Gazprombank invested 33 million rubles. ($600,000) to QLU, which was spun off from the Russian Quantum Center (RQC), the bank said. QLU, founded in 2016 as M-Granat, is engaged in research on the electromagnetic activity of the brain (magnetoencephalography). Since 2016, Gazprombank’s investments in the project have exceeded $1 million.
Gazprombank’s money will be used to create a laboratory prototype of a magnetoencephalograph – a device in the form of a helmet containing from 5 to 10 ultra-sensitive magnetometers. Such devices are considered among the most effective devices for the study of epilepsy, brain tumors and pain response, the bank says. In the future, such a device would make it possible to reduce the cost of brain research dozens of times and greatly simplify the procedure of magnetoencephalography.
In 2020, the global magnetoencephalography market was estimated at $252 million. According to analysts, the average annual market growth rate from 2021 to 2028 will be 4.6%, including through the active introduction of advanced technologies, Gazprombank said in a statement.
Projects based on the use of quantum technologies are already being actively piloted and are moving to the commercialization stage, said Dmitry Zauers, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprombank, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Russian Quantum Center (his words are quoted in the bank’s message). The share of Russian companies in the global market of quantum technologies is less than 1%, says Yaroslav Markov, director of investment at Tashir Medica. At the same time, the level of specialized specialists in Russia on this topic is one of the best in the world, he says.
Magnetoencephalography is not yet widely used in the world. The reason is the difficulty in preparing devices for operation: magnetoencephalographs need to be cooled with liquid helium, which significantly increases the cost of using such a device, says Maxim Ostras, QLU executive director and co-founder.
The technology of magnetoencephalography has disadvantages: small frequency and dynamic ranges and high operating temperature (devices heat up to 50-80 degrees, they cannot be applied to the head), says Ostras. But QLU has managed to develop a device that does not get hot and does not require cooling or additional equipment, he says.
In Russia there is only one multichannel magnetoencephalograph, in the US there are 40 such systems, and in the world there are more than 100, Markov knows. According to his estimates, from a low base, the Russian market can grow by 9-10% per year, but in the coming years it will not exceed 500 million rubles. in year. The main potential customers are Russian state centers involved in neurodegenerative diseases and neurocognitive research, says Markov.
But the equipment for quantum systems is not yet perfect enough to stimulate the development of the market. According to Stanislav Kolesnichenko, Managing Director of Skolkovo Ventures, more than a dozen million investments will be required before the first working prototype can be made.
The main risks of the QLU project are the lack of confirmation of the declared accuracy and price competitiveness of the magnetoencephalograph, as well as dependence on foreign components, Markov believes.
Maksim Ostras could not name the dates for the start of production of the device. According to him, it is necessary to test a lot of both technological and market hypotheses in order to minimize possible risks, confirm the feasibility of the technology, and also create demand in order to get support from potential customers. The deadlines may be delayed due to rule-making – first, new medical standards must appear (there are no standards for magnetoencephalography in Russia), there may be difficulties with clinical trials, Ostras explains.
Western countries are unlikely to purchase Russian devices, but the markets of Asia, China, the Middle East and South America are open to QLU, says Nikolay Borisenko, Deputy Director for Venture Investments at Leader CJSC. That is, the available market is half of the world. The size of the deal and the fact that the laboratory prototype has not yet been created indicates that the startup is at the seed stage, when the degree of risk (whether it will work out or not) is very high, Borisenko notes.
The success of the project will depend on the need for further investments, the timing of market entry, given the fact that it is still necessary to achieve the inclusion of the magnetoencephalography method in diagnostic standards, Markov says. If everything works out, Gazprombank can count on a yield (IRR) of at least 50% per annum upon exiting QLU, the expert noted.
Gazprombank has been investing in the Russian Quantum Center and its projects since 2014. As Forbes wrote in 2016, Gazprombank invested 380 million rubles in the RCC. The Bank became an investor in QRate, a spin-off from the RCC, which develops secure quantum communication systems, and in 2016, together with the RCC, launched Russia’s first 30-kilometer secure quantum communication line connecting two bank buildings in Moscow. In 2018, the bank also invested $1.5 million in a quantum machine learning project.
Gazprombank has also funded a project to develop nanoscale microwave spin diodes (which should outperform semiconductor diodes) for use in portable devices. And in January 2022, the RCC announced that Gazprombank had invested $1 million in another RCC spin-off, QSpaceTechnologies, a developer of quantum satellite communication systems, the money will be used to create a small CubeSat satellite with a quantum transmitter on board. According to SPARK-interfax, Gazprombank is the beneficiary of 47.5% of the Russian Quantum Center (the parent company of LLC MTsKT Group).