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OPINION PIECE – The line between fundamental research and industrial applications is now particularly thin, according to several experts from both sectors

What if the future of quantum technology were not only to be decided in laboratories or start-ups, but in the fragile space where the two meet? Too often, science and entrepreneurship are thought of as two separate worlds, whereas our experience shows that it is where they overlap that the most fruitful innovation arises. Scientific entrepreneurship is now a key driver of innovation in fields such as quantum technology, where the line between fundamental research and industrial applications is now particularly blurred. Many start-ups are emerging directly from academic laboratories. 

But when these start-ups become operational and embark on applied research programs, notably resulting in high-quality publications in peer-reviewed journals, their leaders, who are both researchers and entrepreneurs, face a dilemma: what should their laboratory focus on in order to continue to thrive, remain attractive, and work in accordance with its mission of public interest? How can they avoid duplication of efforts with their company while building genuine strategic complementarity, preventing potential conflicts of interest, and ensuring openness to other companies?

The role of the laboratory is to produce fundamental knowledge, explore long-term ideas, and train the next generation of scientific talent. In quantum physics, this means, for example, imagining new computing architectures, new materials, and new detection methods. 

These innovations do not respond to a commercial need or immediate application. This is why the vitality of public research is essential: it provides fertile ground for the start-ups of tomorrow. These often emerge on the basis of scientific and technological choices that ensure manufacturability and scalability at a given moment in time. But ten years later, science and engineering have evolved: periodically revisiting these assumptions opens up the possibility of better options. 

Fundamental research does not only serve pure knowledge. It can directly enrich the roadmap of start-ups by opening up new technological perspectives. This toolbox approach constantly provides new options for users and partners. However, the means must match the ambition: without massive and sustained investment in public fundamental research, the very dynamics of the ecosystem will run out of steam.

Start-ups translate scientific discoveries into operational technologies by developing products that meet the expectations of their markets. To take an example from the French quantum ecosystem, Pasqal industrializes quantum processors based on neutral atoms designed to solve disruptive industrial problems. These machines can also be used in academic laboratory, allowing researchers and doctoral students to focus on higher-value-added upstream issues rather than heavy instrumental development. Constrained by deadlines and investor expectations, a start-up cannot conduct the open exploratory research that a laboratory provides. On the other hand, the problems encountered by companies often open up new fields of research.

This mode of collaboration is all the more effective when it is established between structures of relatively comparable size, sharing similar profiles. Experience shows that this is a good way to promote multidisciplinarity, which is very fruitful, for example, between laser physicists, materials science experts, and computer scientists. To take the example of Pasqal, this dynamic is particularly evident in an ongoing project that explores complex materials—rare earths with unique magnetic properties—by combining the Pasqal computing platform with advanced simulations. In many ways, partnerships between academic laboratories and start-ups are more creative, responsive, and fruitful than traditional collaborations with large industrial groups.

Structuring the relationship between these two parties as a strategic continuum is above all the best way to reconcile the ambitions of academic researchers, who want to explore fundamental questions and push the boundaries of knowledge, with the ability of a start-up to transform these discoveries into concrete applications and industrialized products. In a field as demanding as quantum physics, and provided that funding is commensurate with the challenges, this complementarity is essential if French research is to remain at the forefront, contribute to the country’s technological sovereignty, and help build a strong industry.

Antoine Browaeys, Senior Researcher CNRS, Charles Fabry Laboratory of the Institute of Optics

Loïc Henriet, CEO of Pasqal

Christophe Jurczak, Managing Partner of Quantonation

Nicolas Treps, Professor of Quantum Optics at Sorbonne University, Director of the Kastler-Brossel Laboratory

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About Quantonation

Quantonation is the first early-stage VC fund dedicated to deep physics and quantum technologies. Field such as high-performance computation, secure communications, drug design or ultra-precise sensing are now driven by innovation based on these disruptive technologies. Quantonation aims at supporting their transition into commercially available products. Quantonation is headquartered in Paris, France, and in Boston, USA, with investments in Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific. 

More on www.quantonation.com or LinkedIn

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Eléonore de Rose | eleonore@quantonation.com | tel.: +33 6 62 64 40 53