Quantum computing will enable financial services to take a significant step forward, chief researcher at Abu Dhabi's Quantum Research Centre said.
And thanks to local investments in advancing the field, Abu Dhabi would be in a strong position to achieve “technological sovereignty,” Prof Jose Ignacio Latorre said.
He made his comments during the launch of Fintech Abu Dhabi’s Global Startups Tour, which seeks innovative and disruptive financial technology [fintech] start-ups to compete in a series of pitching competitions held globally.
Quantum computing should be able to compute for a fraction of the cost and a fraction of the energy. It's a win-win situation.
Stopping off at more than 20 countries, including the UK, the US, India and China, winners from each competition will be invited to the Fintech Abu Dhabi festival in November.
By the end of the summer, Abu Dhabi's Quantum Research Centre will have completed the development of the emirate’s first quantum chips, Prof Latorre said.
The centre, which is part of the Technology Innovation Institute, itself a branch of the government's Advanced Technology Research Council, is also developing a fully fledged quantum computer.
“The question is, ‘Who will have this technology?’ Is it only a corporation, a North American corporation? Is it a country?” said Prof Latorre, who teaches theoretical physics.
“Abu Dhabi decided two years ago to launch a centre for technology and innovation, the Technology and Innovation Institute, that aims to compete at the highest possible level. At the heart of the idea is to achieve technological sovereignty.”
Unlike traditional computers, which use “bits” arranged as combinations of ones and zeros, quantum computers employ “qubits” and make use of quantum mechanics, in which particles can exist in two states simultaneously.
This massively increases their computing power by allowing them to evaluate multiple outcomes at once.
As well as offering the potential for rapid advancement in areas such as medical research and drug discovery, Prof Latorre said quantum computing would speed up the calculations required in financial services.
“Finance is one of the sectors that uses computers a lot … but you cannot do all the computation you should because its costs energy, it costs money,” he said.
“Quantum computing should be able to compute for a fraction of the cost and a fraction of the energy. It’s a win-win situation: you save the planet and you do better computation.
“There are problems addressed by classical computing in a perfect way and problems that you should use a quantum computer for.”
Fintech start-ups proliferate in Abu Dhabi
In a panel discussion on whether UAE fintech is going global, Ellen Moeller, head of EMEA partnerships at Stripe, a San Francisco-based company that offers software to manage online payments, said key areas of interest for fintechs included ensuring that transactions were a “very frictionless experience” for consumers.
“They’re used to calling a taxi from the touch of a button,” she said. “Why shouldn’t it be so simple when we’re talking about financial services? There’s a lot of opportunity for innovation for fintech.
“The final piece is regulators and central banks embracing this innovation. I think we’ve only scratched the surface of fintech innovation and there’s lots more to come.”
She added that the UAE “has all the right ingredients” to be a world-class technology and fintech hub, including a deep pool of talent and good investment climate.
“We’ve seen the UAE do a remarkable job at fostering fintech,” she added.
The region is seeing rapid growth in the number of tech start-ups in a range of fields, according to Vijay Tirathrai, managing director of Techstars, a company in the US state of Colorado, that supports tech start-ups.
Healthcare, agriculture and advertising technology are some of the sectors seeing expansion, but fintech, e-commerce and their related fields account for around a quarter of start-ups in the Mena region, he said, with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt the dominant players.
“We’ve seen a significant explosion in the tech hubs in the region,” he said. “Abu Dhabi is particularly exciting for me.”
Companies Mr Tirathrai said were especially worth watching included neobanks, which offer online-only financial services and are looking to disrupt conventional banks, which he said tended to be slower adopters of innovation.
Described as the region's leading fintech festival, Fintech Abu Dhabi takes place from November 22 to 24 and will operate in a hybrid format, involving virtual and in-person sessions.
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Croatia v Hungary, Thursday, 10.45pm, UAE
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
