Banco Santander has recognized six companies — three Spanish, one German, one British, and one American — for their proposals in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, as the entity detailed this Wednesday in a statement.
The companies took part in the "Santander X Global Challenge - The Quantum AI Leap," an international challenge promoted by the bank in collaboration with IBM, Bluzec and Oxentia Foundation. The call was aimed at companies from Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the US, Spain, Mexico, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.
The selected solutions address some of the major challenges that currently condition the advancement of quantum technology — such as scaling up systems, applying their computing power to industrial use cases, or preparing communications against vulnerabilities present — at a time when, as the bank has pointed out, this technology is entering a more mature development phase.
In the "startups" category, endowed with 10,000 euros for each project, the awards went to Qascade, G2Zero and Qodex Quantum. In the "scaleups" category, with prizes of 30,000 euros, the winners were Quantum Mads, Kipu Quantum and Luxquanta.
In addition to the financial amount and integration into the Santander X business community, the selected companies will have access to specialized support from IBM, which includes sessions focused on AI, access to quantum innovation equipment, and the option to present their initiatives to IBM Ventures and its network of investors. In turn, Bluzec will offer up to 10,000 euros in professional services, training programs, and access to collaboration and investment networks.