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FROM THE EDITOR.

Has September flashed by, or is that just me?

So much news this month — and it seems like we’re headed for a busy Q4, so let’s get into it.

First, some congratulations.

Because it’s been a strong quarter for funding, let’s finish it off with more good news. Nanofiber Quantum Technologies has announced the successful close of a $14 million Series A financing round. The company, which develops ultra-low-loss nanofiber cavity-QED interconnects, is pursuing technologies that could pave the way for modular quantum processors and more efficient quantum communication systems.

On the tech front…

IonQ also reported progress on the networking front. The company and its collaborators demonstrated frequency conversion of photons, a step toward transmitting quantum information over existing fiber infrastructure. This milestone could help accelerate applications in fields such as defense and secure communications. It also announced its at #AQ 64 — a few months ahead of schedule.

In finance, HSBC and IBM revealed research showing that quantum computers improved prediction accuracy by up to 34% in estimating the likelihood of trades being filled at quoted prices. Their work highlights how quantum methods could add measurable value to algorithmic bond trading.

Meanwhile, Quantinuum and researchers at the University of Texas at Austin announced they had established unconditional quantum supremacy, underscoring the steady march toward practical quantum solutions.

These announcements arrive alongside further technical progress across the field—from expanded neutral-atom qubit arrays to new 3D printing techniques for fabricating ion traps. Together, these developments reinforce quantum computing as a focused global effort, increasingly oriented toward applications with tangible value.

Wishing you a great weekend and a productive start to your October in the week ahead.

— Matt, Chief Content Officer at The Quantum Insider

INSIDER BRIEF.

• IonQ Demonstrates Quantum Frequency Conversion to Telecom Wavelengths

• Alice & Bob Set Record

• Unconditional Quantum Advantage

• Are You Sure? Quantum Scientists Sidestep Uncertainty Principle

• BTQ Technologies to List on Nasdaq

• NanoQT Celebrates Series A

• Quantum Computing Takes a Bus Ride

• LUMI-Q Consortium Unveils The VLQ Quantum Computer

• Caltech Team Sets Qubit-Array Record

• 3D Printing For Quantum-Computing Hardware?

• Aegiq Commissions Photonic Quantum Computer

ANALYST NOTES.

The Noteworthy & Nuanced

Alice & Bob are no longer just 2 people! The company is planning to hire 100 new employees by mid 2026, nearly doubling its current 150-person team. Backed by a €100M Series B round and a $50M Paris quantum lab, the company will add 90 technical roles across physics, error correction, firmware, and software, alongside 10 business positions.

Diamonds are now even more captivating! Researchers from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Humboldt University in Berlin have developed a method to capture up to 80% of photons from NV centers in diamonds. By embedding nanodiamonds into hybrid nanoantennas and precisely positioning them, the team directed photon emission instead of scattering.

This opening sentence also has an exclamation point! Delft Circuits has published a roadmap showing how its Cri/oFlex cables can overcome quantum computing’s connectivity bottleneck and scale systems to thousands of qubits. Offering up to 8x greater channel density than coaxial systems today (targeting 32x within 18 months), the technology also improves cryogenic reliability and performance. By 2029, Cri/oFlex aims to scale from 256 to 4,096 channels per loader. — Alan Kanapin, Analyst at The Quantum Insider

The Research Rundown

Check out this week’s handpicked quantum research. These are studies headed for real-world impact: improving accuracy, reducing latency, using fewer resources, or solving problems that classical methods struggle with. These are early developments, but they hint at where quantum might earn its keep.

• HSBC and IBM researchers used quantum feature maps on European corporate bond trading data to improve fill probability estimation (the likelihood a dealer’s quote leads to a trade), achieving up to 34% higher accuracy than classical models.
  

• Researchers from PNNL, the University of Toronto, and the University of Washington proposed a quantum algorithmic framework to simulate multiscale reaction–diffusion systems in biology, which govern processes like enzyme activity and signal transduction.

• Researchers from Toshiba Europe and Heriot-Watt University built a 2-Gbps quantum random number generator using integrated photonics and gain-switched lasers, designed to be compact and low-power for satellite deployment.
  
  — Cierra Choucair, Journalist & Analyst at The Quantum Insider

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Infleqtion is pushing quantum computing closer to real-world use with breakthroughs in logical qubits, error correction, and early demonstrations of Shor’s algorithm. In the recent From Noise to Signal webinar, company leaders and industry experts shared progress on scaling neutral atom systems, reducing error rates, and accelerating the roadmap toward utility-scale quantum. The session drew participants from 45 countries, highlighting both the global interest and the urgency of preparing for a post-quantum world.

Catch the full discussion and Q&A to see where quantum is heading next below.

INSIDER SPOTLIGHT: HSBC Demonstrates Quantum-Enabled Algorithmic Trading With IBM

➡️ HSBC and IBM report the world’s first empirical evidence that today’s quantum computers can improve algorithmic trading outcomes in bond markets.

➡️ The trial delivered up to a 34% improvement in predicting the likelihood of trade execution compared to industry-standard classical models.

➡️ The work highlights both the promise and the current limits of quantum computing — progress toward advantage, but not yet reaching it.

➡️ HSBC emerges as a leader in applying quantum research to real-world finance, extending its role as a pioneer in quantum adoption.

➡️ HSBC is listed as one of the top leaders on The Quantum Index for incorporating quantum into the financial industry.

Analyst Commentary

HSBC has made its mark in finance, now it’s making its mark in quantum research to propel finance into the next era of compute. This week, the company (using IBM’s quantum computer) demonstrated that quantum computing can move beyond theory into empirical results with measurable impact — even if short of a full “quantum advantage” announcement. The collaboration with IBM shows a practical pathway where hybrid quantum-classical approaches yield value today.

The headline number — a 34% improvement in predicting whether a trade would be filled at a quoted price — matters because bond trading relies on speed and accuracy. In a market where milliseconds matter and uncertainty is high, incremental improvements can mean substantial financial outcomes.

This positions HSBC not just as an early adopter but as a credible leader. Its presence on The Quantum Insider and Horizon X’s Quantum Index for Finance isn’t symbolic; it’s earned. Few banks have advanced this far in moving quantum from lab curiosity to production-scale trial.

Understanding the Research

Algorithmic bond trading automates the pricing of customer inquiries in competitive bidding processes. Traders typically rely on models that incorporate market conditions, risk estimates, and liquidity constraints. These models, however, face complexity limits: capturing all variables accurately is difficult with purely classical resources.

HSBC and IBM tested hybrid methods — combining classical algorithms with quantum routines — to improve the probability estimates for trade execution. The trial validated production-scale data on multiple IBM quantum systems, giving empirical evidence rather than simulation.

It is important to note what this is not: it is not quantum advantage. Classical models still dominate, and the improvements are context-specific. But as a proof point, it shows where quantum can complement existing approaches to add value.

For the finance industry, this experiment signals that quantum isn’t just about future disruption; it is starting to touch today’s workflows. Even modest improvements in prediction translate into sharper pricing, better liquidity management, and ultimately, competitive advantage in markets where margins are razor-thin.

More broadly, it reflects how organizations are probing quantum’s fit in practical domains. HSBC is setting a precedent: explore, experiment, measure, and refine.

Next Steps

The lesson here is twofold: quantum’s value may arrive in steps, not leaps, and those who invest in learning now stand to benefit when bigger thresholds — like full quantum advantage — are reached. HSBC’s trial underscores progress, but also limitation: results are incremental, tied to specific use cases, and require hybridization.

Yet, in an industry known for innovation arms races, being first matters. HSBC has shown that quantum computing is no longer just a distant promise. It is edging into the financial mainstream — one algorithm at a time.

DATA SPOTLIGHT.

PacketLight Networks and NEC demonstrated quantum key distribution over a 400G dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) network using a dual-fiber setup. They integrated NEC’s QKD system with PacketLight’s PL-4000M 600G Muxponder, achieving 100% data throughput and low latency, verified via a 100GbE tester. The QKD ran over a dedicated parallel fiber, maintaining quantum signal integrity. The result: a cost-effective, scalable quantum-safe model with zero performance tradeoffs on existing high-capacity infrastructure.

INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS.

💵 Quantum Computing Inc. announced an oversubscribed $500 million private placement of 26.9 million shares, backed by existing investors and a major global asset manager.

🔗 Aliro announced its software stack now supports over 50 quantum network devices, enabling interoperable, vendor-agnostic entanglement-based networks across fiber and free-space.

🇹🇼 QUDORA Technologies has partnered with Taiwan’s Kensho to distribute its trapped-ion quantum computing systems and cloud solutions across universities, research institutions, and enterprises.

🖥️ IonQ announced a record algorithmic qubit (#AQ) score of 64 on its Tempo system, representing an expansive computational space for real-world applications such as energy, drug discovery, and supply chain optimization.

🏦 SC Ventures and Fujitsu launched Project Quanta, a joint platform to integrate software and hardware for developing quantum and quantum-inspired applications in finance, including fraud detection, risk modeling, and derivative pricing.

💸 Delta.g, a UK quantum sensing spin-out from the University of Birmingham, raised £4.6M in an oversubscribed seed round led by Serendipity Capital with NSSIF and SCVC to advance its portable quantum gravity sensing platform.

✅ Imec and Diraq reported in Nature that industrially fabricated silicon quantum dot qubits achieved reproducible fidelities above quantum error correction thresholds, with over 99% for one- and two-qubit gates and 99.9% for state preparation and measurement.

🚌 A study in Entropy showed that a photonic quantum computer solved Beijing bus route optimization problems faster than leading classical solvers, achieving millisecond-level solutions with time savings above 80%.

💰️ NanoQT raised $14M in Series A funding led by Phoenix Venture Partners to advance its nanofiber cavity-QED interconnects for modular quantum processors and quantum communications.

🇪🇸 Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech and Qblox are expanding their partnership to deploy hybrid digital-analog quantum systems at Qilimanjaro’s new Hybrid Quantum Data Center in Barcelona, opening this November. The initiative will host both analog and digital superconducting quantum computers on a unified platform.

🌐 Single Quantum and Qunnect are partnering with CERN’s Quantum Technology Initiative to launch a new quantum networking lab at CERN. The collaboration integrates Single Quantum’s superconducting nanowire detectors with White Rabbit synchronization and Qunnect’s entanglement sources.

⚡️ IonQ, with support from the Air Force Research Lab, demonstrated frequency conversion of photons from visible to telecom wavelengths, enabling trapped-ion systems to transmit quantum information over standard fiber networks.

🇨🇿 The IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center in the Czech Republic inaugurated VLQ, a 24-qubit superconducting quantum computer developed by IQM, featuring direct integration with the Karolina supercomputer.

EVENTS.

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.

Oct. 6-10 -- 8th International Conference for Young Quantum Information Scientists (YQIS25) will take place in Barcelona, Spain. YQIS is a conference series organized by and for PhD students and early-career researchers working across the broad field of quantum information.

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

Oct. 8 -- The Quantum Insider, in partnership with the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County and Quantum Coast Capital, will host Quantum Beach 2025, an officially recognized event of the International Year of Quantum (IYQ2025). Register here.

Oct. 13-17 -- Quantum Reference Frames 2025 will bring together leading experts on quantum reference frames and the many related subjects in the first focused event in the new era of quantum frame covariance. QRF 2025 is co-funded by the Quantum Information Structure of Spacetime consortium.

Oct. 19-21 -- Q+AI will be held in New York City. This event will uncover the coming wave of Quantum + AI, include 50+ speakers, daily mentoring sessions and 16 sessions, one continuous track.

Oct 20–24 -- 100 Years of Quantum: Perspectives on its Past, Present, And Future, Waterloo, Canada.

Nov. 10-12 -- European Quantum Technologies Conference 2025 will be held at Øksnehallen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

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.

Dec. 9-11, 2025 -- Q2B 2025 Silicon Valley Q2B is back for the eighth year in a row, connecting the international quantum community computing ecosystems. The event will feature top academics, industry end users, government representatives and quantum computing vendors from all over the world.

Jan 13–14, 2026 -- Quantum.Tech: Commercial Applications of Quantum Computing, Communications and Sensing, Doha, Qatar

January 27 and 28, 2026 -- Qubits 2026 D-Wave is bringing its annual user conference, Qubits, to Boca Raton, Florida. The event will be held at The Boca Raton resort.