RGTIW - Rigetti Computing Awarded Innovate UK Grant to Enhance Quantum Machine Learning Methods for Anti-Money Laundering Detection | Benzinga
LONDON, Nov. 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rigetti UK Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) ("Rigetti" or the "Company"), a pioneer in full-stack quantum-classical computing, today announced that it was awarded an Innovate UK grant as part of the Feasibility Studies in Quantum Computing Applications competition. Joining Rigetti in this work is HSBC, the Quantum Software Lab (QSL) based at the University of Edinburgh, and the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC). Together, the consortium aims to enhance existing anti-money laundering techniques by using quantum machine learning techniques with the goal of improving the performance of current-state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms.
Money laundering poses a significant threat to financial institutions and society. Machine learning technology has the power to detect and prevent financial crime by flagging suspicious transactions and adapting to ever-changing criminal behavior. Quantum computing has the potential to enhance existing classical computing workflows, and in turn could offer improved machine learning methods. In this work, the consortium will aim to extend current anomaly detection quantum machine learning models to detect anomalous behavior indicating money laundering.
Rigetti is focused on addressing use cases that will help move the quantum computing industry towards narrow quantum advantage (nQA), the point at which a quantum computer is able to solve a practical, operationally relevant problem significantly better, faster, or cheaper than a current classical solution.
"Achieving nQA is the next inflection point for our industry," said Dr. Subodh Kulkarni, Rigetti Chief Executive Officer. "Tackling a real-world problem like money laundering with quantum computing would advance our ability to offer financial customers quantum machine learning solutions that could provide a competitive advantage, and in turn accelerate the development of our hardware and software capabilities."
In addition to leveraging Rigetti QPUs and quantum software, the consortium will also benefit from HSBC's deep domain knowledge, benchmarks and classical and quantum machine learning for anomaly detection expertise, with the University of Edinburgh's quantum algorithm expertise, and the National Quantum Computing Centre's (NQCC) extensive network of quantum computing opportunities and resources. In addition to improving anti-money laundering methods, the consortium aims to substantially strengthen the UK quantum ecosystem and the UK's global position as a leader in the quantum computing sector.
HSBC is already exploiting machine learning techniques to detect anomalous customer behavior, and believes improving its approach with quantum computing could significantly improve its services and reduce risk. Collaborating directly with academia and quantum computing vendors should enable HSBC to test quantum-enabled solutions faster and more efficiently.
"Applying quantum machine learning to detect fraudulent or criminal activity showcases the incredible opportunity this cutting-edge technology can bring to the financial services industry. We believe the depth of research expertise in quantum machine learning algorithms and quantum hardware execution brought by the University of Edinburgh, Rigetti Computing, and the NQCC, combined with industrial application breadth offered by HSBC, can bridge the gap between quantum research and industrial integration in the UK," said Dr. Mekena Metcalf, Quantum Computing Research Scientist at HSBC.
"The growing rates of financial crime and fraud globally means it is imperative that we find an enhanced way to stop people becoming a victim of fraudsters. Quantum computing has the potential to be a game changer in this arena – myself and the team are backing this one all the way," added Martin Brown, Senior Product Owner, UK Fraud Analytics at HSBC.
"We are delighted to join ...