Z (CZ) gate with 99.8% fidelity, making it one of the fastest and most accurate two-qubit gates to date. Using a simplified superconducting circuit design with opposite anharmonicity qubits, they eliminated the need for tunable couplers, reducing hardware complexity. The team leveraged a third quantum state to achieve a √2 speed-up, confirming it experimentally. This result pushes gate performance well into fault-tolerant territory without sacrificing simplicity, marking a major milestone for scalable quantum computing.

INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS.

🫰 The UK government has announced £121 million in new funding to expand quantum technologies across sectors like fraud detection, cybersecurity, and healthcare, aiming to support economic growth and national resilience. This investment strengthens research hubs, career development, and public-private partnerships as part of the UK’s broader Plan for Change.”

💼 A new RAND Europe report warns that the quantum sector’s overreliance on PhD physicists is constraining workforce growth and commercial progress. The study calls for more inclusive talent pipelines, regional training hubs, and cross-sector collaboration to build a diverse, future-ready quantum workforce.

💡 A new Economist Impact survey finds that 83% of quantum professionals expect quantum utility within the next decade, yet technical hurdles, talent shortages, and limited board-level understanding remain major barriers. The upcoming Commercialising Quantum Global summit in London will address these gaps by aligning quantum advancements with business use cases in energy, sustainability, drug discovery, and cybersecurity.

🤝 IonQ has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Japan’s G-QuAT, a division of AIST, to advance quantum computing in Japan through access to IonQ’s Forte-class systems via IonQ Cloud. They also signed an MoU with South Korea’s Intellian Technologies to explore how quantum networking can secure satellite communications, including satellite-to-satellite and ground-to-satellite links.

🤖 Terra Quantum has launched the closed beta of TQ42 Studio, a hybrid quantum-classical AI platform featuring QAI Hub, a no-code model builder with an AI assistant, and Qode Engine, a Python SDK for advanced users. Designed for real-world use cases like supply chain optimization and anomaly detection, the platform aims to lower adoption barriers and accelerate experimentation with quantum neural networks.

🧪 TNO has opened a new quantum testing hub at the House of Quantum in Delft, doubling its lab space to meet rising demand from startups and scale-ups for independent hardware validation. The facility supports system-level testing of QPUs, chip architectures, and control electronics, helping accelerate product readiness and strengthening the Netherlands’ national quantum infrastructure through the Quantum Delta NL initiative.

🌏️ On World Quantum Day in Riyadh, ten startups were recognized for applying quantum technologies to global sustainability and healthcare challenges, from CO₂ storage and water management to drug discovery and genomic data security. Backed by the World Economic Forum and C4IR KSA, the Quantum for Society Challenge intends to accelerate real-world quantum impact by integrating early-stage innovators into a global support ecosystem aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

⛏️ Quminex, a Canadian startup, is applying AI and quantum computing to make mineral exploration more efficient and sustainable by turning complex data into actionable insights. Backed by pre-seed investments from QV Studio, Quantacet, and Quantonation, the company is among the first accepted into the QV Studio program in Quebec.

🇮🇳 QpiAI has launched a 25-qubit superconducting quantum computer, India’s first full-stack quantum platform, advancing the goals of the National Quantum Mission to build domestic quantum infrastructure and enable scalable technologies. As one of eight startups selected under the NQM, QpiAI is developing hybrid quantum-AI systems aimed at real-world applications.

🛩️ PsiQuantum has secured a $10.8 million contract with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to co-develop quantum photonic chips using its Omega chipset and high-performance Barium Titanate electro-optic components. The collaboration enables AFRL to design and test quantum optical circuits on PsiQuantum’s commercial fabrication pipeline.

🌐 Deutsche Telekom’s T-Labs and Qunnect achieved continuous 99% fidelity transmission of polarization-entangled photons over 30 km of commercial fiber for 17 days, demonstrating real-world stability and compatibility with telecom infrastructure. A separate test showed successful coexistence of quantum and classical signals over 82 km, validating the potential for integrating entangled qubits into existing networks as a step toward the future quantum internet.

🚀 NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is developing the Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder (QGGPf), the first space-based quantum gravity sensor using ultra-cold rubidium atoms to detect gravitational anomalies with up to ten times the sensitivity of classical systems.

🛰️ HRL Laboratories and Boeing have completed and validated a space-ready quantum communication subassembly for the Q4S satellite mission, designed to demonstrate four-photon entanglement swapping in orbit. The system achieved high entanglement fidelity and over 2,500 photon pair detections per second.

EVENTS.

May 13-14 -- The Economist Impact's 4th Annual Commercialising Quantum Global 2025 at London UK. Be among 1000+ leading quantum professionals, global leaders, policy makers, business executives and more to attend this in-person event in London.

May 14-15 -- Q2B Tokyo 2025 The conference will cover a broad range of quantum technology themes including QC Computing, Communications & Sensing, Quantum AI, Error Correction, & Quantum in HPC.

May 20-22 -- Join us for the 3rd annual IQT Nordics, May 20-22, 2025 in Gothenburg, Sweden, and contribute to scaling quantum computers towards real world applications.

June 9-12 -- Adiabatic Quantum Computing (AQC) 2025 Conference will be held at the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada from June 9-12, 2025. The AQC conference series, now in its 14th year, is an annual international gathering of researchers working on diverse aspects of quantum computing.

June 18-19 -- Quantum Now|ICI Quantique will be held in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Sept. 29-Oct. 1 -- Quantum.Tech Europe is taking place in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The event will bring together the whole quantum supply chain to drive forward the commercial applications of Quantum Technologies.

October 8 -- The Fifth Anniversary of The City Quantum & AI Summit at the Mansion House in the City of London takes place this year with the subtitle Race for Growth.

Dec. 1-4 -- QUEST-IS 2025 Quantum Engineering Sciences and Technologies for Industry and Services From Quantum Engineering to Applications for Citizens. EDF Lab, Paris-Saclay, France