Last week I was in London combining discussions with partners and investors and attending two events related to the UK quantum ecosystem and potential collaboration opportunities. Strong similarities between Helsinki and London, not just weather-wise during the week, but how we are planning our quantum technology roadmaps in the two countries. There are - obviously - things that the UK does and can do more with a much bigger economy but Finland is also carving a niche in the quantum domain by doing more for less.

At SemiQon, we have been saying this since we began our journey: It is all about qubit performance at scale.
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The first aspect that was gratifying is one of the objectives set in the UK national quantum strategy. The goal is to reach a trillion gate operations - not T1, T2 or qubit gate fidelity but it is about gate operations, which form the basis for computation. At SemiQon, we have been saying this since we began our journey: It is all about qubit performance at scale. Having one or a handful of qubits that exhibit high performance is not a sufficient measure of success. So, we too strive to provide quantum processors which would be able to reach goals pertinant to computation - qubit gate speed and operation. The UK strategy goal vindicates our ambition at SemiQon.

The UK is now making recommendations to its policymakers to build infrastructure that helps hardware companies. Cleanrooms that are built with public funding and provide access to companies who wants to develop hardware. This is how the cost of development is shared and minimized - reducing significant capital investment burden on small companies. Fortunately, Finland did this right early on. Micronova, and the planned Kvanttinova, infrastructures are testimonials to Finnish success in leveraging public investment in state-of-the-art cleanroom microfabrication infrastructure that benefits multiple Finnish startups and companies. It is also gratifying to see that countries like the UK are using Finland as an example when they embark on their journey to build similar facilities.

High-quality metrology plays a significant role in quantum technologies. Involvement of National Physical Laboratory in the UK's quantum technology roadmap, cross-cutting various application domains is a testament to that. This was highlighted by Sir Peter Knight during one of his presentations. At SemiQon we also believed in that. This is the reason we set up our own laboratory in a rented space within the Finnish Metrology institute MIKES, which is also part of the VTT family. We intend to have very a close collaboration with colleagues at MIKES and leverage their deep expertise in high-precision metrology to improve our measurements.

We have to deliver more with less. Sounds ambitious and challenging but that is what we make us stand apart in the global quantum race.

One aspect where the UK is miles ahead of Finland is deployment of capital. The amount of investment and the creation of instruments for deployment of private capital is mind-boggling. The UK is the second country in the world in terms of percentage of GDP being put into quantum technologies. This is extremely ambitious and will be one of the prime factors what will allow the UK to lead the race. This is evident from the success that the 100+ quantum tech companies that are currently in the UK have already achieved. Finland is extremely small compared to that. We have 10+ companies and startups in the quantum domain. What we cannot match in number we try to make up with quality, ambition, and speed. Those are the only factors that can set us apart. We have to deliver more with less. Sounds ambitious and challenging but that is what we make us stand apart in the global quantum race.

I sincerely hope that the UK and Finland find stronger ways to collaborate in the domain of quantum technologies. Other European countries are already engaged strongly in the UK quantum scene and it is extremely important for Finland to do the same. We have good things to offer and that should make it possible for us to find partners and collaborators in the UK. SemiQon already works with multiple university partners in the UK and are building stronger relationship with companies there as well. We can do more and we will.

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