AWS Braket Powers Simulators and Hybrid Systems to Accelerate Quantum Computing
(SiliconAngle) Until recently, it was difficult for companies to get access to quantum computing because machines with the specific technology belonged mainly to startups or physics labs and universities, according to Richard Moulds, general manager of Amazon Braket at Amazon Web Service Inc. But the interest in the solution is growing rapidly, so AWS decided to launch Braket to further develop the technology.
“It’s early, but it’s an exciting time to be doing quantum computing,” said Fernando Brandao, head of quantum algorithms at AWS Brandao said. “And it’s very interesting to see the interest of industries growing and customers, for example, coming from AWS, willing to take part in this journey with us in the development of the technology.”
To make progress in quantum computing, AWS put together a team of experts to work to find new use cases and build more powerful quantum hardware. The AWS center for quantum computing is based on the California Institute of Technology.
“This comes from AWS’ belief that quantum computing is key, and so [it is necessary to] stay close to fresh ideas and to the latest scientific developments,” Brandao said. “And Caltech is a pioneer in quantum computing, so it was the ideal place for doing this.”
AWS recently announced new features for Braket that are primarily focused on more powerful simulators and an easier way to use hybrid systems that incorporate classical computing with quantum machinery, according to Moulds.
“Right now, the machines are far from perfect, and the way we can try to squeeze as much value out of these devices today is to run them in tandem with classical systems,” Moulds explained. “We think of the notion of a self-learning quantum algorithm, where you use classic optimization techniques, such as we see with machine learning, to tweak and tune the parameters of a quantum algorithm to try to iterate and converge on the best answer and try to overcome some of these issues surrounding errors.”