Hopefully, no one will develop a quantum computer in the near future that will be able to bust existing encryption methods, because JPMorgan’s quantum team has lost its senior people.
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JPMorgan isn’t commenting, but it’s understood that both Marco Pistoia, the head of global technology applied research and Charles Lim, the global head for quantum communications and cryptography have disappeared from their desks.
The reason for the disappearances isn’t clear. Nor is it clear where they are going next.
As is typical of quantum matters, there is also some confusion as to the reality of the situation. Pistoia is still listed as working for JPMorgan on the bank’s own website. So too is Charles Lim. It seems that the two men are both employed by JPMorgan and not.
Pistoia is thought to have left a few months ago and to be on gardening leave before joining a new firm. Lim is thought to have disappeared very recently, has deleted himself from LinkedIn and is no longer listed on Google Scholar as working for JPM.
Members of the quantum recruiting team claim to be in a state of flux over the disappearances, which do not seem to have been anticipated.
Pistoia joined JPMorgan in 2020 after a long career with IBM. He said previously that his wife once slept with her head on his desk just to be near him.
Lim joined JPMorgan in 2022. He has a PhD in quantum cryptography and information theory from the University of Geneva and was previously an assistant professor at the University of Singapore, researching the security of applied quantum cryptography.
JPMorgan’s quantum team is one of the largest in the banking industry. Last year, the bank was advertising 28 quantum computing roles and paying up to $325k. In March, Pistoia was cited on a paper exploring certified randomness in a trapped-ion quantum computer.
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