Riverlane has been selected for Phase 2 of DARPA‘s Quantum Benchmarking program, which aims to design quantum computing metrics for practical problems and estimate quantum and classical resources needed for critical performance thresholds. Riverlane’s mission aligns with the program’s goals, focusing on error correction and fault tolerance to achieve a useful quantum advantage in various fields. The project involves collaboration with top universities and national labs including the University of Southern California, the University of Sydney and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to identify benchmarks for practical issues in plasma physics, fluid dynamics, condensed matter, and high-energy physics.
The team is developing tools to estimate resources for implementing quantum algorithms at scale, with an emphasis on the Surface Code for error correction. Principal Quantum Scientist Hari Krovi noted that fault tolerance incurs significant overheads, which must be considered when comparing quantum and classical techniques. This work will provide a quantitative understanding of practical quantum advantage and assess the potential disruptive impact of quantum computing in various fields.
A press release from Riverlane announcing the award is available here.
April 17, 2024
