American-Ukrainian quantum startup Haiqu, which raised $11 million in investment earlier this year, has revealed new details about the use of its operating system for quantum computers. Among the companies already testing or using its solutions are HSBC, BMW, Airbus, GSK, and there are also projects in the pipeline with Deloitte.
This was stated by Haiqu CEO and co-founder Mykola Maksymenko in an interview with LIGA.net.
According to Maksymenko, the quantum industry today is approximately where artificial intelligence was in 2010–2011. There is no mass use yet, but large corporations are already investing in the first application scenarios.
Haiqu has developed an operating system, Haiqu OS, that allows you to run a large number of quantum experiments at once, reducing the cost of conducting them. «An experiment that used to cost tens of thousands of dollars can now be run for a hundred,» says Maksymenko.
Among the startup’s public clients is the British bank HSBC, for which the company creates quantum algorithms and works on data loading and financial instrument pricing tasks. According to Haiqu CEO, without the company’s software, these tasks would be virtually impossible to implement on modern quantum computers.
Haiqu has also participated in research projects with the French company Capgemini, the British pharmaceutical company GSK, the automotive concern BMW and the aerospace corporation Airbus, where it worked on the simulation of quantum hydrodynamics. The company’s immediate plans include new projects with financial and consulting companies, including Deloitte.
The company is increasingly hiring specialists without a background in quantum physics. Maksymenko believes that in the coming years, the main competency will not be knowledge of quantum hardware, but the ability to create algorithms and quickly solve complex R&D problems. «A low-level understanding of the properties of quantum hardware will soon become unnecessary. The skill of building algorithms is becoming more important,» he explains. According to him, today Haiqu employs many engineers who do not have a quantum education, but have strong experience in research and development.
Haiqu was founded in 2022 and has offices in Ukraine, the United States, and Europe. According to Maksymenko, Haiqu currently employs dozens of specialists. Haiqu’s Ukrainian division is focused on R&D and develops high-performance numerical methods, AI, infrastructure, and software.