Through a proof of concept, BBVA and Spanish startup Multiverse have tried out and benchmarked different quantum technology platforms to solve a classic problem of finance: the optimization of investment portfolios with real market data. As published in a scientific paper, the authors have elucidated new formulas that could help speed up this type of calculation, maximizing profitability and minimizing risk.
Quantum computing is one of the technological fields that BBVA is closely following through various lines of research aimed at exploring its applications in the world of finance. As part of this work, and in collaboration with Spanish startup Multiverse, the joint research team has evaluated and benchmarked a number of quantum and traditional technologies to improve the process of dynamically optimizing investment portfolios with market data.
Román Orús, co-founder and CSO at Multiverse Computing said in a statement: “We have implemented the optimization with real market data for the first time applying a variational algorithm for IBM-Q, a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm for D-Wave and, for the first time internationally in a financial context, using Tensor Networks’ ‘quantum-inspired’ algorithms ”.
Multiverse is a Spanish tech startup that specializes in developing quantum algorithms for the international financial sector. The company is run by a team of experts in quantum physics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, mathematics and economics. Since it launched, it has garnered support from tech accelerators and hubs in the Basque Country such as the Donostia International Physics Center and BIC Gipuzkoa, as well as Canada’s Creative Destruction Lab.
In the proof of concept, researchers have attempted to solve the classic optimization problem resorting to a combination of quantum technology platforms, inspired by quantum computing and traditional techniques, and compared the results. Their conclusions suggest that quantum computing-based tools and quantum-inspired algorithms, could already perform this task more efficiently than traditional methods. Furthermore, according to the authors, this is the first time that quantum technology tools have been leveraged to optimize an investment portfolio large enough to carry commercial value.