ORCA Computing Featured in BBC Segment on the Future of Quantum

MAR 24 2026ORCA Computing is featured in a recent BBC Inside Science segment “Is Quantum Computing having its Moment?” The segment explores the UK government’s newly announced £2 billion “Quantum Leap” fund and what it means for the future of computing.In the segment, ORCA CEO Richard Murray speaks with Tom Whipple, Features Editor at The Times and BBC Correspondent, on how close quantum technologies are to real-world deployment and the industries they could transform from energy and materials to AI and advanced computing.The piece highlights the UK’s growing ambition to lead in quantum innovation and showcases how ORCA are translating that ambition into practical systems and applications.BBC Inside Science is a weekly program that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that’s changing our world.Listen to the full segment here.David Hall DPhilHead of DeliveryProf. Ian Walmsley is Chairman of the ORCA Computing Board and a leading figure in quantum optics, quantum memories and waveguide circuits. He is Provost of Imperial College, London, an Honorary Fellow at St Hugh's College, Oxford and a Fellow of the Royal Society, The Optical Society, the Institute of Physics and the American Physical Society. Previously, he was President of the Optical Society of America, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Hooke Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Oxford and Director of the NQIT (Networked Quantum Information Technologies) hub. Prof. Walmsley is recognised for developing the SPIDER technique for characterising ultra-fast laser pulses.Enhance renewable energy optimisation and accelerate the development of biofuels. Investigating molecular structures is an important pursuit in computational chemistry, especially in fields likes biofuel formulation, material innovation, and pharmaceutical development where research acceleration is critical. The specific problem considered here is significant across the energy industry, as molecule’s possible structures directly determine many of its physical and chemical traits. However, the vast array of possible configurations and high computational requirements make it difficult for traditional methods to find low-energy conformations for certain molecules. ORCA partnered has with bp to explore a hybrid quantum-classical approach using generative adversarial network (GAN) algorithms. This approach aims to generate low-energy conformations of small and medium size hydrocarbon molecules, offering a potential solution to the computational hurdles faced in molecular exploration.