QNu Labs, a quantum resilience company (World’s fourth and India’s first company to build a deployable “Quantum-Safe Security” product) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita University), for further research, education and development of quantum-based security and computing technologies in India. The MoU will see joint efforts towards advancing the study and exploring potential commercial applications of quantum safe internet technologies. At the outset, around 15 faculties, researchers and post-graduate students from Kollam and Bangalore campuses are set to be benefited by this association which will then expand to include various batches of graduate program students. The MoU will also entail workshops and seminars, training sessions, a quantum security research and development center and electives of quantum security technologies offered as part of the M.Tech curriculum.
This collaborative agreement will be focused on notably classical security analysis of QKD (Quantum Key Distribution), analysis of randomness, PQC (Post Quantum Cryptography), research in optics and simulation to broaden the scope of learning and a commitment to foster awareness of the benefits of quantum communication technology for quantum safe internet and telecommunications network security.
Commenting on the tie up, Sunil Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO at QNu Labs said “A robust collaboration between the academia and industry will augur well for our developing economy, enabling innovation and growth in the education system while bringing research capabilities to the industry projects. Partnership between Amrita and QNu is one such step in augmenting capabilities in India in the quantum communication and security area. We expect to leverage the expertise of Amrita college faculty and students for our products.”
QNu Labs being a product development company has a significant amount of research work that is required in its products. Amrita and QNu will collaborate on the research work required. The larger goal as a part of the MoU will be to foster a strong collaboration between industry and academia and drive interest for quantum technologies.
Vivek Shenoy, CTO at QNu Labs said: “Quantum technology is a field that requires intense collaboration between academia and industry, to convert the promise of physics into viable products. The collaboration between Amrita and QNu will pave the way for such efforts and products that can be useful in everyday life.”
Dr. P. Venkat Rangan, Vice Chancellor of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham said “As quantum computing continues to make advancements in qubit technologies, scaling architectures, algorithms, applications, software tools, and more, it simultaneously fuels the urgency for a major transition in cryptography across the internet as we know it today. We are very pleased to be working with a pioneer in the field of quantum cryptology in India, to develop secure communications solutions for a number of industries such as healthcare, finance and banking as well as government and military institutions.”
Dr. Krishnashree Achuthan, Director of Cybersecurity Research Center at Amrita said “Cyber-attacks and security breaches put millions of people across the world at risk for having their sensitive information in the wrong hands. The research programs at Amrita strive to keep a healthy balance between theory and experiment. We see that the focus of quantum technologies R&D now is mostly on quantum hardware, but it is time to put more effort into quantum software for a successful quantum future. The faculty members and researchers from our cybersecurity research center will work with QNu Labs and its customers to analyze potential applications of quantum security technologies.”
