EU turns to private funding to boost quantum technology ambition

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union is seeking to attract private funding to help it take the lead in quantum technology by 2030, EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said on Wednesday, as the bloc works to cut its reliance in the sector on the United States and China.

Quantum technology will make processing significantly faster than conventional computing, has the potential to impact every part of the economy and could be worth trillions of dollars within the next decade, according to McKinsey.

"We have to now focus more on private funding because we are very strong already in public funding," Virkkunen told a news conference as she announced the EU Quantum Strategy.

The European Commission and EU countries have in the last five years provided more than 11 billion euros ($13 billion) in public funding to quantum technology.

"Only 5% of the global private investments on quantum are now coming to Europe. So we will especially work on the private funding part in the coming months," Virkkunen said.

The EU Quantum Strategy also envisages EU countries pooling their expertise and resources in research, quantum infrastructures and the ecosystem of start-ups and scale-ups as well as focusing on dual use of the technology in security and defence.

Virkkunen said start-ups in particular should be helped.

"European quantum startups, they are vulnerable to being bought by foreign entities or moving to areas with better funding and this is why it is crucial to act now," she said.

She said the Commission will propose legislation called a Quantum Act next year to build on the strategy.

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(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Barbara Lewis)