Microsoft has added on new capabilities to their Azure Quantum Elements software announced last year. Quantum Elements is a software platform that makes it easier for chemists, material scientists, and pharmaceutical researchers to investigate new drugs and materials and speed up discovery. A goal expressed by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, is to compress 250 years of chemistry into the next 25. It uses AI and high-performance computing tools. Currently, this software platform is base upon what we would call quantum-inspired, but Microsoft does have an eventually goal to introduce quantum computing into the mix to make the software even more powerful, accurate, and faster.
Currently, the two capabilities listed below are available (or will be soon available) in Azure Quantum Elements Private Preview and made available for more general use later on.
- Generative Chemistry: A new feature that accelerates the discovery of novel compounds, potentially reducing years of laboratory work to just days.
- Accelerated DFT (Density Functional Theory): This code significantly speeds up the simulation of electronic structures, offering a 20-fold increase in speed compared to traditional methods.
Additional information about these new capabilities is available in a blog post located on the Microsoft Azure Quantum website here and a product overview of the Quantum Elements platform can be accessed here.
June 22, 2024