Futuristic? Quantum Computing is already here
Just like many hyped topics in media, sometimes is not easy to recognize the real thing. This is particularly true for scientific breakthrough, and in particular for those of us in the industry, trying to get actual tangible value to solve current or upcoming challenges. First, because science is never-ending and every day we get some amazing news from the newest progress from the scientific field, and second, because industry is always aiming to get those amazing breakthroughs into tangible daily stuff that enable and change people's lives.
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Quantum computing is such a particular thing, for the modern Quantum Mechanics was born almost a hundred years ago and the idea of solving quantum problems using a quantum computer was born around 40 years ago. Probably media and science fiction deviate much attention, feeding all sort of well know fantastic stories. Actually, when trying to get more rigorous about the information sources, there are several well credited researchers and scientific sources still pointing for 5 to 10 years (or even 20) for what they consider quantum computing.
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Provocative enough, In my obsessive research about Quantum industry-ready, I see Quantum Computing is already here. Is a living creature (a growing ecosystem, a quickly evolving technology and hunger for talent development), and there are several things still on the go, like the Quantum Internet or the quantum-proof encryption and/or blockchain. Nevertheless, nowadays there are several players already successfully offering Quantum Solutions and more importantly, several industries and well known corporations already testing and using the Quantum effects benefits for their production and value chains.
Let's put in perspective also for the fact that the As a Service business/solution model paves a road to facilitate access and expedite massive adoption, for several of the most prominent technology developments are being offered through a Cloud approach, some of them as a Public Cloud service, some others as a Private cloud option, and of course there is also the well known on-premise approach, for those with strong reasons and budget to run dedicated resources for the currently most advanced technology in our world.
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Let's see some latest updates in the field. For sure, I may be missing several of them, and I'll be more than glad to ready you in the comments below about those who deserve our attention. We'll look at the main players building and commercializing Quantum Computing solutions (It's not intended to be an exhaustive and detailed listing, for there is a lot of change in the landscape and evolving quickly and the sorting below is just random):
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Honeywell
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Trapped-ion quantum computers use numerous, individual, charged atoms (ions) to hold quantum information. Honeywell systems use electromagnetic fields to hold (trap) each ion so it can be manipulated and encoded using microwave signals and lasers, aiming to be closer to industries?leveraging our solutions?to solve computational problems that are impractical to solve with traditional computers. This highly complex calculations and computations are processed through algorithms designed and developed specifically for quantum computers. These algorithms are similar to classical algorithms from computer science, but also leverage a combination of physics and mathematics expertise.
Within quantum’s ecosystem are several experts and providers specializing in quantum-algorithms, who specialize in “converting” real world problems into quantum-standard algorithms. Honeywell Ventures has invested and partnered with two of the companies that do that,?Zapata?Computing?and?Cambridge Quantum Computing. Honeywell plans to merge and form an independent company that combines Honeywell's hardware with Cambridge Quantum's software platforms is making also a huge impact in the market.
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In addition, they have developed a partnership with?Microsoft’s Azure Quantum, to offer organizations?access to actual quantum computer?both directly through Honeywell interface as well as through the Azure Quantum portal.
?IonQ
The 2015 founded startup has made huge impact in a short timeframe. Aiming to develop a general-purpose trapped ion quantum computer and software to generate, optimize, and execute quantum circuits, has been taking the spotlight for their trapped-ions technology, claiming the lead in Quantum Computing performance benchmarks.
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?With an intensive community and partnership work, IonQ is currently available through AWS Braket, Azure Quantum and GCP
D-Wave
Know as the the world's first company to sell computers to exploit quantum effects in their operation, the canadian based company approach is based on Quantum Annealing and is currently pitching as a Commercial-ready quantum solutions, mainly with a Cloud-based approach (https://cloud.dwavesys.com/leap/signup/). In addition, it is also accesible through AWS Braket. With a great focus on optimization problems their Leap service offers quantum-classical hybrid solvers
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Intel
Shifted focus from quantum computers that rely on superconducting qubits to ones with silicon spin qubits. A silicon spin qubit is the size of a transistor, which is way smaller than a superconducting qubit, and therefore, they're taking a well know fabrication perspective, aiming for scale and energy economy, even though spin qubits may not be the most advanced quantum computing technology out there, compared to recent progresses with trapped ions and superconducting qubits.
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Since Intel is determined to play an important role in quantum computing, has joined QuTech to develop further progress for a previously-teased cryogenic control chip -Horse Ridge- that should make quantum computers, smaller, faster and with less aggressive cooling.
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AWS Braket
Eventhough AWS is not currently working in their own Quantum Hardware implementation, is enjoying a unique position in the Cloud market share, a powerhouse innovator and customer centric, who can connect the most advance hardware implementation through their platform as a service model.
Nowadays, AWS can offer 3 different hardware implementations (IonQ Trapped Ion Universal Gate Machine, Rigetti Superconducting Chip and D-Wave Quantum Annealer)
As a fast paced new business ecosystem, being successful integrating the best in breed hardware with optimal software solutions, APIs, SDKs and Algorithms is a key component for making a grasp from the commercial-ready quantum solutions available today or in the near future.
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Azure Quantum Solutions
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Microsoft is also using their strong Azure muscle to level up a Service model, based providing access to a hybrid quatum ecosystems, made up by quantum simulators and hardware made available through several partnerships, in order to enable access to hybrid optimization computing resources.
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Microsoft is also working in their own endeavours and research, which are still expected to bear light (The topological quantum computing approach through Majorana fermions is still a work in progress)
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IBM
We cannot talk about quantum computing without mentioning IBM. Big blue has been a super technology powerhouse for decades and, even though may have arrived somewhat late to the Cloud and As-A-Service game, is a still a big player in the technology industry and plays a considerable role in the research arena also. IBM plays a position that only a handful of few key players can, working on their own hardware, plus leveraging their strengths in the software and business solutions. Qiskit, IBM's open-source SDK plays a huge role building community and momentum strengthening the new generation of quantum software engineers. By now, IBM quantum computers, Q-Series, has several versions, varying in amount of physical qubits and architecture.
IBM Quantum Services provides containerized runtime and programming tools to access cloud-based quantum systems and simulators via the IBM Cloud.
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Google has been standing in the spotlight for it's aiming to achieve the so called "Quantum Supremacy" and working towards building a “useful, error-corrected quantum computer” by the end of the decade. So far, has reached prominence with its Sycamore QPU, created by Google AI division. The 54 superconducting qubits processor, performed the target computation in 200 seconds (using 53 of those qubits), in a duty estimated in 10,000 years for the world’s fastest supercomputer available nowadays.
Google is also providing alternatives to perform Quantum Simulation, using Cirq and Qsim on Google Cloud, where you are provided a Docker container over a compute engine Virtual Machine instance, disclaiming that a "… A fully capable quantum computer will not be generally available for several years. However, quantum circuit simulation is a viable alternative…"
The previous statement build before the announcement in Jan 2021?the availability of IonQ?high-fidelity 11-qubit system, through Google Cloud Marketplace.
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Industry & Research is eager for advancement
Again, for those of us being in the Tech Industry, you know timing is key, and the best timing to lead and shape the upcoming "real" and "useful" quantum computers is NOW. Just take a glimpse on a sample news only from last week about it:
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Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC) has launched the UK’s first commercially available Quantum Computing-as-a-Service built entirely using its proprietary technology.
OQC is joining the race for a future Quantum leadership. In a boost for the UK’s ambitions to be a global quantum superpower, as well as for businesses looking to explore the increasing commercial and technical benefits of quantum computing, OQC's announcement joins previous announcements from First available IBM Q Series in Europe (Germany) and the Highlights from the EU Quantum Flagship
Link: https://thequantumdaily.com/2021/07/07/oqc-delivers-the-uks-first-quantum-computing-as-a-service/
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Exploring the entanglement frontier with programmable arrays of atomic qubits
Pasqal, a spin out of from Institut d’Optique, is building quantum computers made of arrays of hundreds of atoms, using the Neutral Atoms approach
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Harvard-led physicists take big step in race to quantum computing
A team of physicists from the Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms and other universities has developed a special type of quantum computer known as a programmable quantum simulator capable of operating with 256 quantum bits, or "qubits."
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China demonstrates most powerful quantum computer
The team led by PanJianWei at the University of Science and Technology of China in Shanghai hit a new benchmark using 56 of the 76 photonic qubits built. “We estimate that the sampling task finished by Zuchongzhi in about 1.2 hours will take the most powerful supercomputer at least eight years,” the team reports in its paper.
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Principal-Talent Acquisition / Full Lifecycle Quantum Technical Recruiting- D-Wave Systems, Inc
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