Microsoft is ushering in a new era of computing. The company aims to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges through the development of Azure Quantum. This platform is set to deliver reliable quantum computing at scale.
It offers a path towards scientific advantages across various fields. In a recent demonstration, Microsoft showcased the most reliable logical qubits to date. The error rate was 800 times better than physical qubits.
One of the primary issues with current noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) machines is their noise and error-prone physical qubits. This limits their practical applications. To address this, Microsoft is transitioning to logical qubits.
These combine multiple physical qubits to protect against noise and maintain coherence over long computations. Quantum computing requires deep integration with cloud technology to enable groundbreaking hybrid quantum applications. These applications could revolutionize various sectors, from sustainable energy solutions to advanced medical treatments.
Microsoft’s Azure Quantum platform is designed to support a variety of quantum hardware architectures. It provides a secure, scalable cloud environment to address problems unsolvable by classical computing. Microsoft continues to advance its mission by collaborating with industry leaders such as Quantinuum and Atom Computing.
Together, they aim to scale resilient quantum capabilities and bring the best solutions to the Azure Quantum platform. In collaboration with Quantinuum, they have achieved a record with 12 highly reliable entangled logical qubits.
Azure Quantum scalability and partnerships
This marks the largest number of such qubits with the highest fidelity to date. The accomplishment scales logical qubit computation on ion-trap hardware within the Azure Quantum compute platform. To push the boundaries of practical quantum computing, Microsoft demonstrated the first end-to-end chemistry simulation.
It combined reliable logical quantum computation with cloud high-performance computing (HPC) and AI. This collaboration with Quantinuum paves the way for practical solutions in chemistry, physics, and life sciences. Microsoft also announced its partnership with Atom Computing to build the world’s most powerful quantum machine.
They will integrate Atom Computing’s neutral-atom hardware into the Azure Quantum platform. This collaboration aims to provide customers with top-tier quantum hardware, combined with Azure’s comprehensive suite for scientific discovery, Azure Elements. By integrating quantum computing with AI and cloud technology, Microsoft is pioneering a new computing paradigm.
The Azure Quantum compute platform leverages the strengths of both AI for large-scale data processing and quantum computing for complex calculations. This integration offers a secure, unified environment for developing innovative solutions to intractable problems on classical computers. Today’s developments with Quantinuum include creating 12 logical qubits using a 56-physical-qubits H2 machine.
It exhibits a 22x improvement in circuit error rates compared to physical qubits. This progress reflects the high fidelity and connectivity of their H-Series trapped-ion hardware and Microsoft’s expertise in error correction. As Microsoft continues to enhance both logical qubit counts and fidelity, the company aims to lay a solid foundation for meaningful quantum computing results.
This ongoing effort will hinge on hardware and software advancements enabling longer and more reliable quantum applications. Rajeeb Hazra, CEO of Quantinuum, stated, “Our improved error correction code and qubit-virtualization system, coupled with Azure Quantum’s tools, bring us fully into Level 2 resilient quantum computing, promising even greater advancements.”
With these milestones, Microsoft continues to drive forward the future of quantum computing. The company aims to turn theoretical potential into tangible scientific and industrial breakthroughs.
