Dow Chemical And 1QBit Announce Collaboration Agreement On Quantum Computing

MIDLAND, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) and 1QB Information Technologies (1QBit) announced today a collaboration agreement to develop quantum computing tools for the chemicals and materials science technology spaces. By combining Dow’s unique innovation capabilities with 1QBit’s leading expertise in the development of applications for quantum computing, the two companies will accelerate the deployment of quantum computing across a range of applications relevant to the chemical sector.

“Our preliminary work with 1QBit has been very encouraging,” said A.N. Sreeram, senior vice president, R&D, and chief technology officer for Dow. “Together with 1QBit, we have achieved ‘proof of concept’ for the application of quantum computing in areas relevant to Dow. With this new, multi-year agreement, we intend to develop a robust capability in the quantum computing space, further advancing our world-class innovation capabilities and maximizing shareholder return.”

The collaboration will augment Dow’s discovery process by building strong fundamental understanding of new chemicals and materials. The combination of next-generation computational methodologies with experimental design will drive new acceleration of product and process development.

“We are pleased to be working with Dow on leading-edge quantum computing software development for the material sciences,” said Andrew Fursman, chief executive officer for 1QBit. “Dow brings a powerful science machine and global market access in the chemical and materials sectors. We have been very impressed with the quality of the opportunity uncovered in the initial phases of this collaboration.”

The mission of 1QBit is to apply breakthroughs in computation to machine intelligence and optimization science through a widely accessible, hardware-agnostic software platform. Over the last four years, 1QBit has developed new methods for machine learning, sampling, and optimization based on reformulating problems to meet the unique requirements of interfacing with quantum computers and leveraging their capabilities.

“We continue to push technology to the next level,” said Keith Watson, vice president, Core R&D, for Dow. “This collaboration will allow Dow to bring forward breakthrough innovations that solve complex problems and serve our markets.”

The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company is driving innovations that extract value from material, polymer, chemical and biological science to help address many of the world’s most challenging problems, such as the need for fresh food, safer and more sustainable transportation, clean water, energy efficiency, more durable infrastructure, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow’s integrated, market-driven portfolio delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in 175 countries and in high-growth sectors such as packaging, infrastructure, transportation, consumer care, electronics, and agriculture. In 2016, Dow had annual sales of $48 billion and employed approximately 56,000 people worldwide. The Company’s more than 7,000 product families are manufactured at 189 sites in 34 countries across the globe. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

About 1QBit

1QBit is dedicated to building quantum and quantum-inspired software to solve the world’s most demanding computational challenges. The company’s hardware-agnostic platforms and services enable the development of applications which scale alongside the advances in both classical and quantum computers. 1QBit partners with Fortune 500 clients and leading hardware providers to redefine intractable industry problems in the areas of optimization, simulation, and machine learning. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, 1QBit’s interdisciplinary team of 50 comprises mathematicians, physicists, chemists, software developers, and quantum computing experts who develop novel solutions to problems, from research through to commercial application development. For more information about 1QBit, visit: 1qbit.com.

^®TM Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow