Researchers have made a discovery that could make quantum computing more compact, potentially shrinking essential components 1,000 times while also requiring less equipment. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists have found a way to produce linked pairs of photons using much thinner materials that are just 1.2 micrometers thick, or about 80 times thinner than a strand of hair. And they did so without needing additional optical gear to maintain the link between the photon pairs, making the overall setup simpler. “Our novel method to create entangled photon pairs paves the way for making quantum optical entanglement sources much smaller, which will be critical for applications in quantum information and photonic quantum computing,” said NTU’s Prof Gao Weibo who led the researchers. He added that the method could scale down the size of devices for quantum applications because many of these devices currently need large and bulky optical equipment, which are cumbersome to align, before they can work. One advantage of using photons as qubits is that they can be produced and entangled at room temperature. Relying on photons can thus be easier, cheaper, and more practical than using other particles like electrons that need ultra-low temperatures close to the coldness of outer space before they can be used for quantum computing.
Redis Cloud serves as a fast and flexible vector database for RAG, efficiently storing and retrieving vector embeddings that provide LLMs with relevant and up-to-date information
Redis, the world’s fastest data platform, announced deeper integration with Amazon Bedrock to further improve the quality and reliability of generative AI apps. Building on last year’s successful integration of Redis Cloud as a knowledge base for building Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, Redis continues to deliver market-leading vector search performance and remains one of only three software vendors listed in the Amazon Bedrock console. Amazon Bedrock’s new RAG evaluation service provides a fast, automated, and cost-effective evaluation tool, natively integrated into the Bedrock platform. By incorporating automated evals, generative AI applications can be optimized to meet specialized requirements across diverse use cases more effectively. Redis Cloud serves as a fast and flexible vector database for RAG, efficiently storing and retrieving vector embeddings that provide LLMs with relevant and up-to-date information. The Redis-Bedrock integration simplifies this process, enabling developers to seamlessly connect LLMs from the Bedrock console to their Redis-powered vector database, streamlining the workflow and reducing complexity.
Wealthtech Range says it can deliver financial advice “10-20x faster” than traditional wealth advisors
Range, an AI-powered wealthtech based in the US, has secured $28 million in a Series B funding round led by Californian venture capital firm Cathay Innovation. The round, which brings the company’s total funding to date to $40 million, also featured participation from a number of additional investors including Gradient Ventures. Range offers an array of wealth management services through its platform, covering retirement planning, tax filing, estate planning, insurance, and investment needs. The company’s platform is powered by its AI engine, Rai, which Range says can deliver financial advice “10-20x faster” than traditional wealth advisors. The wealthtech says that in less than two years, it has “attracted more than 1,000 high-net-worth members and now advises them on nearly $3 billion in assets”.
9fin for debt capital markets provides its subscribers with intelligence on high-yield bonds, leveraged loans, distressed debt, collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), private credit and asset-backed finance
9fin has raised $50 million in a Series B funding round to build the next generation of its AI-powered analytics platform for global debt capital markets. The firm will use the new funding to invest further in its AI technology, grow its analytics team and accelerate its expansion in the United States. 9fin provides its subscribers with intelligence on high-yield bonds, leveraged loans, distressed debt, collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), private credit and asset-backed finance. By integrating generative AI into its platform, the company also provides agentic Q&A tools, real-time market updates and advanced search capabilities. Huss El-Sheikh, co-founder and chief technology officer of 9fin, said in the release: “By investing in the best product and engineering talent, we’ve dramatically increased product velocity, delivering capabilities to give our customers the best workflows, tools and insights, and helping them navigate easily through complex financial markets.”
Worldpay enables near instant refunds as 40% of consumers expect a refund within 24 hours
Worldpay has launched a first-of-its-kind service that delivers near instant refunds, depending on the receiving financial institution. This helps to close the gap between consumer expectations and merchant capabilities. The faster refund capability is available to the vast majority of UK shoppers using Mastercard and Visa cards when making purchases at participating retailers, including HMV. Consumers who make an eligible return can now receive near instant refunds when returning goods for online purchases. Under many systems, refunds can take days to reach consumer accounts. Worldpay research shows 40% of consumers expect a refund within 24 hours when making a return and now this could be a reality for shoppers with refunds coming through within minutes. Retailers that enable the faster refund service can improve their overall customer experience and satisfaction levels, driving better rates of retention and cost efficiency through reduced queries related to refunds.
BitGo debuts platform for retail cryptocurrency customers offering – digital asset trading, staking, wallets and qualified custody services
Digital assets solutions provider BitGo has debuted a dedicated retail platform. The new platform is designed to offer retail customers access to BitGo’s digital asset trading, staking, wallets and qualified custody services. The platform offers the security that comes from safeguarding billions in cryptocurrency assets for institutions, along with access to “secure, regulated custody” via cold and self-storage, trading, staking, lending and wallet services. The company is also offering a giveaway to American retail customers, giving them the chance to win a full bitcoin each quarter by signing up. Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo, said “Retail investors need a security-first, crypto-native platform, and we are excited to serve as that trusted partner. We look forward to enhancing the retail investing, trading, storage, and staking experience for investors around the world.”
Payit open banking solution by NatWest provides Interactive Investor with a simple and safe way for their customers to validate their bank accounts and enjoy easy one click payments
Interactive investor (ii) has rolled out NatWest’s multi award-winning open banking payments solution Payit, to enable their customers to deposit funds onto the investment platform immediately to allow investments to be made. Customers can now use Payit by NatWest to make a payment/a fund deposit online through the ii website and app. Powered by open banking technology through payments initiation and Account Information Services (AIS), Payit™ by NatWest provides investors with an additional digital payment method to be able to manage their investments in a safe and simple way. Payit by NatWest offers Account Information Services to provide a simple and safe way for people to share information straight from their banking app. This means that ii investors can link their bank account and enjoy one click digital payments into their ISA, GIA or SIPP with reduced friction caused by the need for a card and One Time Passcodes. The use of Strong Customer Authentication to prove the account is live and accessible and means sharing account information digitally, in real time also removes the risk of manual error. Payit™ by NatWest offers key benefits to businesses and their customers, including: Speed, Simple and secure, Cash flow management, and Reduced transaction costs for the business.
Coinbase integrates Apple Pay into crypto onboarding solution enabling easier onramping for the 60 million U.S. users of Apple Pay
Coinbase has integrated Apple Pay as a payment method for Coinbase Onramp, its tool for building onramps into existing apps for fiat-to-crypto purchases. This addition will provide easier onramping for the 60 million U.S. users of Apple Pay. It will also provide these users with access to the most popular payment methods and will deliver a faster end-to-end experience in which fiat-to-crypto conversions take seconds. Coinbase Onramp provides a solution for onboarding to crypto, which is a process that otherwise can take a long time and require apps’ users to go through a lengthy KYC and use multiple apps. Coinbase Onramp take the hassle out of fiat-to-crypto conversions with lightweight KYC for eligible purchases, free USD on and offramping, and access to the most popular payment methods. With Apple Pay, getting onchain takes only seconds. Apps already using Coinbase Onramp will automatically see Apple Pay appear as an option when users are making an eligible purchase.
Worldpay enables near instant refunds as 40% of consumers expect a refund within 24 hours
Worldpay has launched a first-of-its-kind service that delivers near instant refunds, depending on the receiving financial institution. This helps to close the gap between consumer expectations and merchant capabilities. The faster refund capability is available to the vast majority of UK shoppers using Mastercard and Visa cards when making purchases at participating retailers, including HMV. Consumers who make an eligible return can now receive near instant refunds when returning goods for online purchases. Under many systems, refunds can take days to reach consumer accounts. Worldpay research shows 40% of consumers expect a refund within 24 hours when making a return and now this could be a reality for shoppers with refunds coming through within minutes. Retailers that enable the faster refund service can improve their overall customer experience and satisfaction levels, driving better rates of retention and cost efficiency through reduced queries related to refunds.
IonQ unveils new enterprise-grade Quantum OS and Hybrid Services Suite
IonQ launched its quantum operating system, now called IonQ Quantum OS, and a collection of new capabilities named IonQ Hybrid Services suite. These technologies will greatly advance performance and utility of quantum computing for enterprise customers. IonQ Quantum OS is a nearly ground-up rewrite of IonQ’s original quantum operating system. Designed and built with a flexible and modular architecture, it is designed to scale and adapt with IonQ’s hybrid quantum computing ecosystem and power IonQ’s current and future flagship quantum computers, including IonQ Forte and IonQ Forte Enterprise. IonQ Quantum OS also offers enterprise-grade security through improved observability and enhanced interoperability across on-premise hardware and software solutions. These improvements provide customers with new options for securely integrating quantum computing into their stack. Designed for improved performance, IonQ Quantum OS dramatically improves time-to-solution, including: 1) An average reduction of over 50 percent in on-system classical overhead (compared to identical workloads run on IonQ Forte before the improvements were deployed). 2) An 85% reduction in cloud and network overhead of workloads submitted through the IonQ Cloud. 3) Up to 100x improved accuracy in an expanded error mitigation and compilation suite. 4) Enhanced calibration, automation, and control software and firmware to optimize qubit and gate performance and adjust for systemic drifts, resulting in better algorithmic performance.