Honeywell Takes a Majority Stake in British Quantum Computing Company: Cambridge Quantum Computing (CQC)
Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/
June 8, 2021 Schrodinger
Honeywell, the developers of Ion Trap quantum technology have announced that they will take a majority stake in the Cambridge firm. Honeywell is a publicly listed technology company that has many products ranging from control systems to quantum computers. The move will help cement Honeywell’s push into quantum utilising the expertise that has been built up by CQC in Quantum Machine Learning, quantum languages (such a t|ket>) and NLP.
Upon completion of the deal, Honeywell will own the majority stake of the new business created. The quantum operating system will be a major part of that new business. The new business aims to offer a full suite of quantum software, including the most advanced quantum operating system. The business will continue to work on supporting developments across a number of sectors such as cyber security, drug discovery and delivery, material science, finance, and general optimisation. Of course the NLP (Natural Language Processing) expertise of CQC will likely play an important future role, something not lost on Honeywell and their motivations for the combined partnership.
The deal is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Honeywell Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Darius Adamczyk will serve as chairman of the new company. The new company will be led by Ilyas Khan, the CEO and founder of CQC. Tony Uttley, currently the president of HQS, will serve as the new company’s president. Honeywell will invest between $270 million and $300 million in the new joint venture business.
At CQC, we are committed to using the most advanced tools and devices to develop the world’s leading quantum applications and products. Our cutting-edge software complements Honeywell’s innovative quantum technology and this investment
and partnership is of real significance in the overall development of quantum computers and their real-world impact on corporations and governments globally.”Ilyas Khan CEO of CQC
In addition, Honeywell will invest between $270 million and $300 million in the new company and will have a long-term agreement to help manufacture the critical ion traps needed to power the quantum hardware. Honeywell’s businesses will continue to serve as a proving ground for the new company’s quantum offerings.
The combination is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Honeywell Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Darius Adamczyk will serve as chairman of the new company. The new company will be led by Ilyas Khan, the CEO and founder of CQC. Tony Uttley, currently the president of HQS, will serve as the new company’s president.
A race for acquisitions and consolidation in Quantum?
As yet we do not know the new company name in the QZ office and are excited to learn what this will be, in addition to the excellent news for both Honeywell and CQC it comes as IonQ which also makes Ion Trap computers and plans to go public via a SPAC – something we have written extensively upon in the past. The news could create a flurry of activity as companies look to create more vertically aligned businesses.
The new venture will comprise experts in both and software and hardware and with multiple offerings will likely be a threat to many as the vertical alignment will strengthen their ability to attract clients to the nascent quantum area with the technical and applied experience of delivering software and hardware solutions.
Riverlane is also a Cambridge based company with its own Quantum operating system. This could mean it too, is also a target for a possible joint venture – perhaps teaming up with a hardware specialist to create a more vertically aligned combo.