Why Keysight Technologies (KEYS) Acquired Quantum Benchmark

By Dan Anderson • May 25, 2021
  • Keysight Technologies Inc (NYSE: KEYS) announced that it has acquired Quantum Benchmark. These are the details.

Keysight Technologies Inc (NYSE: KEYS) – a leading technology company that delivers advanced design and validation solutions to help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world – announced that it has acquired Quantum Benchmark. Quantum Benchmark is a leader in error diagnostics, error suppression, and performance validation software for quantum computing.

Based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, Quantum Benchmark was a privately held company backed by VanEdge Capital and Quantonation. And Quantum Benchmark provides software solutions for improving and validating quantum computing hardware capabilities by identifying and overcoming the unique error challenges required for high-impact quantum computing.

Quantum computing is known as an emerging technology that is expected to simulate real-world systems and tackle problems that are otherwise intractable with conventional computing. And quantum systems use qubits (quantum bits) to process data. 

As quantum computing technology is evolving, the ability of quantum computers to perform meaningful computations is determined by the number of qubits, as well as by the quality of those qubits. And performance-limiting errors invariably arise in qubit hardware and present the key challenge to large-scale quantum computing. 

Quantum Benchmark’s technology is improving the quality of the qubits across all quantum hardware platforms and delivers solutions at both ends of the quantum market. And it helps quantum hardware makers design better qubits and helps quantum end-users stabilize the performance of those qubits for their specific use-cases.

Quantum Benchmark’s technology is based on years of research by several of the world’s leading experts in quantum computing at the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing. And the deal of Quantum Benchmark supports Keysight’s goal to deliver a comprehensive quantum portfolio addressing customer needs across the physical, protocol, and application layers. 

Quantum Benchmark is Keysight’s third acquisition in the quantum space after Signadyne in 2016 and Labber Quantum in 2019.

KEY QUOTES:

“Joining forces with Keysight is a strategic and timely opportunity to accelerate the development and delivery of our industry-leading solutions. Together, we bring the world closer to achieving the break-through applications of quantum computing including the design of energy-efficient materials, the acceleration of drug discovery, the promise of quantum machine learning, and so much more.”

— Joseph Emerson, Ph.D., Quantum Benchmark CEO, Founder and Chief Scientist

“As the quantum ecosystem continues to form, Keysight is committed to providing customers with a full suite of solutions for the overall quantum stack. We are pleased to announce the addition of Quantum Benchmark to our portfolio, providing unique capabilities for solving complex qubit error and validation challenges. The talented Quantum Benchmark team will be a valuable addition to Keysight and will further our mission to accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world.”

— Kailash Narayanan, president of Commercial Communications at Keysight