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Colorized Picture of a Bose-Einstein Condensate. Credit: NIST By Brian N. Siegelwax "I'm So Excited" Why Manipulating Bose-Einstein Condensate is Exciting for the Quantum Community The opportunity to experiment with the fifth state of matter (along with solid, liquid, gas, and plasma) ought to be personally exciting for just about anyone. But just in case it isn’t, this article is going to explore the commercial applications of quantum matter research. First things first, Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) are formed when atoms, which are suspended inside an ultra-high vacuum chamber, are cooled to billionths-of-a-degree (nK) above absolute zero. A fraction of the atoms [...]

The team successfully executed large-scale algorithms on an error-corrected quantum computer utilizing 48 logical qubits. This represents a significant advance over previous demonstrations, which were limited to one or two logical qubits. This breakthrough signifies a transition from the era of physical qubits to the era of logical, error-corrected qubits, marking a new era in scalable fault-tolerant quantum computing. The research demonstrates enhanced computation stability and reliability through quantum error correction, operating logical qubits with a fidelity superior to the component physical qubits. The fidelity improves as the code distance increases, allowing the correction of more errors. Key developments that enabled [...]

Multiverse Computing, in collaboration with Moody's Analytics, has launched QFStudio, a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform. This initiative, announced in San Sebastián, Spain, combines Multiverse's expertise in quantum algorithms with Moody's extensive experience in risk management. The platform is tailored to offer quantum computing solutions for applications in machine learning, optimization, and financial simulations.The QFStudioTM platform is notable for its:Benchmarking Tools: Allowing comparisons between classical and quantum solutions for finance-related applications.Integration Ease: With web and API accessibility, it integrates smoothly with existing systems.Quantum Efficiency: Facilitating the use of more effective quantum algorithms where they outperform classical ones. The collaboration leverages [...]

Once again, the Unitary Fund has surveyed a wide variety of users to help the industry gain a better understanding of the who the users are, what tools and software they are using, and the strengths and needs of the ecosystem. The survey covers areas including user demographics, programming languages used, experience level, cloud services used, OSS (Open Source Software) development and research, community and resources, diversity and inclusion, and other things. The survey received 798 responses from a broad audience ranging from business leader to hobbyist, people from 56 countries, who worked at academic institutions, enterprises, startups, government labs, and [...]

At its annual Quantum Summit in New York, IBM unveiled its quantum roadmap for both hardware and software through the next 10 years. It represents a continuation of the roadmaps they have presented but also promises a disruptive leap for 2024. Entering a New Era of Quantum Utility IBM views the quantum journey as divided into three eras. The first, the era of emergence,  they date from their first cloud machine in 2016. The second, the era of utility which IBM believes is starting now is when quantum computers are able to solve problems beyond brute force classical simulation. The third, [...]

In April 2021, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced a Quantum Benchmarking program to estimate the long-term utility of quantum computers by creating new benchmarks that can quantify progress towards specific computational challenges. Additionally, the program will estimate the hardware-specific resources required to achieve different levels of benchmark performance. We had previously reported (see here and here) on several Phase I awards that were made last year. DARPA has now started providing awards for Phase II of the program for certain teams to continue work on this project. Rigetti Computing, along with a team including the University of [...]

You may have heard that Alibaba has decided to shut down their quantum research team. As reported in this article published by Reuters, about 30 people from the quantum team will be let go and Alibaba will be donating the lab and related equipment to Zhejiang University. It is likely that many of those 30 people will also move to the university. Alibaba has faced financial issues recently and has been undergoing several reorganizations. Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu is conducting strategic reviews to distinguish between core and non-core businesses and it appears that quantum technology did not make the cut. We [...]

ParTec AG, a leader in modular supercomputers, and Quantum Machines, a provider of quantum control solutions, announced plans to intensify their collaboration. They aim to develop products that combine Quantum Machines’s Quantum Orchestration Platform with ParTec’s proprietary IP. By 2024, ParTec will offer a comprehensive qubit-agnostic solution with Quantum Machines’s technology embedded within. This solution will allow customers to acquire various quantum processing unit (QPU) technologies from different manufacturers and integrate them into a uniform system architecture tailored to their specific needs. Earlier this year, the two companies unveiled QBridge, a foundation for seamlessly integrating high-performance and quantum computers. QBridge provides [...]

Finding Quantum Leaders in Healthcare Quantum technology may do a lot for healthcare: put data to use in personalized and precision medicine, optimize nurse scheduling and enable doctors to see neurons sparking across the brain, for example. Nardo Manaloto is working to solve healthcare challenges using innovation, enterprise architecture, and emerging tech to impact clinical care and also to improve business operations. Managing Partner of Qubits Ventures, a VC firm specializing in early-stage quantum and photonics tech startups, Nardo is a healthcare and deep tech industry veteran with over 25 years of experience. He also serves as managing director of Quantum [...]