Aqora Quantum -- Cold Outreach Targets

Alowayyed leads Saudi Arabia's national quantum economy strategy through the WEF Quantum Economy Blueprint pilot. He controls government relationships across KACST, MCIT, KAUST, and Saudi industry (Aramco, SABIC). Saudi Arabia declared 2026 the "Year of AI" and is investing heavily in quantum. He is the single most important person for Aqora's Middle East expansion beyond Qatar.

Aqora already demonstrated GCC credibility with the Qatar hackathon. Propose hosting a Saudi Arabia Quantum Industry Challenge through C4IR, with KACST as institutional sponsor. This aligns with Saudi's WEF Quantum Economy Blueprint goals and gives Aqora a government-backed entry into the Kingdom's quantum ecosystem. Highlight the Qatar hackathon as a proven template.

Aramco deployed Saudi Arabia's first quantum computer (with Pasqal) in November 2025 and is actively exploring quantum applications in subsurface imaging, materials science, and optimization. Aramco is the world's most valuable company and a logical enterprise customer to HOST competitions on Aqora for quantum optimization of energy operations.

Aqora already works with energy companies (TotalEnergies, EDF, SLB for competitions). Propose that Aramco host a quantum optimization challenge on Aqora's platform focused on a real Aramco problem (seismic imaging, drilling optimization, supply chain routing). This would attract global quantum talent to solve Aramco-specific problems while positioning Aramco as a quantum leader in the GCC.

TII is the UAE's flagship research institute, building the UAE's first quantum computer and operating a Quantum Optical Ground Station. TII hosted the first Quantum Technology Symposium in the Middle East in 2025 and partners with major quantum companies. TII is a natural institutional partner for Aqora in the UAE, complementing the Qatar presence.

Propose a UAE Quantum Challenge hosted on Aqora's platform in partnership with TII, focused on quantum simulation or quantum communications problems aligned with TII's research priorities. TII already runs research programs that could benefit from the competitive benchmarking Aqora provides. Highlight Aqora's dataset hub as infrastructure for reproducible quantum research.

JPMorgan has the largest quantum computing team in banking (100+ quantum patents). Otter took over from Marco Pistoia in 2025 to lead the bank's quantum, blockchain, and applied research. JPMorgan has published extensively on quantum algorithms for option pricing and risk analysis. They are a prime enterprise customer to host financial quantum challenges on Aqora.

Propose a Quantum Finance Challenge hosted by JPMorgan on Aqora's platform, focused on portfolio optimization or risk modeling. This would give JPMorgan access to the global quantum talent pool to benchmark external solutions against their internal work. Reference the success of competitions with other industry leaders (CERN, BMW, TotalEnergies) as proof of enterprise value.

Al Khowaiter is the executive sponsor of Aramco's quantum computing initiative and signed the Pasqal partnership. He sits above Nabil Al Nuaim (Target 2) and controls Aramco's broader technology strategy including AI, quantum, and digital transformation. He is the decision-maker for enterprise-scale technology partnerships.

Frame Aqora not as a vendor but as ecosystem infrastructure that accelerates Aramco's quantum talent pipeline. With Aramco's quantum computer now operational, they need skilled quantum developers. An Aramco-hosted Aqora challenge would attract talent, benchmark algorithms, and generate publishable results that position Aramco as a quantum leader.

Aaraj is the CEO of TII and controls its strategic partnerships and budget. While Aolita (Target 3) is the technical lead, Aaraj is the commercial decision-maker. TII has launched the Abu Dhabi Centre for Frontier Technologies with WEF and is actively building the UAE's quantum ecosystem. A partnership with Aqora would align with TII's mandate to bridge research and industry.

Position Aqora as the competition and talent platform that helps TII achieve its mission of translating quantum research into industrial impact. Propose a multi-year partnership where TII-sponsored challenges on Aqora benchmark UAE quantum capabilities against global standards. Emphasize Aqora's existing institutional credibility (CERN, IBM, Connected DMV).

Alice & Bob is a Paris-based quantum computing company that grew from 150 to 251 employees in seven months during 2025, making it one of the fastest-growing quantum companies in Europe. Given their rapid scaling, some sales and business development talent may be open to new opportunities or their network includes deep tech sales professionals. Since Aqora is also Paris-based, recruiting from the same quantum ecosystem is natural.

Identify enterprise sales or business development professionals at Alice & Bob (or recently departed) who have experience selling to Fortune 500 enterprises in deep tech. Aqora needs someone who can convert hackathon sponsors into recurring platform customers. The ideal hire combines enterprise SaaS sales with quantum domain credibility.

Pasqal is going public via a $2B SPAC deal in 2026 and has 275+ employees. Organizational transitions during IPO often create talent movement. Pasqal has built a real enterprise sales function (100% revenue growth, $80M booked business). Enterprise sales professionals from Pasqal would bring quantum domain expertise plus Fortune 500 selling experience. Aqora should monitor Pasqal's sales team for potential hires.

Network into Pasqal's enterprise sales organization to identify individuals who might be ready for a new challenge. An enterprise sales leader from Pasqal would bring a customer Rolodex, quantum market knowledge, and credibility with enterprise buyers. Position Aqora as a ground-floor opportunity in a company with institutional partnerships but pre-revenue upside.

Boehringer Ingelheim scores highest (80/100) on quantum computing adoption among life sciences companies. They have active quantum projects with Google, PsiQuantum, University of Toronto, and are a QUTAC founding member. They are running real quantum workflows for drug molecule ranking. They are a prime enterprise customer to host pharma-focused competitions on Aqora.

Propose a Quantum Drug Discovery Challenge on Aqora's platform, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, focused on molecular simulation or optimization problems relevant to their pipeline. BI already benchmarks quantum against classical computing internally; Aqora's platform would let them crowdsource approaches from the global quantum community. Reference the clinical trial optimization competition already run on Aqora (Ingenii) as a pharma precedent.

Stamatopoulos built Goldman Sachs' quantum computing practice and published seminal research on quantum algorithms for financial applications (option pricing, risk analysis). He moved to Phasecraft in late 2024. He sits at the intersection of quantum computing and financial services and knows exactly which financial institutions are exploring quantum. He could either become an Aqora advisor or connect Aqora with enterprise buyers at banks.

Stamatopoulos has the credibility and network to design a Quantum Finance Challenge series on Aqora. Propose him as an advisor or challenge designer who could bring financial institutions to the platform. His published research on quantum advantage in finance could form the basis of benchmarking competitions. He bridges the gap between academic quantum research and enterprise financial applications.