About Y Quantum – Why Quantum Technologies
About Y Quantum – Why Quantum Technologies
Y Quantum – Why Quantum Technologies, founded in 2020, is the first Portuguese start-up in quantum technologies. It is a deep tech company, founded by academics with more than 20 years of experience in quantum information science and technology, involved in obtaining more than 20 million euros in research grants, and with a very deep knowledge of the state of the art and of the latest trends of this disruptive domain, with sovereignty implications.
Y Quantum aims to put its comprehensive expertise on quantum computation, quantum cryptography, and quantum sensing, at the service of private and public organisations, namely to carefully analyse how these quantum technologies can improve business processes and provide competitive advantage in organisations. Y Quantum provides also services in strategic planning for IT, IT auditing, blockchain and cybersecurity.
The company is based in Lisbon, Portugal, and has the ambition to explore its unique and comprehensive expertise to provide consulting, training, and research services globally.
Yasser Omar (founder)
Yasser Omar studied Physics at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), in Lisbon, and obtained his PhD at the Centre for Quantum Computation, in the University of Oxford, in 2002.
He is currently professor at IST, University of Lisbon. Yasser is also the founder and leader of the Physics of Information and Quantum Technologies Group, at Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), currently with 26 members. His research interests lie in quantum computation, quantum networks, and quantum sensing. He has published more than 40 scientific articles and co-edited the book Quantum Effects in Biology.
He is also the founder and director of the Doctoral Programme in the Physics and Mathematics of Information at IST, University of Lisbon, and has been involved in the development of advanced courses in quantum information science and technology. Since the founding of his Group in 2013, he has won 7 European and one American research projects in the field of Quantum Technologies, including one developing the first quantum Internet, and one investigating the potential of quantum computation for big data problems at CERN.
In 2019, he founded the QuTe Lab – Quantum Technologies Laboratory, where free-space quantum communications were demonstrated for the first time in Portugal, and where the first Portuguese quantum nanosatellite is currently being developed. He has been involved in the creation and the leadership of the European programme Flagship in Quantum Technologies.
Paulo Mateus (founder)
Paulo Mateus obtained his doctorate in Mathematics and was a Postdoc at the University of Pennsylvania. He was awarded the IBM scientific prize, Portugal, in 2005 for his habilitation thesis. Currently he is a Full Professor from the Mathematics Department of Instituto Superior Técnico and a researcher from Instituto de Telecomunicações.
In 2006, he founded and presently coordinates the Security and Quantum Information Group. His present research is focused on using quantum resources for security and communication and has been author and co-author of more than 50 peer-reviewed international journal publications in mathematics. He has coordinated several national and international projects and has been guest editor of Logic Journal of the IGPL, IEEE Communications, and part of the program committee of several workshop and conferences.
He was invited by the Hungarian (OTKA), Czech (GACR) science foundations, as well as by the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology, to be a member of the evaluation board for their national projects and postdocs. He was a member of the Managing Board of the European Network and Information Security Agency, vice-president of Centro Internacional de Matemática, and consultant for the Portuguese National Security Agency.
Jorge Henriques (CEO)
Jorge Henriques has more than 20 years of experience as system engineer and project manager, designing and Implementing network systems for Motorola, in Portugal and worldwide.
For 2 years, he was managing the development of the Monaco security network integration project. Jorge holds an electronic engineering degree, in instrumentation and computer science, from the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro University.
Mário Caldeira (Chairman of the Advisory Board)
Mário Caldeira is a full-professor of management information systems and head of the information systems and operations management group at ISEG, University of Lisbon. Mário holds a PhD in management, from Cranfield University, where he received the Director Prize for the best PhD thesis, and an MBA from ISEG, University of Lisbon. Mario has published two books, more than 40 scientific articles, and has served, for more than 10 years, in the editorial board of the journal Information & Management.
Mário is also associate partner of Deloitte, in innovation ecosystems, member of the board of AFIP – Association Fintech Insurtech Portugal, and member of the advisory board of the European Club for Information Systems Governance. He has been involved in the development of the European Quantum Industry Consortium.
Mário was previously Dean of ISEG, the school of management and economics of the University of Lisbon, president of the board of IDEFE SA, and Director of Advance – research center for management studies. He has worked as consultant or advisor for many large organizations, such as CGD, AT, Portugal Telecom, IFAP, HESE, White Airways, among others.