Commercial Quantum Computer?

Quantum computers could revolutionize the way we tackle problems that stump even the best classical computers.
Single atom transistor recently introduced has been seen as a tool that could lead the way to building a quantum computer. For general introduction how quantum computer work, read A tale of two qubits: how quantum computers work article.

D-Wave Announces Commercially Available Quantum Computer article tells that computing company D-Wave has announced that they’re selling a quantum computing system commercially, which they’re calling the D-Wave One. D-Wave system comes equipped with a 128-qubit processor that’s designed to perform discrete optimization operations. The processor uses quantum annealing to perform these operations.

D-Wave is advertisting a number of different applications for its quantum computing system, primarily in the field of artificial intelligence. According to the company, its system can handle virtually any AI application that can be translated to a Markov random field.

dwave

Learning to program the D-Wave One blog article tells that the processor in the D-Wave One – codenamed Rainier – is designed to perform a single mathematical operation called discrete optimization. It is a special purpose processor. When writing applications the D-Wave One is used only for the steps in your task that involve solving optimization problems. All the other parts of your code still run on your conventional systems of choice. Rainier solves optimization problems using quantum annealing (QA), which is a class of problem solving approaches that use quantum effects to help get better solutions, faster. Learning to program the D-Wave One is the first in a series of blog posts describing the algorithms we have run on D-Wave quantum computers, and how to use these to build interesting applications.

But is this the start of the quantum computers era? Maybe not. D-Wave Announces Commercially Available Quantum Computer article comments tell a story that this computer might not be the quantum computer you might be waiting for. It seem that the name “quantum computer” is a bit misleading for this product. There are serious controversies around the working and “quantumness” of the machine. D-Wave has been heavily criticized by some scientists in the quantum computing field. First sale for quantum computing article tells that uncertainty persists around how the impressive black monolith known as D-Wave One actually works. Computer scientists have long questioned whether D-Wave’s systems truly exploit quantum physics on their products.

Slashdot article D-Wave Announces Commercially Available Quantum Computer comments tell that this has the same central problem as before. D-Wave’s computers haven’t demonstrated that their commercial bits are entangled. There’s no way to really distinguish what they are doing from essentially classical simulated annealing. Recommended reading that is skeptical of D-Wave’s claims is much of what Scott Aaronson has wrote about them. See for example http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=639, http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=198 although interestingly after he visited D-Wave’s labs in person his views changed slightly and became slightly more sympathetic to them http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=954.

So it is hard to say if the “128 qubits” part is snake oil or for real. If the 128 “qubits” aren’t entangled at all, which means it is useless for any of the quantum algorithms that one generally thinks of. It seem that this device simply has 128 separate “qubits” that are queried individually, and is, essentially an augmented classical computer that gains a few minor advantages in some very specific algorithms (i.e. the quantum annealing algorithm) due to this qubit querying, but is otherwise indistinguishable from a really expensive classical computer for any other purpose. This has the same central problem as before: D-Wave’s computers haven’t demonstrated that their commercial bits are entangled.

Rather than constantly adding more qubits and issuing more hard-to-evaluate announcements, while leaving the scientific characterization of its devices in a state of limbo, why doesn’t D-Wave just focus all its efforts on demonstrating entanglement, or otherwise getting stronger evidence for a quantum role in the apparent speedup? There’s a reason why academic quantum computing groups focus on pushing down decoherence and demonstrating entanglement in 2, 3, or 4 qubits: because that way, at least you know that the qubits are qubits! Suppose D-Wave were marketing a classical, special-purpose, $10-million computer designed to perform simulated annealing, for 90-bit Ising spin glass problems with a certain fixed topology, somewhat better than an off-the-shelf computing cluster. Would there be even 5% of the public interest that there is now?

1,130 Comments

  1. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Waiting for Quantum Computing? Try Probabilistic Computing
    https://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/hardware/waiting-for-quantum-computing-try-probabilistic-computing

    Computer scientists and engineers have started down a road that could one day lead to a momentous transition: from deterministic computing systems, based on classical physics, to quantum computing systems, which exploit the weird and wacky probabilistic rules of quantum physics. Many commentators have pointed out that if engineers are able to fashion practical quantum computers, there will be a tectonic shift in the sort of computations that become possible.

    But that’s a big if.

    Quantum computers hold great theoretical promise, sure, but the hurdles that need to be overcome to build practical machines are enormous. Some skeptics have argued that the technical challenges are so immense that it’s very unlikely that general-purpose quantum computers will become available anytime in the foreseeable future. Others, including the engineers now working very hard to build these machines at Google, IBM, Intel, and elsewhere, are more sanguine, anticipating that 5 or 10 more years of work may be enough to bring the first practical general-purpose quantum computers on line.

    One way to store a bit is to use a magnet with two possible directions of magnetization. Early computers used that approach for what was known as magnetic-core memory. It’s hard to miniaturize magnetic memory, though, because magnets become unstable as they are made smaller. We have turned this seeming bug into a feature, using tiny unstable magnets to implement p-bits. In 2019, with the help of collaborators at Tohoku University, in Japan, we built a probabilistic computer with eight such p-bits.

    We didn’t really need the new magnet-based p-bit to build a probabilistic computer, though. Indeed, earlier we had built probabilistic computers that implement p-bits using elaborate electronic circuits to generate pseudorandom sequences out of deterministic bits. Companies like Fujitsu are already marketing similar probabilistic computers. But using unstable magnets as the fundamental building block allows a p-bit to be implemented with a few transistors instead of a few thousand, making it possible to build much larger probabilistic computers.

    Reply
  2. Tomi Engdahl says:

    IBM quantum computers now finish some tasks in hours, not months
    https://www.engadget.com/ibm-quantum-computing-speedup-050134678.html

    The systems have a little help from conventional computers.

    As much as quantum computers have improved, they’re far from taking the reins from conventional computers in some situations. IBM might have made them more practical, however. The tech pioneer has found a way to combine a new program execution environment, Qiskit, with a balance of “classical” and quantum computing to deliver a 100 times speedup for tasks that depend on iterative circuit execution. Computations that take months now will take mere hours, IBM said.

    Qiskit by itself allows more circuits to run at a “much faster” rate, and can store quantum programs so that other users can run them. However, it also uploads programs to conventional hardware sitting next to the quantum machines. Before you ask, this isn’t really cheating— the move is meant to cut the latency between a user’s computer and the quantum chip.

    IBM expects to release Qiskit sometime in 2021. Its roadmap also has quantum systems handling a wider range of circuits, and thus a wider range of computing challenges, by 2022. New control systems and libraries in 2023 will help IBM reach its goal of running systems with 1,000 or more qubits, taking the company closer to full quantum supremacy where the technology can handle any computing task.

    The company was quick to acknowledge that there’s a long road ahead. It likened current quantum technology to the earliest computers — that is, they required a lot of manual programming and took ages to complete workloads that now seem trivial. Ideally, Qiskit and improved hardware will lead to a day when anyone can put quantum computing to use, even if it’s through a distant mainframe.

    Reply
  3. Tomi Engdahl says:

    An Australian transportation agency is partnering with startup Q-CTRL is to see how quantum computing could someday allow commuters and tourists to enjoy the fastest possible travel through multiple transfers across transportation networks.

    https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/software/better-commuting-through-quantum-computing

    Reply
  4. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Intel says it has solved a key bottleneck in quantum computing
    The breakthrough could lead to tightly integrated quantum chips.
    https://www.engadget.com/intel-ends-quantum-computing-interconnect-bottleneck-160025426.html

    Intel just took a significant step toward making quantum computing more practical. The company and QuTech say they’ve demonstrated the first instance of high-fidelity two-qubit control using its Horse Ridge cryogenic control processor. Quantum computers normally run into an interconnect bottleneck by using room-temperature electronics to steer a refrigerated quantum chip — the demo showed that Horse Ridge could achieve the same fidelity (99.99 percent) as those ‘hotter’ electronics.

    The two firms also showed that Horse Ridge could control multiple qubits on a single radio frequency line, also known as frequency multiplexing, by using an algorithm (Deutsch-Jonza) that’s much more efficient on quantum computers than conventional machines.

    The breakthrough could lead to processors that integrate the electronics and the quantum chip on the same die. That, in turn, could make it much easier to scale quantum computers and have them tackle more of the calculations that would be difficult or impossible with traditional computing power.

    Reply
  5. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Google wants to build a useful quantum computer by 2029
    After claiming quantum supremacy breakthrough in 2019
    https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/19/22443453/google-quantum-computer-2029-decade-commercial-useful-qubits-quantum-transistor

    Reply
  6. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Quantum computing: Intel’s cryogenic chip shows it can control qubits even in a deep freeze
    Intel’s researchers have proven that Horse Ridge could be used to control qubits directly next to the quantum processor.
    https://www.zdnet.com/article/quantum-computing-intels-cryogenic-chip-shows-it-can-control-qubits-even-in-a-deep-freeze/

    Reply
  7. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Pasqal’s ‘neutral atom’ tech promises 200 qubits of quantum processing power
    https://venturebeat.com/2021/06/09/pasqals-neutral-atom-tech-promises-200-qubits-of-quantum-processing-power/

    The race to build quantum computers that can deliver meaningful improvements to enterprises is accelerating. Among those leading the charge is a French startup that believes it has found a way to reach the scale and power to make quantum computing useful.

    Founded in 2019, Pasqal is leveraging technology that was developed at the Institut d’Optique in Palaiseau, France and relies on a process called “neutral atoms.” According to cofounder and CEO Georges-Olivier Reymond, this technique has allowed the company to build processors with up to 200 qubits, inching ever closer to the coveted quantum advantage.

    “We have demonstrated that the quantum computing power is here,” Reymond said. “The next step is to deliver it, which means building devices, developing a quantum-computing-as-a-service offer, and delivering the power on the cloud.”

    The company is the underdog in an increasingly crowded arena that includes heavyweights such as Google and IBM.

    Race to the finish
    Last year, for example, IBM laid out an ambitious quantum roadmap that includes debuting its 127-qubit IBM Quantum Eagle processor sometime this year and a 1,000 qubit processor by 2023. Startup IonQ announced a new 32-qubit quantum computer available in private beta last October.

    So when Pasqal claims to have a 200-qubit processor, that’s no small thing. This progress led to a partnership late last year with Atos, which is incorporating Pasqal’s technology into its own quantum computing efforts to accelerate them for use with corporate clients.

    In addition, Reymond said it has already sold two quantum processing units to high-performance computing centers.

    Using neutral atoms requires less energy and avoids the need for the deep freeze, Reymond said. The ability to place the atoms in various two- and three-dimensional states is allowing some enterprise customers to perform tasks like quantum simulation and optimization.

    The company is now focused on building quantum computers for on-premise customers, as well as a cloud-based quantum service that would allow enterprises to start experimenting with the technology. IBM has already been using a similar cloud-based and on-premise approach for several years.

    While there has been a robust debate about whether the surge in funding for quantum startups is warranted — and just when the technology will truly deliver — Reymond said the excitement is justified.

    Reply
  8. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Daphne Leprince-Ringuet / ZDNet:
    IBM unveils the Quantum System One, its first quantum computer physically built outside of the US, in Germany in partnership with research institute Fraunhofer

    IBM’s first quantum computer outside of the US has just gone live
    https://www.zdnet.com/article/ibms-first-quantum-computer-outside-of-the-us-has-just-gone-live/

    Big Blue has, for the first time, built a quantum computer that is not physically located in its US data centers. For the company, this is the start of global quantum expansion.

    Reply
  9. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Quantum computers are already detangling nature’s mysteries
    Practical quantum computers may be decades away – but the race to build them is already tackling thorny global problems, and unlocking the secrets of the universe
    https://www.wired.co.uk/article/quantum-computing

    Reply
  10. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Here’s why superposition and entanglement have nothing to do with understanding quantum computers
    Or: how will I interact with a quantum computer, and what can it do?
    https://csferrie.medium.com/heres-why-superposition-and-entanglement-have-nothing-to-do-with-understanding-quantum-computers-b2557ed7b5a2

    Reply
  11. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Quantum Computing on a Chip: Brace for the Revolution
    By Francisco Pires 1 day ago
    The development is being compared to the desktop computing system revolution of the 1960′s.
    https://www.tomshardware.com/news/quantum-computing-cambridge-riverland

    Reply
  12. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Harvard-MIT Quantum Computing Breakthrough – “We Are Entering a Completely New Part of the Quantum World”
    https://scitechdaily.com/harvard-mit-quantum-computing-breakthrough-we-are-entering-a-completely-new-part-of-the-quantum-world/

    Team develops simulator with 256 qubits, largest of its kind ever created.
    A team of physicists from the Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms and other universities has developed a special type of quantum computer known as a programmable quantum simulator capable of operating with 256 quantum bits, or “qubits.”

    The system marks a major step toward building large-scale quantum machines that could be used to shed light on a host of complex quantum processes and eventually help bring about real-world breakthroughs in material science, communication technologies, finance, and many other fields, overcoming research hurdles that are beyond the capabilities of even the fastest supercomputers today.

    Reply
  13. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Quantum computer is smallest ever, claim physicists
    https://physicsworld.com/quantum-computer-is-smallest-ever-claim-physicists/

    The smallest quantum computer to date has been claimed by a team of researchers in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. Using strings of trapped ions that are addressed using laser pulses, Ivan Pogorelov at the University of Innsbruck and colleagues created a system that contains 24 fully-entangled quantum bits (qubits) and is housed in two industry-standard server racks.

    The teams says that the computer’s performance matches that of existing state-of-the-art systems and believe that their setup could bring the widespread use of practical quantum computers a step closer to reality.

    Reply
  14. Tomi Engdahl says:

    A team of physicists from the Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms and other universities has developed a special type of quantum computer known as a programmable quantum simulator capable of operating with 256 quantum bits, or “qubits.”

    Team develops quantum simulator with 256 qubits, largest of its kind ever created
    https://phys.org/news/2021-07-team-quantum-simulator-qubits-largest.html

    A team of physicists from the Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms and other universities has developed a special type of quantum computer known as a programmable quantum simulator capable of operating with 256 quantum bits, or “qubits.”

    “We are entering a completely new part of the quantum world.”

    According to Sepehr Ebadi, a physics student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the study’s lead author, it is the combination of system’s unprecedented size and programmability that puts it at the cutting edge of the race for a quantum computer,

    “The number of quantum states that are possible with only 256 qubits exceeds the number of atoms in the solar system,” Ebadi said, explaining the system’s vast size.

    This new system allows the atoms to be assembled in two-dimensional arrays of optical tweezers. This increases the achievable system size from 51 to 256 qubits. Using the tweezers, researchers can arrange the atoms in defect-free patterns and create programmable shapes like square, honeycomb, or triangular lattices to engineer different interactions between the qubits.

    “The workhorse of this new platform is a device called the spatial light modulator, which is used to shape an optical wavefront to produce hundreds of individually focused optical tweezer beams,”

    The initial loading of the atoms into the optical tweezers is random, and the researchers must move the atoms around to arrange them into their target geometries. The researchers use a second set of moving optical tweezers to drag the atoms to their desired locations, eliminating the initial randomness. Lasers give the researchers complete control over the positioning of the atomic qubits and their coherent quantum manipulation.

    Reply
  15. Tomi Engdahl says:

    New combination of materials provides progress toward quantum computing

    https://phys.org/news/2021-06-combination-materials-quantum.html

    Reply
  16. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Startup hopes the world is ready to buy quantum processors
    Quantum processors are mostly used via cloud services; QuantWare will ship you one.
    https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/07/dutch-startup-hopes-to-sell-people-their-own-quantum-processor/

    Reply
  17. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Record-Breaking Chinese Supercomputer Marks New Quantum Supremacy Milestone
    DAVID NIELD
    14 JULY 2021
    We’ve got another quantum computing milestone to report, with researchers in China unveiling a super-advanced 66-qubit quantum supercomputer called Zuchongzhi, which by one important metric is the most powerful machine of its kind we’ve seen to date.
    https://www.sciencealert.com/china-s-latest-56-qubit-computer-marks-another-quantum-milestone

    Reply
  18. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Google tries out error correction on its quantum processor
    Two options for error correction both work, but current hardware limits them.
    https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/07/google-tries-out-error-correction-on-its-quantum-processor/

    Reply
  19. Tomi Engdahl says:

    QuantWare Launches Commercial Quantum Processors
    By Anton Shilov 2 days ago
    A Quantum Leap Forward
    https://www.tomshardware.com/news/quantware-launches-commercial-quantum-processor

    So far, quantum computing has been a prerogative of large and well-funded research institutes and commercial companies with deep pockets. But every new technology becomes democratized sooner or later and it looks like this is about to happen to quantum computing as QuantWare, a startup from the Netherlands starts to offers its Soprano quantum processing unit (QPU) to all interested parties.

    Reply
  20. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Physicists Levitate a Glass Nanosphere, Pushing It Into The Realm of Quantum Mechanics
    https://www.sciencealert.com/physicists-have-brought-a-tiny-nanosphere-to-the-edge-of-quantum-behavior

    Reply
  21. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Quantum computers are notoriously error-prone, but using Google’s 54-qubit Sycamore computer, researchers have found a way to drastically reduce error rates.

    Google’s Quantum Computer Exponentially Suppresses Errors
    https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/hardware/googles-quantum-computer-exponentially-suppress-errors

    Reply
  22. Tomi Engdahl says:

    The Great Quantum Computing Race
    https://semiengineering.com/the-great-quantum-computing-race/

    Companies and countries are pouring tens of billions of dollars into different qubit technologies, but it’s still too early to predict a winner.

    Reply
  23. Tomi Engdahl says:

    What You Should Know about the World’s Largest, Stand-Alone Quantum Computing Company
    Honeywell Quantum Solutions and Cambridge Quantum Computing will combine to form new company.
    https://www.honeywell.com/us/en/news/2021/06/what-you-should-know-about-quantum-computing-company

    Reply
  24. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Topological Superconductor Research Might Be Key to Accessible Quantum Computing
    By Francisco Pires 9 days ago
    Exotic particles may enable “force field” levels of quantum stability.
    https://www.tomshardware.com/news/exotic-superconductor-may-hold-key-for-quantum-computing

    Reply
  25. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Atom Computing Unveils Phoenix Quantum Computing
    https://www.servethehome.com/atom-computing-unveils-phoenix-quantum-computing/

    Atom Computing Unveils Phoenix Quantum Computing
    Phoenix is the name of Atom Computing’s first system. The current solution sounds a bit more like a technology demonstration, but the solution is a 100 atom in a vacuum chamber with what the company calls “optical tweezers.” Then the company’s demonstration manipulates quantum states with lasers. The benefit is that it can achieve greater coherence times versus other solutions.

    Reply
  26. Tomi Engdahl says:

    China Is Pulling Ahead in Global Quantum Race, New Studies Suggest
    The competition between the U.S. and China over development of quantum technology has implications for both the future of science and the two countries’ political relations
    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-is-pulling-ahead-in-global-quantum-race-new-studies-suggest/

    Reply
  27. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Quantum computing’s next big challenge: A quantum skills shortage
    https://www.zdnet.com/article/quantum-computings-next-challenge-finding-quantum-developers-and-fast/

    Increasing qubit counts and improving error correction is hard enough. But quantum computing companies are finding one of the biggest challenges might be to find the right people to do that.

    Reply
  28. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Scientists Just Simulated Quantum Technology on Classical Computing Hardware
    MIKE MCRAE
    7 AUGUST 2021

    https://www.sciencealert.com/quantum-circuits-simulated-on-classical-computers-test-the-limits-of-future-technology

    Lurking in the background of the quest for true quantum supremacy hangs an awkward possibility – hyper-fast number crunching tasks based on quantum trickery might just be a load of hype.

    Now, a pair of physicists from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland and Columbia University in the US have come up with a better way to judge the potential of near-term quantum devices – by simulating the quantum mechanics they rely upon on more traditional hardware.

    Their study made use of a neural network developed by EPFL’s Giuseppe Carleo and his colleague Matthias Troyer back in 2016, using machine learning to come up with an approximation of a quantum system tasked with running a specific process.

    Known as the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA), the process identifies optimal solutions to a problem on energy states from a list of possibilities, solutions that should produce the fewest errors when applied.

    Reply
  29. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Quantum computing: How BMW is getting ready for the next technology revolution
    https://www.zdnet.com/article/quantum-computing-how-bmw-is-getting-ready-for-the-next-technology-revolution/

    The automotive giant sees quantum computers delivering value in as soon as five years. This is how it is getting ready.

    Reply
  30. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Engineers make critical advance in quantum computer design
    https://phys.org/news/2021-08-critical-advance-quantum.html

    Reply
  31. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Quantum Computing 2021 Update
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRKc_ilWcao

    Quantum computing review of the past 12 months, including IBM roadmaps, Zuchongzhi and quantum supremacy, photonic quantum computing, and quantum computing as a service (QCaaS).

    More information on quantum computing, including links to all of the companies discussed or listed in the video, can be found at:
    https://www.explainingcomputers.com/quantum.html

    Reply
  32. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Researchers Create Scalable Quantum Chip That Works At Room Temperature
    https://www.iflscience.com/technology/researchers-create-scalable-quantum-chip-that-works-at-room-temperature/

    Researchers have created a scalable quantum computing platform that has been shrunk down to the size of a penny, which would serve as the basis for a quantum computer that can achieve quantum speeds while using far fewer devices than current designs.

    The team hopes their research, published in Nature Communications, will help push quantum computing forward in the constant pursuit of use in real-world applications.

    Reply
  33. Tomi Engdahl says:

    No More Silicon? Company Develops Glass CPU for Quantum Computing
    By Francisco Pires 4 days ago
    https://www.tomshardware.com/news/ionq-glass-processor

    It seems evaporated glass, chains of ions, and quantum stability go hand in hand

    Reply
  34. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Glass Chip Is Key to New Quantum Architecture Reconfigurable, multicore quantum computers are goal of new IonQ chip built on “evaporated glass” and chains of ions
    https://spectrum.ieee.org/ionq-new-quantum-computing-chip

    Reply
  35. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Volkswagen Announces Bringing Quantum Computers To Automotive Factories
    Volkswagen Group has been aiming to be a leader in the Quantum Computer realm since 2016, now they aim to leave the research phase and start manufacturing
    https://medium.com/geekculture/volkswagen-announces-bringing-quantum-computers-to-automotive-factories-ecb57d955758

    Reply
  36. Tomi Engdahl says:

    AMD files teleportation patent to supercharge quantum computing
    By Katie Wickens about 20 hours ago
    That’s teleportation for Qubits, not for humans, sadly.
    https://www.pcgamer.com/amd-teleportation-quantum-computing-multi-simd-patent/

    Reply
  37. Tomi Engdahl says:

    New AMD Patent Proposes Teleportation to Make Quantum Computing More Efficient
    By Francisco Pires 5 days ago
    https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-teleportation-quantum-computing-patent

    Based on a multi-SIMD quantum processor architecture

    Reply

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