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International Business Machines Corporation IBM recently entered into an alliance with the University of Tokyo to form the Japan-IBM Quantum Partnership, with an aim to make advancements in quantum computing field.

Per the deal, IBMs IBM Q System One will be installed in the companys facility in Japan. This will mark the third installation globally subsequent to the United States and Germany.

IBM and University of Tokyo will utilize Q System One to focus on research and development of quantum computing system, algorithms and applications; and enhance the status of quantum science education in Japan.

Both the entities aim to develop a laboratory facility, part of quantum system technology center, focused on testing and devising of innovative hardware components, including advanced microwave and cryogenic test capabilities.

We believe the latest partnership will aid the company in enhancing research in quantum computing field and increasing efficiency of its quantum computing systems and services.

Quantum Computing: Long-term Prospects

Quantum computing technologies can revolutionize commerce, cloud security, drug discovery, and supply chain and logistics, defense and military domains.

Technology companies in collaboration with quantum physicists are focusing on delivering solutions to facilitate the development of fault-tolerant algorithms, viable and scalable, quantum computer to address issues beyond current advanced supercomputing capabilities.

With these latest quantum computing initiatives, IBM also aims to aid enterprises in accelerating financial modeling processes and address technical problems in real-time.

Notably, cognitive systems such as IBM Watson run on classical computers and are capable of finding patterns and insights by deciphering large amount of data. However, in the absence of any such recognizable patterns, these systems are not of much use.

International Business Machines Corporation Revenue (TTM)

International Business Machines Corporation Revenue (TTM)

International Business Machines Corporation revenue-ttm | International Business Machines Corporation Quote

This is where quantum computers come into play as they are capable of providing solutions to problems where recognizable patterns dont exist.

Moreover, the global quantum computing market is gaining momentum on the back of growing need for model capability boost and simulation of complex data.

Per a report from MarketsandMarkets, this particular market is expected to reach $93 million in 2019 and $283 million by 2024, witnessing a CAGR of 24.9%.

Further, a Tractica report indicates that revenues in the enterprise quantum computing market worldwide are anticipated to reach $9.1 billion by 2030.

Growing worldwide spending on quantum computing will act as a key catalyst in this regard. Notably, this is being led by government and academia institution funding.

Not surprisingly then, competition in the sector is intensifying with the presence of major players such as Microsoft MSFT , Amazon AMZN , Alphabets GOOGL Google and Intel, and others including D-Wave Systems, 1QB Information Technologies, QxBranch, to name a few.

Tech Majors Initiatives in Quantum Computing

The notable tech players are leaving no stone unturned to commercialize and democratize quantum computing into enterprise domain.

Amazons latest preview launch of Amazon Braket by Amazon Web Service (AWS) at the AWS re:Invent event, is worth mentioning. Meanwhile, Microsoft Azure recently announced Azure Quantum, a full-stack, open cloud ecosystem providing a diverse set of quantum services.

Moreover, Intel recently unveiled Horse Ridge, which the chipmaker claims to be first-of-its-kind cryogenic control chip aimed at commercialization of quantum computers. Intels research on silicon spin qubits to address the challenges pertaining to refrigerating of the quantum system, are noteworthy.

Nonetheless, IBMs endeavor in the rapidly growing quantum computing field along with its strategic initiatives is expected to boost financial performance, in the days ahead.

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IBM, University of Tokyo Partner on Quantum Computing Project - Yahoo Finance

Intel Labs has unveiled what it believes to be a first-of-its-kind cryogenic control chip code-named Horse Ridge that is aimed at speeding up the development of full-stack quantum computing systems.

According to Intel, Horse Ridge will enable control of multiple quantum bits (qubits) and set a clear path toward scaling larger systems a major milestone on the path to quantum practicality.

Developed together with Intels research collaborators at QuTech, a partnership between TU Delft and TNO (Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research), Horse Ridge is fabricated using Intels 22nm FinFET Low Power (22FFL) technology. In-house fabrication of these control chips at Intel will dramatically accelerate the companys ability to design, test and optimize a commercially viable quantum computer.

Quantum computers promise the potential to tackle problems that conventional computers cant handle by leveraging a phenomena of quantum physics that allows qubits to exist in multiple states simultaneously. As a result, qubits can conduct a large number of calculations at the same time dramatically speeding up complex problem-solving.

While there has been a lot of emphasis on the qubits themselves, the ability to control many qubits at the same time had been a challenge for the industry," said Jim Clarke, Intels director of Quantum Hardware. "Intel recognized that quantum controls were an essential piece of the puzzle we needed to solve in order to develop a large-scale commercial quantum system. Thats why we are investing in quantum error correction and controls. With Horse Ridge, Intel has developed a scalable control system that will allow us to significantly speed up testing and realize the potential of quantum computing.

Intel says that in the race to realize the potential of quantum computers, researchers have largely focused extensively on qubit fabrication, building test chips that demonstrate the exponential power of a small number of qubits operating in superposition.

However, it says, in early quantum hardware developments including design, testing and characterization of Intels silicon spin qubit and superconducting qubit systems it has identified a major bottleneck toward realizing commercial-scale quantum computing: interconnects and control electronics.

With Horse Ridge, Intel says it is introducing an elegant solution that will enable the company to control multiple qubits and set a clear path toward scaling future systems to larger qubit counts a major milestone on the path to quantum practicality.

For more information, go to http://www.intel.com.

The rest is here:

Intel Achieves Milestone in Quantum Practicality with 'Horse Ridge' - Database Trends and Applications

CAIRO - The Libyan national unity government based in Tripoli is asking Turkey, the U.S. and several European countries to defend the government, as forces loyal to eastern military commander General Khalifa Haftar called on militias fighting in Tripoli and Misratat to lay down their arms.

Forces loyal to Haftar exchanged gunfire Friday with militias fighting under the banner of the Tripoli-based national unity government south and east of the capital. Libyan fighter jets, also loyal to Haftar, bombed targets and weapons depots inside Misrata and south of the capital.

The spokesman for Haftar's Libyan National Army told journalists Friday that his forces were making "pre-emptive airstrikes against three separate locations near Tripoli that were expected landing points for Turkish military forces." VOA could not independently confirm the claim that Turkish forces were planning to enter the battle.

Turkish media, nevertheless, reported that Libya's unity Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj officially activated a Nov. 27 military pact between Ankara and Tripoli calling for Turkish logistic and military support to prevent the fall of his government.

Sarraj also reportedly called on the U.S., Germany, Italy and Turkey, to intervene to protect his government, which is officially recognized by the international community. Despite that recognition, many countries, including France, Russia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia reportedly are supporting Haftar.

Mohammed al-Zubeidi, a Libyan law professor, told Arab media, however, that "Sarraj is just calling on the U.S., Germany and Italy as a fig-leaf to cover up his call for Turkish intervention in the Libyan conflict."

Haftar's military spokesman, Colonel Ahmed Almasmari, claimed that his forces were "advancing inside and outside the capital, Tripoli," and called on militias fighting his forces, some of which are based in Misrata, to "lay down their arms by midnight Sunday," and withdraw peacefully.

He says the (Libyan National Army) is sending a message to the representatives of Misrata to pull out their forces from Tripoli and lay down their arms by midnight Sunday, if they do not want to face reprisals or further airstrikes on their city.

The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement, according to Russian media, saying the "possible deployment of Turkish troops in Libya is a source of worry" because it "could trigger a reaction from neighboring states."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual press conference with journalists Thursday he was "in contact with all regional parties to try and end the conflict in Libya." Russia reportedly has mercenaries fighting in Libya on the side of Haftar.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi told Egyptian media several days ago that "Egypt has the capability of intervening in Libya if needed, but has respected diplomatic norms until now, by not doing so."

Egypt does reportedly help train Haftar's forces and maintains some of his aging Russian air force jets.

Read more:
Tripoli-Based Unity Government Calls for Turkish Intervention in Libya, as Haftar's Forces Bomb Opposition - VOA News

1. Violence escalates in Libya following Turkey pledge  Financial Times
2. Egypt Rejects Turkey-Libya Deal on Sea Rights, Security  The New York Times
3. How the Kremlin's fingerprints escalated Libya's conflict, threatening a wider war in the Middle East  The Washington Post
4. Libyan government activates cooperation accord with Turkey  The Guardian
5. Libya's GNA accepts Turkish offer of military support  Al Jazeera English
6. View full coverage on Google News

The rest is here:
Violence escalates in Libya following Turkey pledge - Financial Times

With Daniel Lippman

LOBBYING CONTINUES ON LIBYA CONFLICT: Brad Gerstman, a New York lobbyist who once represented Donald Trump and helped orchestrate his presidential campaign announcement in 2015, has a message for his former client: Please ask a Libyan militia leader to stop attacking the countrys United Nations-backed government. Gerstman, who signed a deal in September to lobby for Libyas government worth $1.5 million through his firm, Gotham Government Relations & Communications, sent a letter to Trump on Monday, which was obtained by PI.

The militia leader, Khalifa Haftar, has besieged Libyas capital, Tripoli, with the backing of Russian fighters. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan threatened last week to intervene on behalf of the Libyan government. In the letter, Gerstman urged Trump to save Libya without firing a single shot. Publicly call on Haftar and his Russian allies to halt all hostilities against Tripoli and to finally sit down and negotiate with Libyas government, Gerstman wrote. Complicating Gerstmans request: Trump unexpectedly endorsed Haftar in April, throwing American policy toward Libya into question.

The letter is the latest manifestation of the Libyan conflict in Washington, where both sides have hired lobbyists. Haftars forces hired Linden Government Solutions on a contract worth $2 million in May, while the Libyan government brought on Mercury on a one-year contract worth $1.8 million, plus $200,000 for expenses. Former Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) and other Mercury lobbyists have met with congressional aides and spoken with reporters on the governments behalf, according to Justice Department filings. (Prime Policy Group has also lobbied for the government on a pro bono basis.)

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Good afternoon, and welcome to PI. This is it for 2019. This newsletter will be off until Jan. 6, 2020. Thanks for reading, and happy non-denominational holidays! Send me your best tips so I can run them down next year: tmeyer@politico.com. You can also follow me on Twitter: @theodoricmeyer.

FORMER WARNER AIDE WILL LOBBY FOR JUUL: Juul Labs has hired its first new lobbyist since the vaping companys chief executive, Kevin Burns, stepped down in September following Trumps announcement that his administration would ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. (Trump has since softened his criticism of vaping.) Milan Dalal, a former Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck lobbyist who recently started his own firm, Tiger Hill Partners, with James Maloney, will lobby for Juul on legislation related to e-cigarettes and congressional investigations, according to a disclosure filing.

Dalal, who still lobbies for some Brownstein Hyatt clients as an outside consultant, is a former aide to Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.). He started working for Juul on Nov. 6. Juul has spent more than $3.1 million on Washington lobbying so far this year, according to disclosure filings, and also retains Empire Consulting Group, Fulcrum Public Affairs, Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid, the Nickles Group, Oldaker & Willison, the S-3 Group, Sims Strategies, Squire Patton Boggs and W Strategies.

JANKOWSKY WILL RETIRE FROM AKIN GUMP: Joel Jankowsky will retire from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld at the end of the year, Roll Calls Kate Ackley reports. Mike House, a longtime lobbyist at Hogan Lovells whom Jankowsky lobbied while House was chief of staff to former Sen. Howell Heflin (D-Ala.), compared Jankowsky to the legendary lobbyists Tommy Boggs (whose firm is now known as Squire Patton Boggs) and J.D. Williams of Williams & Jensen. Those were the three lions, House said. Not only were they the upper-level strategists and good day-to-day lobbyists, but most of all they were all good mentors. Joels been a mentor to so many of us, including myself.

BROADCASTERS WIN A LONG-RUNNING LOBBYING BATTLE: Congress is handing traditional broadcasters such as CBS and ABC a surprise victory in a contentious, multimillion-dollar TV lobbying fight by letting key parts of a 31-year-old satellite TV law die, POLITICOs John Hendel reports. The battle, pitting legacy broadcasters against AT&T and some consumer groups, centered on the recurring satellite TV law known as STELAR, which first passed in 1988 and provides hundreds of thousands of rural satellite TV households with access to broadcast programming. AT&T, which owns the satellite provider DirecTV, and the National Association of Broadcasters both spent heavily on the fight.

The law is typically reauthorized every five years, but this time, Congress will let significant aspects of the statute expire as part of the fiscal 2020 spending bill, potentially leaving thousands of satellite subscribers cut off from local broadcasting smack in the middle of the 2020 election cycle.

MAYBE HE SHOULDVE CALLED IT NEED TO ACQUIT: Chris Christie is launching a big-money effort aimed at giving Senate Republicans air cover on impeachment and positioning the former New Jersey governor as a counterweight to liberal billionaire Tom Steyer, POLITICOs Alex Isenstadt reports. The newly formed issue advocacy organization, Right Direction America, is set to begin a seven-figure TV and digital advertising offensive Monday. The nonprofit group will be focused on a half-dozen states where key 2020 Senate races are taking place: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maine and North Carolina.

IF YOU MISSED IT ON WEDNESDAY: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) doesnt share K Streets enthusiasm for the hard-won provisions tucked into the spending bills the Senate passed on Thursday. Christmas came early in Washington for lobbyists, Cruz said in a video posted to his Twitter account on Wednesday evening as he lit a cigar. Lobbyists who are bankrupting this country. While you were with your family, while you were shopping for Christmas, the lobbyists were spending and spending.

Cruz goes on to decry the legislation as put together in the dark of the night with Republican leadership and Chuck Schumer while smoking his cigar. He criticizes the bills reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, the raising of the tobacco purchasing age to 21, the funding of gun-violence research and tax breaks for renewable energy all of which were backed by interests on K Street. This is an example of government of the lobbyists, by the lobbyists and for the lobbyists, he says before extinguishing his cigar into the towering bill on his desk.

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Andrew Overton is moving to Milwaukee to work as associate director of media logistics for the Democratic National Convention. He was previously the Chesapeake Bay Foundations senior director of communications.

Transamerica has hired Sean Cassidy as vice president and senior director of government relations. He was previously vice president of federal government affairs at Voya Financial. He plans to register to lobby.

Trump has appointed Eli Miller, a managing director of government relations at Blackstone who was previously chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, to be a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, according to the White House.

"FTI Consulting hired Shannon Maher Baaga as managing director in strategic communications in the energy and natural resources sector," per Morning Energy. "Baaga previously was director of federal affairs at TECO Energy since 2014."

"Alexander Botting, the former director for global regulatory cooperation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has joined the law firm Venable to be senior director of international cybersecurity services," per Morning Cybersecurity.

2020 Utah Victory Fund (Rep. Ben McAdams, Utah State Democratic Committee)AL MI MN Victory 2020 (Sens. Doug Jones, Tina Smith and Gary Peters)American Leaders Fund (Reps. Anthony Brindisi, Abigail Spanberger, Max Rose, Josh Gottheimer and Susie Lee, No Labels Problem Solvers Political Action Committee (No Labels Problem Solvers PAC))American Patriots Fund (Reps. Don Bacon, Brian Fitzpatrick, Tom Reed, Pete Stauber and Fred Upton, No Labels Problem Solvers Political Action Committee (No Labels Problem Solvers PAC))New Congress Fund (Reps. Colin Allred, Anthony Brindisi, Sharice Davids, Lizzie Fletcher, Jared Golden, Andy Kim, Elaine Luria, Lucy McBath, Max Rose, Elissa Slotkin, Xochitl Torres Small, Abigail Spanberger, Haley Stevens and Lauren Underwood)

Embracing Utahs Future (Super PAC0Independent Political Network Super PAC (Super PAC)Richie Greenberg Media Action Committee (PAC)Texas Forward (Super PAC)

Avenue Strategies Global, LLC: PV Group LimitedBurson Cohn & Wolfe: SurescriptsCapitol Advocacy Partners: Boys and Girls Clubs of Puerto RicoHutton-Transcon Joint Venture: Magellan Investment HoldingsMayer Brown LLP: Rocket Pharmaceuticals Inc.S-3 Group: Global Holdings, LLCTiger Hill Partners LLC: JUUL Labs, Inc.

Interel US: American Ambulance AssociationInterel US: Emergency Department Practice Management AssociationInterel US: IEEE Standards Associaiton [sic]Interel US: ISACAInterel US: Worldwide ERCNational Association of Government Employees: National Association Of Government EmployeesPublic Interests Research And Communications Inc: U.S. Television CoalitionSubject Matter (fka Elmendorf Ryan): H&R Block

More here:
Lobbying continues on the Libya conflict - Politico