Quantinuum shifts conversation from counting qubits to perfecting cybersecurity solution

2 years ago 338

The caller quantum institution plans a hardware agnostic attack combined with Honeywell's H1 and Cambridge Quantum's tket.

Quantinuum is not counting qubits successful the contention to error-corrected quantum computing. The caller institution is asking a caller question: "What tin we bash close present with what we've got?"

Honeywell Quantum Solutions brings the System Model H1 to the caller entity portion Cambridge Quantum contributes Tket. This operation of trapped-ion quantum hardware and open-source bundle creates a full-stack quantum computing institution that already has paying customers and users astir the world. The companies announced plans to make a caller institution successful June and regulatory support is present complete.

Tony Uttley, president and COO of the caller company, said Quantinuum is the halfway of gravity for the full ecosystem.

"We volition beryllium the lone genuinely integrated afloat stack quantum computing institution successful the world," helium said.

The company's strategy is hardware and bundle agnostic, with plans to integrate different quantum bundle into its tech stack arsenic good arsenic different hardware. Uttley said Quantinuum rejects the accepted quantum contented that these caller machines volition request millions of qubits to beryllium utile to businesses today.

"We took the nonstop other attack and asked what tin we bash with it today?" helium said. "We person recovered retired you tin bash a batch today."

SEE: Quantum world check: Gartner expects much 10 years of hype but CIOs should commencement uncovering usage cases now

Quantinuum plans to reply the question, "What tin you bash for maine now?" earlier the twelvemonth is over. A cybersecurity merchandise is successful the works and volition beryllium announced earlier the extremity of the year. Ilyas Khan, CEO of the caller institution and laminitis of Cambridge Quantum, said customers volition beryllium capable to usage the flagship merchandise disconnected the shelf.

"This cybersecurity merchandise requires cipher to alteration immoderate infrastructure," helium said. "They bash not request to bargain a quantum machine oregon rent one, oregon spell to the unreality to prosecute 1 by the hour."

Uttley said the adjacent merchandise milestone successful 2022 volition beryllium focused connected chemistry: an endeavor bundle bundle that applies quantum computing to lick analyzable technological problems successful pharmaceuticals, worldly science, specialty chemicals and agrochemicals.

"It's outstanding to beryllium astatine this spot of making quantum computing practical," helium said.

Quantinuum represents a turning constituent successful the industry, Khan said, arsenic 2021 volition beryllium the twelvemonth quantum computing became commercially relevant.

"We're precise overmuch successful the Lotus 1-2-3 moment," helium said. "For immoderate clip to come, the manufacture volition deliberation astir however to amended the marketplace to differentiate either show imaginable oregon technological advances which mightiness successful crook shorten the timeline for commercially applicable quantum compute."

SEE: Quantum computing: A cheat sheet

Daniel Newman, main expert astatine Futurum Research, said that Quantinuum is connected the brink of launching an exertion that tin beryllium deployed and thrust gross today.

"It's an exertion that tin conscionable a request that isn't presently achievable utilizing classical computing," helium said. "I deliberation it is inactive aboriginal days, and the archetypal thought of 'Practical Quantum' volition instrumentality immoderate clip to afloat resonate, but directionally, I bash judge this displacement is opening to instrumentality shape."

Newman predicts that the aboriginal of quantum volition beryllium heavy grounded successful quantum augmenting classical computing to lick analyzable problems that the 2 cannot lick arsenic good together.

Uttley sees the adjacent signifier arsenic parsing retired pieces of 1 algorithm to antithetic quantum and/or classical hardware, specified arsenic moving 1 portion connected a trapped-ion instrumentality and different connected a GPU cluster.

"That's wherever the existent OS improvement comes into play and determination truly is nary different institution that tin bash that," helium said.

Open-minded attack to hardware

The 2 leaders said that 1 of the caller company's goals is to enactment the full quantum ecosystem, but the prime to usage different quantum hardware has a applicable constituent too. Uttley said the H1 bid is astatine capableness with each disposable clip being utilized by interior and outer customers.

"We don't person capable capableness if we restrict ourselves to the H1 series," Khan said. "Also, it's precise bully for america to spot however different hardware companies are opening to assistance america to supply divers solutions."

The H1 precocious achieved a quantum measurement of 1,024, portion IBM conscionable announced that its Eagle processor has reached 127 qubits. The H1 uses IBM's quantum computers successful summation to its ain hardware.

Honeywell is simply a supplier for Quantinuum arsenic good arsenic a lawsuit of the caller company's services. Honeywell has invested astir $300 cardinal successful the caller task and Uttley predicts that Quantinuum volition pull investors who person been hesitant astir investing successful quantum technology.

SEE: Quantum news: Advances successful mistake correction and startup of the twelvemonth grant successful France

"This caller institution provides an accidental that doesn't consciousness similar you're making a stake connected a peculiar exertion but much betting connected the full manufacture for success," helium said.

Bob Sorensen, elder vice president of probe and main expert for quantum computing astatine Hyperion Research, said determination is nary wide victor astatine the infinitesimal among the galore designs for quantum hardware, which includes superconducting qubits, trapped ions, photonics and more.

"That is precisely wherefore this caller institution is stressing that their bundle accent volition beryllium hardware agnostic, truthful arsenic not to unit users to prime a azygous quantum computing implementation astatine this time," helium said.

Supporting unfastened root quantum software

Quantinuum volition merchantability bundle products nether the Cambridge Quantum brand.

"We've got 100,000 of users of tket and customers who trust connected Cambridge Quantum Computing and we don't privation to suffer show of that," Khan said.

Holger Mueller, main expert and vice president of Constellation Research, Inc., said the higher innovation and transparency of unfastened root applies to quantum bundle improvement conscionable arsenic it does with accepted bundle engineering.

"Open root has won connected an IaaS level and astir of PaaS," helium said. "Quantum is nary objection and unfastened root based platforms and model volition beryllium cardinal for quantum arsenic well."

SEE: Q-CTRL launches quantum computing people for radical who didn't survey physics

Newman said this attack ensures the portability of applications to support worth successful their improvement efforts adjacent if a definite quantum level doesn't upwind up being the preferred platform. The unreality is simply a bully illustration of wherefore portability volition matter.

"As organizations privation to determination workloads to antithetic infrastructure, unfastened root tin beryllium a large means to execute that," helium said. "Also, unfastened root provides much opportunities to democratize quantum exertion improvement and alteration the developer assemblage to innovate and make much almighty applications."

Quantinuum has astir 400 employees with researchers and engineers making up astir 80% of that group. The company's bundle office volition stay successful Europe with the hardware HQ successful Broomfield, Colorado.