- Companies from the U.S., Spain, Germany, and the UK stood out among 440 candidates in the international challenge led by Banco Santander in partnership with IBM, Bluzec and Oxentia Foundation.
- The award-winning solutions address applications ranging from communications protection and industrial simulation to process optimization and infrastructure for AI.
Protecting communications against future quantum risk, accelerating industrial simulations or optimizing complex business processes are some of the applications developed by the six winning companies of the Santander X Global Challenge | The Quantum AI Leap, the international challenge promoted by Banco Santander together with IBM, Bluzec and Oxentia Foundation to accelerate the business application of quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
Three Spanish, one German, one British and one U.S. companies have been selected among the 20 finalists from ten countries and more than 440 companies participating in this edition.
The winning solutions reflect some of the main challenges currently facing the development of quantum technology – scaling systems, transferring their computing power to industrial problems or preparing communications for current vulnerabilities – in a context in which its development is entering a new stage and together with the advancement of scientific research and hardware, companies and organizations are beginning to explore what specific problems can benefit from these technologies and how to prepare for the new challenges they may pose.
Winners in the Startup category
- Qascade, from the United Kingdom, a company that develops a photonic interconnect platform capable of connecting millions of processors at the speed of light, improving data transmission, efficiency and scalability in advanced AI and high-performance computing applications.
- G2Zero, a Spanish quantum hardware and photonics company, which develops technology to improve and extend communications, computing, and quantum sensing systems through the use of photons.
- Qodex Quantum, from the United States, a startup that accelerates complex engineering simulations using models that combine AI and quantum to obtain results more efficiently.
Scaleup category winners
- Kipu Quantum GmbH in Germany, which operates in the field of AI and machine learning and applies quantum computing to improve the performance of artificial intelligence models, which can then be used in conventional technological infrastructures in companies.
- Quantum Mads, from Spain; a scaleup that helps companies solve complex operational challenges using proprietary optimization algorithms based on quantum artificial intelligence and developed in production environments.
- Luxquanta, from Spain; a quantum security company that protects critical communications infrastructures against current and future cyber threats.
The six winners shared €120,000 in prizes: €10,000 for each startup and €30,000 for each scaleup. In addition, they will have access to Santander X 100, the global community that brings together the best Santander X companies.
They will also be able to access specialized support opportunities from IBM, including sessions on AI, access to quantum innovation teams, and the possibility to present their projects to IBM Ventures and its community of investors. Bluzec will provide up to €10,000 in specialized services, training, and access to collaboration and investment networks.