Quantum finance paper hits 1,000 citations milestone

Multiverse Computing said its academic paper on quantum computing in finance has surpassed 1,000 citations, a marker of influence in a field where impact often clusters around hardware breakthroughs.

The paper, Quantum Computing for Finance: Overview and Prospects, was published in 2019. It was written by Román Orús, Enrique Lizaso and Samuel Mugel, who later took leadership roles at the company as Chief Scientific Officer, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technical Officer.

Multiverse Computing describes the work as an early framework for applying quantum computing to financial use cases and as the scientific starting point for its subsequent commercial activity.

According to the company, reaching 1,000 citations places the paper among the most referenced works in quantum computing. It compared the paper's citation record with widely cited publications associated with IBM, D-Wave, IonQ and Quantinuum.

Software focus

Quantum research has drawn sustained attention from governments, venture capital and large technology companies. Much of the most visible work has focused on building quantum processors and improving their reliability. Academic citations tend to follow that pattern because experimental results and hardware roadmaps drive much of the field's publishing pace.

Multiverse Computing said its paper stood out for its emphasis on applications and software. That area has become crowded as more research groups and start-ups pursue near-term uses of quantum techniques, and it faces scrutiny because practical advantages remain difficult to demonstrate at scale.

The paper's focus on finance also reflects where quantum computing has attracted early interest. Portfolio optimisation, risk analysis and derivative pricing appear frequently in quantum research because they map to mathematical problems with known computational limits. Financial firms have also funded pilots and partnerships as part of broader experiments with advanced computing.

Bank partnerships

After publication, the company worked with financial institutions including the Bank of Canada, BBVA and Crédit Agricole, according to Multiverse Computing. It described the partnerships as explorations of quantum approaches to complex financial problems.

Over time, Multiverse Computing shifted its emphasis from quantum hardware to what it calls quantum-inspired algorithms. It said it uses tensor network techniques, drawing on ideas from quantum physics, and runs the resulting methods on classical computers.

That shift mirrors a broader trend in the sector. Several vendors have promoted quantum-inspired methods as a bridge between current computing infrastructure and longer-term ambitions for fault-tolerant quantum machines. The approach has also given start-ups a clearer commercial path, since many customers can deploy classical software without waiting for advances in quantum hardware.

AI compression

Multiverse Computing now markets a product called CompactifAI. It described the technology as compressing large language models while preserving performance and reducing model size.

Model compression has become an active area across the AI industry as businesses confront the costs of deploying and operating large models. Smaller models can reduce compute requirements and energy use, and they can broaden deployment options across data centres, private infrastructure and some edge environments.

In a statement on the citation milestone, Orús linked the academic work to the company's broader direction.

"This paper was the starting point for everything we've built since," said Román Orús, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Multiverse Computing. "Our goal was to show that quantum computing could move beyond theory and deliver practical value in finance. Seeing the research reach this level of impact is incredibly meaningful, not just academically, but as validation of the direction we took as a company."

He also described how he sees the relationship between the original research agenda and the company's later commercial focus.

"The journey from quantum finance research to AI model compression reflects our core philosophy," Orús said. "Deep physics-based approaches can unlock transformative gains in computation, even without relying on quantum hardware. This milestone highlights the scientific roots of that belief."

Multiverse Computing is headquartered in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain, and has offices in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the United States. Its customers include Iberdrola, Moody's Analytics, the Bank of Canada and Telefonica, according to the company.

Multiverse Computing expects continued academic and commercial interest in quantum-inspired approaches as AI deployment costs remain a central concern for organisations deciding how and where to run large models.