Quantum tech and AI company, Sandbox AQ, emerges from Alphabet

Sandbox AQ, the Palo Alto, California-based enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that provides solutions at the intersection of quantum technology and artificial intelligence (AI), has emerged from Alphabet, Google’s parent company, as an independent company. AQ represents AI and quantum — the two major tools the company uses to tackle critical global issues.

Sandbox AQ’s mission to address global challenges in cybersecurity, healthcare, energy and more is in alignment with Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies 2021. Gartner recognizes quantum technologies and AI as two of the key emerging technologies spurring innovation through trust, growth and change.

Quantum computing promises to help businesses solve problems that are beyond the reach and speed of conventional high-performance computers, but its use cases are largely experimental and hypothetical at this early stage, according to a report by McKinsey. However, a separate report by McKinsey shows investment dollars continue to swim in and quantum-computing start-ups are proliferating, as we witness the rise of quantum computing. 

Undoubtedly, the quantum computing ecosystem is burgeoning and promising — and Sandbox AQ wants to lead the charge in that space.

Quantum tech plus AI will transform industries

Jack Hilary, founder and CEO at Sandbox AQ, said in a press release that the company has developed an ecosystem of partners, customers, government agencies and university relationships to drive its mission at scale. Hilary said the gravity of the geopolitical climate necessitates the development of stronger cybersecurity platforms for companies and governments.

“In addition to cybersecurity, quantum tech and AI working together have a powerful compound effect we call AQ, which can impact areas such as drug development, clean energy and data security,” he said.

Sandbox AQ launched with prominent investors, partners, advisors and initial customers, with Eric Schimdt, former CEO and chairman of Google, named as board advisor.

Schmidt said the convergence of quantum and AI technologies is already transforming entire industries, accelerating scientific discovery and reimagining what we thought was possible. He further said Sandbox AQ is strategically positioned to lead this transformation at scale for global impact because of the company’s focus on developing commercially viable quantum technologies using a combination of today’s high-performance computing power and emerging quantum platforms.

“Jack is a world-class leader who has both the technical vision and the business acumen to deliver on this roadmap and he has built a strong team to execute this mission. I am excited for this journey as Board Chair and investor in Sandbox AQ,” said Schmidt.

More on the launch

Sandbox AQ completed a recent funding round and received hundreds of millions from several investors. Following this funding, Sandbox AQ will add AI experts, physicists and engineers to its currently diverse team of 55 engineers, scientists and technologists to further collaborate, develop and deliver its AI and quantum technologies for a wide range of use cases.

Sandbox AQ is developing commercial products for telcom, financial services, healthcare, government, computer security and other computationally intensive sectors.

One of the investors, Jim Breyer, founder and CEO of Breyer Capital, said the impact that quantum technology will have on communications, healthcare, finance and other sectors will be huge. Breyer noted that while many quantum companies are focusing on computing hardware development, Sandbox AQ is solving real-world challenges and delivering applications to customers now.

Another investor, Scott Minerd, chairman of Guggenheim Investments, said quantum-based solutions in medicine, encryption and navigation will usher in a new era and Guggenheim is excited to be part of Sandbox AQ’s mission.

Sandbox AQ is in close collaboration with its faculty partners at leading universities to invest in Ph.D. students and host postdocs. The company has trained graduate students from Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College, Max Planck Institute, Caltech, UC Berkeley, Columbia, ASU, Yale and other global institutions.