A major Canadian bank has taken an unusual step into earthquake forecasting, filing a provisional patent for a quantum algorithm designed to predict seismic events. The move, announced alongside a broader push into artificial intelligence, signals a strategic bet on technologies that could reshape how financial institutions manage climate risk.
Quantum algorithm for seismic forecasting
Bank of Montreal (BMO) filed a provisional patent for a quantum algorithm intended to help forecast earthquakes. Kristin Milchanowski, BMO’s Chief AI and Quantum Officer, revealed the filing in an interview, stating that the algorithm aims to handle the high-dimensional optimization and combinatorial search problems that make seismic forecasting computationally intensive. Traditional models rely on vast geophysical signal data and are notoriously difficult to fit; quantum computing is particularly suited to such problems in principle, though useful quantum hardware capable of running these workloads at scale remains confined to research labs.
The patent is provisional, meaning it has not been independently benchmarked, and quantum advantage in this domain is still theoretical. However, the filing represents a small bet on optionality: if quantum forecasting ever becomes practical, BMO will have positioned itself as an early mover.
AI dispatch for wildfire zones
Separately, BMO is applying AI to a more immediate problem: wildfire response. The bank uses artificial intelligence models to identify communities cut off by wildfires, such as those that swept through parts of Los Angeles in early 2025, and then routes mobile banking units—essentially banks-on-wheels—into those areas. According to Milchanowski, AI dispatch reduces the lag between displacement and restoration of physical banking services, a critical need for tens of thousands of residents who lost access.
This use case, though less glamorous than quantum forecasting, distinguishes AI-as-operations from AI-as-marketing. It reflects BMO’s broader pattern of focusing on applied projects over publicizing its AI roadmap.
New institute and industry context
BMO formalized its commitment last month with the launch of the BMO Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence & Quantum on April 9. The enterprise-wide center of excellence consolidates research, governance, and applied work in both AI and quantum computing. Milchanowski, who previously served as the bank’s chief AI and data officer, leads the institute as its founding director. Days after the launch, BMO announced partnerships with Quantum Industry Canada and the Chicago Quantum Exchange, two prominent quantum policy and research bodies in North America.
The timing aligns with a broader industry split: Bloomberg reported that Goldman Sachs has scaled back parts of its quantum research, while JPMorgan continues to invest. BMO’s announcement positions it on the investment side, though on a smaller scale. The bank is essentially arguing that the risks of being late outweigh the costs of being early—a defensible stance given BMO’s substantial climate exposure and reputational interest in showing technological seriousness.
Better catastrophe modeling has direct applications in insurance, mortgage portfolios, and infrastructure lending, where climate-driven loss patterns are forcing a rethink of underwriting. If quantum ever delivers practical advantage, BMO will own part of the intellectual property.
For now, the bank’s most visible results are a patent filing and a fleet of mobile branches arriving where the smoke has cleared. Whether that bet pays off remains uncertain, but the message is clear: BMO intends to be ready when quantum computing finally arrives.