SandboxAQ, a quantum technology firm spun off from Google’s parent company Alphabet, anticipates that large quantitative artificial intelligence models (LQMs) will empower the UAE to export its expertise across vital sectors globally.
In an interview with The National in Dubai, CEO Jack Hidary noted that sectors such as biotechnology, finance, energy, and logistics stand to gain significantly from LQMs, adding that the company is in the “early stages” of developing relationships with customers in the UAE.
“There is so much great activity in the UAE and so many companies interested in [LQMs] … when you look at the UAE economy, you can see there certainly is a role [for LQMs] to play, [and] the bigger applications for the UAE are really on the quantitative AI side,” Hidary stated.
LQMs are sophisticated AI systems designed to analyze, process, and generate quantitative data, differing from natural language models that underpin generative AI. For instance, SandboxAQ’s AQBioSim platform leverages LQMs to assist in drug discovery by using physics-based technology to create entirely new molecules from scratch with specified properties, as outlined on its website.
“Word-based AI is trained only on the words of the internet. So if it’s not on the internet, it doesn’t know it … we produce data in a very different way [like] from actual equations. We don’t take any data from the internet, so [LQMs] are a fundamentally different AI,” Mr. Hidary explained.
Utilizing LQMs will also empower UAE companies to create various intellectual properties, including assets in biotechnology, materials, and new energy, which could enhance the economy and elevate the country’s global standing, according to Hidary.
“What if the UAE would be its own creator of biotech IP and it would be first approved here, then go to other countries? That would be very positive for the UAE,” he suggested.
“The IP that is produced out of our software is owned by the customer, so it’s an IP-generating machine for them … that can then build up the value of the UAE’s exportable assets.”
He emphasized that both governments and businesses could save “significant” time and costs with LQMs, while also producing superior products.
Eric Schmidt, former CEO and executive chairman of Google, serves as the chairman and a major supporter of SandboxAQ.
“If you use LQMs to calculate what a new drug might be, you can explore a much bigger potential drug space than humans ever could on their own. So, we could go beyond just human capabilities of physically trying to mix and match drugs or chemicals, and that’s really the power of LQMs,” he noted.
In early 2023, SandboxAQ secured $500 million in funding, boosting its valuation to around $4 billion, as per industry tracker Pitchbook. The company is not currently seeking additional investments and is instead focused on product development, customer acquisition, and team expansion, according to Mr. Hidary.
“We still have most of the money in the bank, [so] not yet. Perhaps that might happen in the future, but not at this time … the use of proceeds has been in investing in the team,” he remarked.
Founded in 2016 by Hidary as a moonshot quantum unit at Alphabet while he was a group director, SandboxAQ became an independent entity in 2022. It has attracted investments from T Rowe Price, Breyer Capital, Guggenheim Partners, Paladin Capital Group, and Eric Schmidt, who continues to serve as chairman.
The company is focused on what it calls the third quantum revolution—following earlier revolutions in nuclear technology and lasers, global positioning systems, and transistors for mobile devices—aiming to deliver “critical advances” across life sciences, financial services, navigation, cyber technology, and other fields, according to its website.
While large language models (LLMs) have their specific applications, Mr. Hidary stated that LQMs are more suitable for “big, big sectors of the economy.”
“It will be for many more people than LLMs in the business world. From a B2B perspective, it’s a much bigger market, probably 50 times as large,” he added.
Hidary emphasized that LQMs offer greater robustness and resilience compared to LLMs, providing additional security layers, which is a crucial consideration in the responsible use of AI.
“LQMs are trained on the equations of reality, the physics, chemistry, and biology that we know to be true, and that gives it a tremendous advantage in creating IP, value, medicines, and diagnostic machines, which are critical challenges,” he explained.
“And some people say, ‘maybe we need to halt or pause AI.’ I would actually say the opposite when it comes to LQMs, as it is irresponsible not to use AI because it can bring so many positive benefits to humans.”
