Countries around the world are trying to find their place in a world of new and powerful quantum computing possibilities. China and the U.S. are investing tens of millions of U.S. dollars to build individual quantum computers for their national laboratories as part of a wider investment of tens of billions of dollars over the past decade.

Brazil has so far announced approximately R$69 million (about US $14 million) in dedicated public investments in quantum technologies, including R$60 million (US $12 million) for an EMBRAPII Center of Competence in Quantum Technologies and R$9 million (US $1.8 million) for a national quantum communications program. It has announced that it aspires to spend and attract the much larger sum of US $1 billion over the next six years on quantum computing. These initiatives support research and innovation in quantum computing, communications, sensing, and software. How Brazil distributes the next wave of money, however big it ends up being, among its research institutes and companies, and among the many threads of quantum technology, will shape the return on the investment.

Americo Cunha, a computational science researcher at Brazil’s National Laboratory for Scientific Computing in Petrópolis, argues that less wealthy countries should concentrate strategic investments on quantum-related services above the hardware layer, while accessing frontier quantum processors through cloud services when needed.

Spectrum: How do you think less wealthy countries can make their best investments in quantum technology?

Americo Cunha: Nowadays there is a big geopolitical debate about sovereignty. Countries want to preserve critical technological capabilities so they are not entirely dependent on foreign suppliers. But sovereignty does not mean competing at every layer of the technology stack. In quantum computing, only a handful of countries—including the United States and China, together with a few others such as Canada, Germany, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom—have the financial resources, industrial ecosystems, and long-term public investment needed to pursue frontier quantum processors.

Developing countries should maintain domestic quantum hardware capabilities for education, experimentation, and technological sovereignty, but they should not attempt to compete with the major powers in the race for state-of-the-art general-purpose quantum processors.

Instead, countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, South Africa, and many Southeast Asian nations could obtain greater scientific and economic returns by concentrating strategic investments on quantum software, algorithms, sensing, communications, and domain-specific applications. These areas depend primarily on highly skilled people rather than multibillion-dollar fabrication facilities. To develop software for a quantum computer, you just need creativity: a skilled programmer, a good brain, and a high-level education.

Spectrum: What are Brazil’s particular strengths in quantum? What areas should it be focusing on?

Cunha: In Brazil we can contribute in certain areas, maybe bypass competitors in software. We can become internationally competitive in software. We also have opportunities in quantum sensing and quantum communications.

Quantum communication requires specialized hardware, but it is much less complex and much less expensive than building a universal quantum computer. The same is true for technologies such as atomic clocks and quantum magnetometers, which are already relatively mature and have many practical applications.

We can also do a lot with quantum emulation on high-performance computers. It is relatively inexpensive and accessible to a broad range of researchers in developing countries.

Spectrum: What’s an exciting quantum technology you’ve worked on, and how do you see it fitting into Brazil’s quantum future?

Cunha: I’m using quantum emulators to speed up simulations for the design of metamaterials, which are advanced materials with engineered properties. The idea is to combine quantum computing with high-performance computing to solve problems involving uncertainty more efficiently. I think this hybrid approach will be one of the first practical uses of quantum computing. It also plays to Brazil’s strengths in scientific computing and applied mathematics.

Spectrum: Where’s the low-hanging fruit? In other words, what’s one place you’d start investing in Brazilian quantum technology right now?

Cunha: I recently visited the National Institute of Metrology, responsible for the official time in Brazil. They use both imported atomic clocks and a Brazilian experimental cesium fountain clock developed with the University of São Paulo. The domestic system shows we have the scientific capability, but we still depend on imported equipment for much of our national metrology infrastructure.

That’s where I’d start investing. Atomic clocks, quantum sensors, and quantum metrology are enabling technologies. They support scientific research, industrial measurement, and national standards.

People are so focused on quantum computers that they are missing the point that there are other quantum technologies.

​Countries around the world are trying to find their place in a world of new and powerful quantum computing possibilities. China and the U.S. are investing tens of millions of U.S. dollars to build individual quantum computers for their national laboratories as part of a wider investment of tens of billions of dollars over the past decade.Brazil has so far announced approximately R$69 million (about US $14 million) in dedicated public investments in quantum technologies, including R$60 million (US $12 million) for an EMBRAPII Center of Competence in Quantum Technologies and R$9 million (US $1.8 million) for a national quantum communications program. It has announced that it aspires to spend and attract the much larger sum of US $1 billion over the next six years on quantum computing. These initiatives support research and innovation in quantum computing, communications, sensing, and software. How Brazil distributes the next wave of money, however big it ends up being, among its research institutes and companies, and among the many threads of quantum technology, will shape the return on the investment.Americo Cunha, a computational science researcher at Brazil’s National Laboratory for Scientific Computing in Petrópolis, argues that less wealthy countries should concentrate strategic investments on quantum-related services above the hardware layer, while accessing frontier quantum processors through cloud services when needed.Spectrum: How do you think less wealthy countries can make their best investments in quantum technology?Americo Cunha: Nowadays there is a big geopolitical debate about sovereignty. Countries want to preserve critical technological capabilities so they are not entirely dependent on foreign suppliers. But sovereignty does not mean competing at every layer of the technology stack. In quantum computing, only a handful of countries—including the United States and China, together with a few others such as Canada, Germany, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom—have the financial resources, industrial ecosystems, and long-term public investment needed to pursue frontier quantum processors.Developing countries should maintain domestic quantum hardware capabilities for education, experimentation, and technological sovereignty, but they should not attempt to compete with the major powers in the race for state-of-the-art general-purpose quantum processors.Instead, countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, South Africa, and many Southeast Asian nations could obtain greater scientific and economic returns by concentrating strategic investments on quantum software, algorithms, sensing, communications, and domain-specific applications. These areas depend primarily on highly skilled people rather than multibillion-dollar fabrication facilities. To develop software for a quantum computer, you just need creativity: a skilled programmer, a good brain, and a high-level education.Spectrum: What are Brazil’s particular strengths in quantum? What areas should it be focusing on?Cunha: In Brazil we can contribute in certain areas, maybe bypass competitors in software. We can become internationally competitive in software. We also have opportunities in quantum sensing and quantum communications.Quantum communication requires specialized hardware, but it is much less complex and much less expensive than building a universal quantum computer. The same is true for technologies such as atomic clocks and quantum magnetometers, which are already relatively mature and have many practical applications.We can also do a lot with quantum emulation on high-performance computers. It is relatively inexpensive and accessible to a broad range of researchers in developing countries.Spectrum: What’s an exciting quantum technology you’ve worked on, and how do you see it fitting into Brazil’s quantum future?Cunha: I’m using quantum emulators to speed up simulations for the design of metamaterials, which are advanced materials with engineered properties. The idea is to combine quantum computing with high-performance computing to solve problems involving uncertainty more efficiently. I think this hybrid approach will be one of the first practical uses of quantum computing. It also plays to Brazil’s strengths in scientific computing and applied mathematics.Spectrum: Where’s the low-hanging fruit? In other words, what’s one place you’d start investing in Brazilian quantum technology right now?Cunha: I recently visited the National Institute of Metrology, responsible for the official time in Brazil. They use both imported atomic clocks and a Brazilian experimental cesium fountain clock developed with the University of São Paulo. The domestic system shows we have the scientific capability, but we still depend on imported equipment for much of our national metrology infrastructure.That’s where I’d start investing. Atomic clocks, quantum sensors, and quantum metrology are enabling technologies. They support scientific research, industrial measurement, and national standards.People are so focused on quantum computers that they are missing the point that there are other quantum technologies.  IEEE Spectrum