dougfinke

Introduction Quantum optimization on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) hardware offers a practical pathway to explore potential speedups for combinatorial and real-world optimization problems. Unlike fault-tolerant approaches that await future hardware, near-term methods leverage current devices by combining quantum subroutines with classical processing. This article reviews recent experimental and theoretical advances implemented on actual quantum processors, focusing on canonical problems such as spin-glass Ising models, higher-order binary optimization, Max-Cut, and maximum independent set. Many vendors have reported signs of quantum advantage or supremacy in various contexts. Here, we examine six representative works that provide concrete benchmarks on today's hardware (in no particular [...]

On January 17, 2025, President Biden issued Executive Order 14144 which covered among other things requirements for agencies to implement Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms as soon as practicable. On June 6, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order modifying the original one to redirect efforts from proactive development to identifying and managing vulnerabilities, moving away from initiatives perceived as regulatory overreach. Perhaps the best way to show the specific changes is to provide a marked-up version of the relevant subsection 4(f) in this order to show what has been added and deleted. You can view the original Executive Order 14144 [...]

At its recent Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC25), Apple announced that its next major operating system releases for Mac and Windows,  iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, and visionOS 26, will support negotiation of a quantum-secure key exchange algorithm with TLS 1.3 servers that support it. If a server does not yet support one of the quantum-secure exchange algorithms, the operating system will still maintain compatibility and use other key exchange algorithms. The next major operating system releases are expected to be made during Apple's Fall product announcements expected in September. Apple did incorporate support last year for post-quantum cryptography (PQC) [...]

Conceptual Picture of IBM's Starling, Planned to Be the Company's First Fault Tolerant Quantum Computer. Credit: IBM. IBM had previously indicated its intention to create full fault tolerant quantum computers (FTQC) with an ultimate goal to produce a processor codenamed Blue Jay with 2000 logical qubits and support for processing circuits with 1 billion gates by 2033. Certainly, this roadmap will incorporate things that will provide key technologies needed for meeting the goals of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative that IBM is participating in. But what some people may not realize is that moving from their current NISQ to an FTQC architecture [...]

IonQ has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Oxford Ionics, a UK-based quantum hardware company, in a transaction valued at $1.075 billion, marking a strategic move to accelerate the global race toward fault-tolerant quantum computing. The deal consists of approximately $1.065 billion in IonQ stock and $10 million in cash, and is expected to close later in 2025 pending regulatory approvals. Strategic Fit: Trapped-Ion Synergies and Semiconductor Integration This acquisition merges IonQ’s application and systems expertise in trapped-ion quantum computing with Oxford Ionics’ high-fidelity ion-trap technology, notable for its integration onto conventional semiconductor chips. The companies aim to deliver scalable quantum [...]

Puzzles, Games & History Create Quantum Education Overview Postdoc researcher Joel Hutchinson discusses quantum materials and innovative science communication with host Veronica Combs in this episode of The Quantum Spin by HKA. Joel is an experimentalist at the University of Basel who specializes in 2D quantum materials. He is also a science communicator who helped to build the “Save the Cat'” quantum quest, a game that incorporates physics puzzles as well as history lessons in scientific discovery. He and host Veronica Combs cover the Hubbard Model as well as the power of games to level the educational playing field. 00:00 Introduction [...]

Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC) has published its development roadmap for the next nine years with an end goal of producing a quantum processor, codenamed Atlas with 50,000 logical qubits by 2034, the largest number that anyone else has disclosed to date. Leading up to the Atlas, the company will be developing a series of three additional machines, codenamed Genesis, Titan, and Athena with increasing qubit count and error rate. The company expects that the machine slated for 2028, Titan, will be able to provide users with a commercial advantage over classical alternatives on some applications. A key technology element that they [...]

Many countries are seeking to be amongst the leaders in developing and utilizing quantum technology to benefit the lives of their citizens. And the United Kingdom is no exception. Recently, Labour Tech and the YIMBY Initiative published a report including contributions from 11 quantum experts, including GQI's own Dr. Joe Spencer that outlines an urgent, mission-led strategy to secure the UK’s global leadership in quantum technologies. It emphasizes that quantum computing is no longer speculative science but a geopolitical, economic, and security imperative. The UK, despite its strong academic foundations and early investments, is at risk of becoming a “research lab [...]

We had reported in our story about IonQ's Q1 financial report last month that IonQ announced its intention to acquire LightSynq Technologies. IonQ has now announced they have completed the acquisition and delivered 12,377,433 "Stock Consideration" shares. At the current market price for Ionq as of today of $39.81 this would amount to about $492.7 million, although some of those shares include stock options subject to vesting conditions. Lightsynq is a Boston-based startup that specializes in photonic interconnects and quantum memory used in creating a quantum internet and also for connecting individual quantum processors together to form a larger cluster. As [...]

Students from the CU News Corps at the University of Colorado, Boulder have created a report on quantum technology and how organizations in the state of Colorado are working to make it a reality. The report covers activities and quotes from organizations including Vescent Photonics, Elevate Quantum, Atom Computing, JILA, Colorado School of Mines, and others that help explain the technology and how it will make an impact in the future. To access the report, you can reach it by clicking on the report title The New Frontier of Technology: Quantum Computing. May 31, 2025