INVESTMENT IN QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY
Singapore will also double down on investments in quantum technology, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced at the summit.
Nearly S$300 million will be pumped into the field to drive research over the next five years. It is the largest single investment ever made, building on over S$400 million spent since 2002.
The funds will go towards four areas, including designing and building quantum processors.
“We still don’t know how to construct the best quantum computers. This is a race. This is really a fight on the planet and we are progressing very fast,” said Professor José Ignacio Latorre, director of the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Quantum Technologies.
“Singapore is fantastically positioned in this space because Singapore started to work in quantum technologies 17 years ago,” he added.
Classic computers like those found in mobile phones go between “yes” and “no” billions of times in a single second when processing data. This enables them to handle everything from calculations to Excel spreadsheets.
On the other hand, quantum computers look for “maybes” in their calculations – a difference that allows them to handle problems that classic computers cannot.
Such abilities can be applied to sectors like biotechnology to model diseases and develop cutting edge medicines. In finance, quantum technology can handle calculations that current technology cannot handle.
Besides boosting hardware, Singapore will invest in talent, with researchers coming under a national research and development centre. About 200 PhD and master-level scholarships will also be offered.
Industry players believe the ability to tackle such problems could give Singapore an economic leg up.
“All the countries that are not betting on quantum technologies will simply be behind. (They) will be buyers of technology, not developers of technology,” said Prof Latorre.
“So this investment is key to maintaining Singapore at the top level of countries that developed quantum technologies.”
