Yesterday we were invited to take part to the Stati Generali del Quantum – Italian for General States of Quantum – an initiative promoted by the Italian Government to present, promote and discuss the national strategy around quantum technologies. The event was a follow up to the Government roadmap already presented at Comolake in October and was highly institutional; in particular, the event was attended by some of the highest Government representatives. Among others:
- Alessio Butti, Undersecretary of State at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers with responsibility for Technological Innovation and Digital Transition, and main promoter of the Initiative;
- Guido Crosetto, Minister of Defense;
- Anna Maria Bernini, Minister of University and Research;
- Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy;
- Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Minister of Environment and Energetic Security;
Representatives from all the main quantum computing players were also present, among others IonQ, Quantinuum, QuEra, IBM, together with a plethora of University researchers and VCs. The event was hosted at the Corsie Sistine in Santo Spirito, an incredible monumental complex once part of the Papal state.
The Italian Government strategy around quantum technologies is part of the broader EU strategy around quantum tech and rather comprehensive. Yesterday’s roadmap was articulated around four main axes: Quantum Computing, Quantum Simulation, Quantum Sensing and Quantum Communication. As NeverLocal, we were clearly interested in this last topic in particular, but we appreciated the comprehensive approach being adopted.
We were also very happy to see how the Italian Government is now going for a bottom-top, nimble approach here. The Italian Strategy revolves around trying to foster open collaboration between different ecosystem representatives, making also small and medium enterprises like our startup part of the conversation.
Lots has happened, but all in all the main take away point is that the Italian Government is looking at quantum technologies with great attention, and is eager to talk with people working in the ecosystem to understand how to best move.
Many more institutional appointments will follow, and we’ll make sure to keep you updated about it. In the meantime, if you want you can find the recordings of yesterday’s talks here (in Italian):