Industrial engineering giant Bosch has been a player in the emerging quantum sensing market for more than three years since launching in-house startup Bosch Quantum Sensing. That business is set for the next step in its evolution as Bosch and existing partner Element Six have agreed to establish a joint venture that will operate as Bosch Quantum Sensing.
The companies said in a statement that Bosch “will be the lead partner and be responsible for operations,” while Element Six will hold a 25% stake in Bosch Quantum Sensing. Further financial details were not disclosed.
Bosch has been bullish on quantum sensors market opportunities for almost a decade, pursuing research projects and regularly speaking at industry events about its plans to deploy the technology in medical, mobile, and navigation devices and applications. Bosch started its quantum sensing outfit in March 2022 in Ludwigsburg, Germany, where it currently has a workforce of at least 30 people. In 2023, Bosch Quantum Sensing initially aligned with Element Six, a subsidiary of diamond giant DeBeers that provides synthetic diamonds for a variety of technology uses. Synthetic diamonds are key components in quantum sensors due to their Nitrogen-Vacancy centers, a structural defect that allows them to be sensitive to changes in magnetic fields, among other things.
Now, it sees an opportunity to expand its working relationship with Element Six to be better leveraged in what many observers are calling a major growth market in the years to come. The Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) recently released a report suggesting quantum sensing could be almost a $1 billion market by 2028, and many of the companies developing quantum computers–IonQ, IBM, Google, and others–also are exploring quantum sensor opportunities.
Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, observed in a statement, "Quantum sensors are a future technology with huge potential. They will bring about fundamental changes in many sectors of our economy, and improve people's lives. In setting up this new company, we are underscoring this technology's strategic significance for Bosch. As innovation leader of commercial quantum sensors, we will work with Element Six to further extend our technological lead.”
While the potential seems great, the QED-C and others also have acknowledged that challenges remain, including the ability for companies involved in the sector to reduce the cost and size of quantum sensors, and streamline what is currently a fragmented manufacturing ecosystem.
Bosch said its current quantum sensors are “the same size as a modern smartphone,” and that the “long-term goal of Bosch Quantum Sensing is to make quantum sensors so small that they can be integrated onto a chip.”