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NC State University Welcomes Fidelity Center for Applied Technology to IBM Quantum Innovation Center

A woman works with quantum machinery

The Fidelity Center for Applied Technology (FCAT) is joining the IBM Quantum Innovation Center at NC State University.

FCAT is a catalyst for breakthrough achievements in research and technology; it assesses, tests, and scales concepts and ideas to advance the needs of customers and associates at Fidelity Investments. This strategic relationship with the IBM Quantum Innovation Center at NC State will allow FCAT to continue its quantum computing journey and explore the future benefits of quantum computing in the financial services space.

“The goal of the IBM Quantum Innovation Center at NC State is to help corporations become quantum ready,” said Daniel Stancil, executive director of the IBM Quantum Innovation Center at NC State. “In working with the IBM Quantum Innovation Center, Fidelity will have access to a world-class resource as the company prepares for the future.

NC State became the first North American university to host an IBM Quantum Innovation Center for quantum computing. NC State’s industry partners include health care company Anthem, which joined the Hub in 2020. In addition to supporting industry and university partners, the IBM Quantum Innovation Center at NC State also focuses on educating the next generation of quantum computing users and developers.

“At FCAT, we track new and emerging technologies and trends to help Fidelity meet the changing needs of our customers and associates, and quantum computing has been an area of focus over the years,” said Adam Schouela, head of Emerging Technology, Fidelity Center for Applied Technology. “Gaining access to the IBM Quantum Innovation Center at NC State University provides our teams access to both technology and thought leadership that will help prepare us for when this technology becomes commercially viable.”

There are more than 170 clients — including ‎Fortune 500 companies, startups, academic institutions and research labs — working with IBM Quantum technology to advance ‎quantum computing and explore practical applications. The IBM Quantum team and clients are researching and exploring how quantum computing will help a ‎variety of industries and disciplines, including finance, energy, chemistry, materials science, ‎optimization and machine learning, among many others

“Expanding our ecosystem of IBM Quantum clients via Hubs like NC State is a critical step for establishing a quantum industry,” said Jamie Thomas, general manager for strategy and development at IBM Systems. “By engaging with the IBM Quantum Innovation Center at NC State, Fidelity is well positioned to explore new use cases across financial services to ultimately advance applications of quantum computing and bring new services to their customers.”