Google Quantum AI along with additional support from the Geneva Science Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) Foundation is sponsoring a 3 year, $5 million prize competition to encourage development of novel algorithms, new applications, or ways of implementing enhanced performance of quantum solutions that can help solve real-world challenges. The contest will be administered by the XPRIZE Foundation, a non-profit set up in 1994 to host public competitions intended to encourage technical breakthroughs. As stated in the contest guidelines:
To win the prize, teams must develop a new (or meaningfully improved) application of quantum computers that addresses a computationally complex problem and demonstrate the viability of the proposed quantum algorithm for this task, establishing a clear practical quantum advantage over classical methods with a compelling case for positive societal impact.
Key criteria the judges will use for awarding the prizes are the following:
- The projected magnitude of positive real-world impact that would result from quantum advantage in the proposed application area(s).
- The estimated quantum resources required for quantum advantage (i.e., how near-term?).
- The strength of the evidence supporting claims for (A) and (B).
- The novelty of the submission (i.e., magnitude of the “thought delta” introduced).
The contest is open to any individual or entity, unless prohibited by U.S. law and will occur in two phases over a three year period. Phase I which will last for 24 months from March 2024 to February 2026 will be for teams to submit a paper describing the beneficial application they intend to solve and what is the quantum advantage and novelty of their approach. At the end of this phase, the judges will select up to 20 teams that will split a $1 million prize purse and advance to Phase 2.
Phase II will occur in the third year of the contest from March 2026 to January 2027. This phase will require the teams to compile their solutions against realistic estimates of quantum hardware capabilities and perform resource estimates of what is needed to provide meaningful quantum advantage. They will also need to benchmark their quantum solutions with the best known classical solutions to show how their quantum solution is superior. The teams’ solutions will be judged according to the criteria listed above and a Grand Prize of $3 million will be awarded to a single or perhaps multiple Grand Prize winners. If there are multiple Grand Prize winners, the $3 million will be split amongst them. A final $1 million award will be split amongst a few runners-up. The number of runners-up will be determined by the judges.
Registration to participate in Phase I has already started and will last through June 2024. Additional details about this contest can be viewed on a web page posted on the XPRIZE site here, a preliminary competition guidelines document here, a short video here, and a list of FAQs here.
March 5, 2024
