Quantum tech may be having its moment at long last.one of the few “pure play” quantum tech companies in the world, Rigetti Computing, went public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company or SPAC.

Figure 1: Alphabet just spun out its quantum tech group, launching it as a standalone company

Figure 1 shows that the public markets is one indicator that quantum tech is progressing beyond the realm of the theoretical, an even stronger signal that it’s getting ready for its close-up ties to Alphabet, which said this morning that it’s spinning out its six-year-old quantum tech group, Sandbox AQ, into a standalone company.[1]

Hidary will remain as CEO of Sandbox AQ.

The company, which has already gained a number of high-profile investors and clients, is pursuing enterprise software that at least partially uses quantum tech. Based in Palo Alto, California, the company has 55 employees.

Investors include former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Breyer Capital, Salesforce chief Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures and T. Rowe Price. Schmidt is taking over as chairman of the board, the company said.

Customers include Softbank Mobile, Vodafone and New York’s Mount Sinai Health System, Sandbox said.[2]

The statements echo comments made by Breyer, that there are “tremendous national security opportunities for the quantum companies. But what I’m really excited about today from an investment standpoint is not necessarily the big super capital-intensive quantum computers, but areas like quantum sensing.”

“There are quantum technologies now where, they’re not at the breakout point of where quantum computing will be in four or five years, but are making a very big difference,” he said.The team at Sandbox, he suggested at the time, is among those leading the charge.[3]

References:

1. https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/22/alphabet-spins-out-a-new-subsidiary-and-in-a-sign-of-the-times-its-focused-on-quantum-tech/
2. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/alphabets-quantum-tech-group-sandbox-spins-off-into-an-independent-company.html
3. https://nokiamelodileri.com/alphabet-just-spun-out-out-its-quantum-tech-group-launching-it-as-an-independent-company-techcrunch/

Cite this article:

Sri Vasagi K (2022), Alphabet, Sandbox AQ Into a Standalone Company, Anatechmaz, pp. 101