RBC bolsters quantum strategy by hiring director, signing academic partnerships

Royal Bank of Canada has created a new role to lead its quantum computing strategy and struck two partnerships with Canadian universities as global lenders accelerate their development and adoption of the technology.

Governments and major companies have been racing to invest in and commercialize quantum computing, a technology that uses the mechanics of quantum physics to solve complex problems that even supercomputers cannot untangle. Canada’s biggest banks and the industry’s regulator are testing and assessing the opportunities and risks posed by the new technology.

Dr. Elizabeth Iwasawa joined RBC as its first director of quantum strategy. She will lead a team of researchers and developers and oversee the development of the bank’s quantum strategy.

According to her LinkedIn profile, she previously worked as the director of quantum technologies at U.S.-based Leidos, a technology services provider with a focus on defence tech and digital infrastructure and cyber, as well as others.

The bank also signed two multiyear partnerships with the University of Waterloo and University of Toronto to help drive the bank’s growth in quantum and develop talent in the field.

“We see this as an opportunity to help build Canada’s leadership in this emerging field and to develop and grow a quantum talent pipeline for RBC and the country,” RBC head of technology and operations Naim Kazmi said in a statement.

The partnership with the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing will establish a quantum talent initiative at RBC aimed at developing skills in quantum information science and quantum technologies.

RBC expects the partnership with University of Toronto to help advance quantum growth at the bank, develop quantum talent and contribute to PhD fellowships and conference sponsorships.

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The bank is also working with Xanadu Quantum Technologies Ltd. – a Toronto-based quantum computer developer that went public in March – to hold a work-force training program focused on teaching quantum application development using Xanadu’s open source frameworks.

In August, Xanadu secured $195-million in federal funding to help build an advanced photonics research, development and manufacturing facility in Toronto.

RBC also launched a program aimed at protecting customer data and infrastructure from quantum-related cybersecurity threats.

Ottawa launched a $360-million quantum strategy in 2023, but experts have cautioned that Canada risks falling behind other countries, including Germany, Japan and the United States, which have each committed billions.

Financial industry watchdogs have been warning that quantum poses significant threats that could render modern encryption obsolete.

In March, Canada’s banking regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, published a technology risk bulletin on quantum readiness, saying the technology poses “a credible threat to the encryption that protects financial records, customer data, and critical assets.”

Banks are charging ahead to test the technology. Last year, London-based HSBC Holdings PLC said it achieved a breakthrough in using quantum computing in financial markets. Major Wall Street banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., have assembled teams to research ways quantum can be deployed in daily operations.

In April, Bank of Montreal launched the BMO Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence & Quantum focused on the innovation, application and governance of AI and quantum capabilities.

In December, 2025, RBC made its first direct equity investment in quantum hardware as part of Vancouver quantum computer developer Photonic Inc.’s $180-million funding round.