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France Has a Quantum Plan

“very few companies have turned quantum technology into industrial “not only, but mainly.” He added, “Not to be neglected are the very high
gravimeter products” thus far, he said. expertise levels required in engineering, cryogenics, and software. The
Among other proposals, the government’s quantum report under- quantum-technologies supply chain is currently setting up. Apart from
scores France’s ambition to gain industrial autonomy and be a the large internet and semiconductor companies like Google, Intel, and
world-leading supplier of sensors based on diamond impurities by Alibaba that developed their own quantum computer, there are many
2026. Diamond-based sensors use robust pieces of diamond and work other players developing the tools.”
at ambient pressures and temperatures. Active in that business, Thales For instance, he said, cryogenic technologies and software will
already has developed quantum micro-magnetometers. be critical parts of future quantum computers, and there will be “a
business for specialized foundries.” Mounier called for partnerships to
PROTECTING NATIONAL INTERESTS master all the different bricks of a quantum computer.
While quantum computing offers vast opportunities, it is not without
issues. Because quantum computers can decrypt keys used to encrypt FOSTERING STARTUPS
information, they could disrupt the confidentiality and integrity of Investment funds have a key role to play in bringing emerging technol-
secure digital communications everywhere and put national-security– ogies to light. But because quantum is regarded as a risky investment,
sensitive data at risk. That necessitates development of post-quantum there are no more than half a dozen specialized investment funds in
cryptography measures, according to some researchers. the world, Wavestone and France Digitale found in a study released late
“Some aren’t convinced, but I personally believe that quantum cryp- last year. In France, Quantonation, an early-stage venture fund dedi-
tography is important because security is guaranteed by the fundamental cated to deep-physics startups, is an exception. Created in 2018, it has
laws of quantum mechanics, not by rivals’ technological limitations,” completed eight seed investments in startups around the world, includ-
said Alain Aspect, a quantum guru and senior research director at The ing three on French soil (Pasqal, LightOn, and CryptoNext Security).
French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), speaking at The parliamentary report on quantum proposes the creation of
the report ceremony. “The message you are sending today could be a late-stage investment fund, in the range of €300 to €500 million,
decrypted by more powerful computers in 10 years. With quantum cryp- dedicated to quantum startups. “For French startups, Series B and C
tography, [messages] couldn’t be decrypted even when the computers fundings often require the support of non-European investors, with
are more powerful. For strategic applications in defense and diplomacy, I negative impacts on the technological sovereignty, thus slowing down
believe quantum cryptography should not be neglected.” the emergence of French unicorns,” the report states.
To ensure national security and sovereignty, France aims to develop the In recent years, the European startup ecosystem has evolved dynam-
first post-quantum cryptography solution for high-performance security ically to about 90 players, according to Wavestone and France Digitale.
systems by 2022. And within five years, it plans to deploy the first quan- The United Kingdom holds first place, with 20 startups, followed by
tum-key distribution solution that could resist side-channel attacks. France and Germany, with 16 and 14 startups, respectively. “We have
many French startups that are mastering key parts of quantum technol-
STIMULATING INVESTMENT ogies,” said Mounier, citing Pasqal (cold-atom–based qubits), Muquans
The sinews of war are money. Several countries have launched national (quantum sensors and quantum toolbox), Quandela (single-photon
quantum R&D strategies in recent years, with China and the United source), mirSense (industrial quantum cascade laser solution), and
States investing the most. In 2017, China laid the cornerstone of its CryptoNext Security (quantum cryptographic library). (For more on
US$10 billion National Laboratory for Quantum. In 2019, the United these startups, see page 10.)
States passed the National Quantum Initiative Act, a US$1.3 billion
plan to foster R&D and education in quantum technologies, particu-
larly quantum computing.
In Europe, the United Kingdom last year announced that investment
through its National Quantum Technologies Program, launched in
2014, had passed the £1 billion mark. In 2018, the German government
allocated €650 million for quantum technologies. That comes on top of
the 1 billion European Union flagship initiative.
Amid this spending frenzy, France is going through “the exercise of
calculating how much money will be needed to be up to the chal-
lenges,” said MP Forteza. “We came up with €1.4 billion over the next
five years, a financial effort that the public sector alone cannot support.
The private sector will have to participate.” Today, France invests
€60 million in quantum technologies every year.
Many groups worldwide have in-house programs dedicated to
developing quantum technology both for in-house application and for
commercialization. Microsoft, IBM, and Intel are leading the way. On
this side of the Atlantic, Atos launched a quantum program in 2016,
and in 2018, it released the Atos Quantum Learning Machine emula-
tor, the first large-scale, ready-to-use system, capable of emulating up
to 41 qubits on traditional Intel processors. Among other initiatives,
Mounier cited an R&D program in optics led by Thales, CEA, and the
Institute of Optics at Saclay, near Paris. Also, the development of CMOS
spin qubits at CEA-Leti in Grenoble is an interesting way to enable a
scalable qubit-manufacturing technology.
“Producing qubits in volume will be important for the development
of quantum technologies,” he said.
Asked whether quantum success is a matter of money, Mounier said

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