Google adds SandboxAQ’s quantitative AI models to cloud offerings

(Reuters) – Quantum startup SandboxAQ will host its large quantum models (LQMs) on Google Cloud, the company told Reuters on Tuesday, as cloud providers look to AI tech to accelerate growth.

LQMs are designed to handle large-scale quantitative data sets, perform complex calculations and statistical analyses, and can be used to develop sophisticated financial models or automate trading strategies.

The partnership will make it easier for enterprises to scale and deploy LQMs using Google Cloud, allowing Sandbox to expand its platform distribution to a wider set of customers, launched in 2022 from Google-parent Alphabet.

“Over 80% of the economy is driven by mathematical and quantitative relationships. And that’s where digital AI really shines, and it’s very compatible with linguistic models,” said Jack Hidary, CEO of SandboxAQ.

This is the first time the sandbox models have been available on a third-party platform.

The Palo Alto-based startup raised $300 million in funding last month, raising its valuation to $5.6 billion, and is backed by investors including Fred Alger Management, T.Ro Price and Breyer Capital.

SandboxAQ says its models are used in fields such as life sciences, financial services and navigation.

Google is stepping up its efforts in quantum computing and announced in December that it has made significant progress in developing a new generation of quantum chips, overcoming a major challenge in the field.

Microsoft unveiled its “Quantum Ready” program earlier this month, citing the potential of quantum computing, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said practical use of the technology could be two decades away.

(Reporting by Crystal Hu in Davos and Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Taseem Zahid)