Hong Kong start-up developing quantum computing solutions for banking and finance

A financial technology company launched in Hong Kong last August is working to become a leading player in the use of quantum computing for financial services.

QxBranch is a graduate of the Accenture Fintech Innovation Lab in Hong Kong, and is working with global investment banks and hedge funds to develop software to harness the power of quantum computing.

“[In Hong Kong] we got to develop the company’s identity a little more formally around analytics and data analytics for very complex problem sets that are very well suited to the finance industry,” said QxBranch chief executive Michael Brett.

“We’re a software company that builds analytics services that use techniques like machine learning and artificial intelligence built on quantum computing technology.”

Classic computers work in 1s and 0s, whereas in quantum computing, qubits take on 1, 0 and any combination thereof at the same time, allowing data to be processed more quickly.

Quantum computing is expected to transform information technology in the coming years and has been tipped as a powerful tool for the financial industry.

Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs is a backer of D-Wave Systems, the world’s earliest quantum computing firm which has sold machines to Lockheed Martin, Google and Nasa.