How Wells Fargo is becoming quantum-ready (2024)

Everyone keeps talking about quantum, but what is it? IBM's Dario Gil explains it to us in the simplest terms. (1:45)

• Quantum technology is still in its infancy, but WellsFargo developers have already created nearly a dozen viable quantum algorithms or software solutions.
• Developers use real quantum computers via IBM and other partners to build and test their work, including WellsFargo’s industry-leading quantum simulator, Spinoza^TM.
• Quantum computing may have real, practical applications to help banks like WellsFargo detect scams, optimize investment portfolios, and more.

Developers across WellsFargo’s technology teams have published 10 research papers — and counting — outlining algorithms and other software solutions to be used on quantum computers in the future. But these aren’t just ideas. They’re viable applications tested on real quantum computers, and it’s how WellsFargo is preparing for when quantum technology advances far enough that it begins revolutionizing industry after industry, banking included.

“These papers reflect theoretical solutions, but we have implementation plans, too,” said Constantin Gonciulea, a technology fellow at WellsFargo working on emerging technologies like quantum computing and blockchain. “When we release a paper, it’s implemented. It’s a solution that works at the small scale.”

A team of technology experts at WellsFargo have been getting ready for quantum computing’s impact on the future of financial services for years. That has meant finding research and development partners, such as:

• The IBM Quantum Network, a collaboration that allows WellsFargo developers to access IBM’s fleet of quantum computers via the cloud
• MIT, Stanford University, and small universities that partner with WellsFargo advanced technology researchers
• Quantum-focused companies like QCWare, which offers quantum coding tools, and Oxford Quantum Circuits, which has a small-scale quantum computer for testing

“WellsFargo is an amazing industry partner in the IBM Quantum Network,” said Dario Gil, IBM’s senior vice president and director of Research. “Their quantum researchers collaborate with us to be able to explore use cases and applications like sampling and optimization and machine learning using quantum — all in an effort to start seeing valuable results from quantum computing. It’s a wonderful collaboration that we get to do.”

Think of quantum computing as specialized high-performance computing, Gonciulea said. While not every problem requires the super-fast speeds and pattern recognition that come with quantum computing, it may soon revolutionize the right task with a fraction of the time and hardware compared with regular “classical” computers.

“Quantum computing is like a helicopter. Classical computing is like a car. A helicopter can do a lot of things a car can’t do, but if you want to go get groceries, you’re not going to use a helicopter,” Gonciulea said. “They complement each other.”

Being quantum-ready may mean that WellsFargo will have the right technology when the next scam comes so it’s detected and thwarted much more quickly, protecting your money. Or it could mean higher-earning investment portfolios due to faster machine learning models.

Researchers are finding the problems that quantum could solve. For example, Vanio Markov, a distinguished engineer at WellsFargo, has worked with IBM Research to test and implement new machine learning generative models, using quantum to potentially improve our artificial intelligence technology.

“There is a lot of hype around quantum computing. Our job is to monitor what is going on — is it hype? What is it promising? What can it solve? It would be a mistake not to be involved at all,” Gonciulea said. “We want to be quantum-ready.”

Many quantum breakthroughs will happen behind the scenes for customers.

For example, in 2023, Gonciulea and two engineers on his team — Saveliy Yusufov and Charlee Stefanski — published a paper on Spinoza, a new quantum simulator they developed at WellsFargo. They named it after 17th century philosopher Baruch Spinoza who theorized that each interaction changes a person, which is similar to what happens inside a quantum computer.

Spinoza is one of the fastest quantum simulator of its kind in the industry. Simulators like Spinoza, which uses classical computing to simulate a quantum computer’s processing power and scale, are extremely in-demand because they allow researchers to test tomorrow’s quantum software on today’s computers. While it won’t revolutionize the banking experience right now, innovations like Spinoza bring a quantum future into clearer focus.

“Having one of the fastest [quantum] simulators is also a badge of honor,” Gonciulea said. “It shows we are an industry leader.”

Gonciulea is careful to avoid the considerable hype and headlines around quantum computing. WellsFargo’s considered investments into this novel technology are meant to find and solve real problems for customers.

“This isn’t some shiny thing,” he said. “We are expanding our horizon.”

.015 kelvins
The operating temperature of quantum computing systems, or approximately -459.643 Fahrenheit or -273.135 Celsius. That’s (much) colder than space.

24
Countries have a strategy or initiative to develop quantum technology.

$40 billion
The amount of public funding quantum science and technologies have attracted around the globe.

433
The number of qubits inside IBM’s Osprey chip, the company’s most powerful quantum processor today.

17
Countries that have national quantum computing strategies, with others soon to join.

*Data as of March 2024.