A Lancaster-based quantum company, spun out of Lancaster University, that makes 'Q-ID' tags that use atomic-level randomness to prove that products are genuine.
Quantum Base makes a way of proving that a product is real. Fake goods, from medicines to clothing to tax stamps, are a worldwide problem. The company's product, Q-ID, is a small tag or fingerprint made using quantum materials whose atoms are arranged randomly, so each tag is unique and in practice cannot be copied. It can be added to ordinary printing processes, and anyone can check it in a few seconds with a smartphone. The company has said that more than 500 million units have been produced, and it works on a design-and-licence model with security printers, including a framework agreement for tax stamps.
The company came from research at Lancaster University. Professor Rob Young, a Lancaster physicist, is the founder, and the university says it took more than ten years to develop the patented Q-ID technology. Tom Taylor is chief executive. The company says its mission is to turn quantum research into practical security that protects products, brands, governments and consumers, and to set a new global standard for authentication. Its example uses include postage stamps, banknotes, luxury goods, pharmaceuticals and aerospace parts.
Quantum Base is based in Lancaster in the north west of England. Lancaster University describes it as its first spin-out to list on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market, and says it remains based at the university's C-TAP co-working facilities. That makes it a good example of a quantum company outside the south of England, with access to Lancaster's physics and engineering research. We did not find a published headcount.
On culture, Professor Young describes an "exceptional team", and the company has said it planned to make new commercial and operational hires to scale up. The university case study names Professor Ben Robinson and Dr Alan Gilchrist as collaborators on the original research. Those are the company's and university's own descriptions, and we have not been able to check them. As a listed company it also publishes regular updates, which are a useful way to see what it is working on.
A company that mixes quantum physics and printing needs a wide range of people: materials scientists and physicists who create and test the quantum materials, electronics and software engineers who build the phone-based checking tools, production and quality staff who work with printers, and sales, finance and project people who deal with governments and brands. Physics, chemistry, materials, computing and business are all relevant. Quantum Base's website is the place to check current roles.
Website: www.quantumbase.com
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