QUANTUM DICE RAISES £2 MILLION IN FUNDING

Oxford University spin-out Quantum Dice has completed its pre-seed fundraise.

A £1 million venture capital consortium was led by venture capital fund Elaia Partners and includes IP Group plc, and the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund managed by venture capital company Midven.

A further £1 million of grant funding was secured from the Quantum Investment Accelerator run by technology investor IP Group plc in partnership with Innovate UK, the United Kingdom’s innovation agency.

Quantum Dice aims to use integrated photonics to develop the world’s first compact and continuously self-certifying quantum random number generator for encryption and cybersecurity.

The team behind Quantum Dice is pioneering a solution for secure randomness based on quantum optics.

Quantum computing is the processing of information that’s represented by special quantum states, and scientists consider it capable of changing the world.

By tapping into quantum phenomena like “superposition” and “entanglement,” these machines handle information in a fundamentally different way to “classical” computers like smartphones, laptops, or even today’s most powerful supercomputers.

Quantum computing is phenomenally difficult to achieve, but Google said it has achieved “quantum superiority”, where a quantum computer can perform a task beyond the reach of regular computers.

Atheras Analytics gets funding to improve satellite broadband

Science and Technology Facilities

Council spin-out Atheras Analytics has secured funding to enhance its software to optimise the performance of satellites for telecommunications – bringing satellite broadband to consumers worldwide.

The funding is from the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (UKI2S). It will allow Atheras Analytics to extend the capabilities of its software tools for the telecommunications sector to cover a wider range of satellites and orbits.

Founded in August 2020 and based at the Science and Innovation Campus at Harwell, Atheras Analytics’ core technology is based on research conducted by the Science and Technology Facilities Council RAL Space.

The company has developed software tools for satellite operators to optimise the design and operation of nextgeneration satellite networks by taking into account region-specific weather conditions – in particular, rainfall.

The tools are particularly for satellite networks that operate in Ka-band and Q/V-band frequencies, which are increasingly used to support the higher data rates demanded by businesses and consumers worldwide.

The satellite telecommunications sector is about to enter a phase of major change by using high throughput satellites and very high throughput satellites. These can deliver more than 20 times the data capacity of traditional satellites at a fraction of the cost to provide broadband to consumers and businesses.

Charisma named One to Watch at Digital Catapult awards

Oxford technology company

Charisma has been named as One to Watch at Digital Catapult Awards.

Charisma uses artificial intelligence to create believable characters that people will want to interact with –both in games and in the metaverse.

The company is made up of Emmy and BAFTA-recognised technologists, creative writers, game designers and AI-specialists.

It was one of six tech startups identified as Ones to Watch at the Awards by Digital Catapult – the UK authority on advanced digital technology.

The Awards celebrate world-class technology start-ups which have achieved the most market traction, secured the most investment and produced the best new product or service ideas set to accelerate the digital future.

The winners’ innovations range from AI-powered technology to optimise recycling processes, to fully immersive, workplace collaboration tools.

Guy Gadney, co-founder and CEO of Charisma, which was named a Responsible and Ethical Tech Pioneer, said: “We’re now working with companies like Warner Brothers and creating our own mind-blowing, immersive experiences across TV and gaming – and can’t wait to continue on this journey.”