RBC Appoints Director of Quantum Amid Multi-Year University Partnerships
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has taken a significant step in its quantum strategy by appointing Dr. Elizabeth Iwasawa as Director of Quantum, leading a team of researchers and developers to manage the development and buildout of the bank's quantum strategy.
The bank has also signed two multi-year partnerships with the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto to support research and quantum talent development, contributing to Canada's quantum talent pipeline. The partnership with the University of Waterloo will establish the RBC Quantum Talent Initiative, supporting the next generation of talent in quantum information science and quantum technologies.
RBC is also collaborating with Xanadu on a hands-on workforce training program where the team will learn quantum application development using Xanadu's open source frameworks. The bank plans to migrate client services toward quantum-safe security, building on its 2025 investment in Photonic, which included a C$180 million funding round.
RBC's quantum program builds on its established leadership in artificial intelligence and reinforces the bank's commitment to emerging technologies that can drive competitive advantage and enhance client experiences. The initiative is designed to protect client data and infrastructure from emerging quantum-era cybersecurity threats and includes migration to post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution for secure communications.