HKUST Professor Zeng Bei Questions Origin Quantum’s Claims that It Improves Efficiency of Quantum Computers by “Several Times”

(SouthChinaMorningPost) A Chinese company says it has developed system software for quantum computers, but an expert questions if the effort is ahead of the current stage of hardware development.
Xinhua reported on Monday that Origin Quantum, a Hefei-based start-up in the southeastern province of Anhui, had released what it described as an “operating system” capable of improving the efficiency of quantum computers by “several times”.
Origin said its new system, Origin Pilot, improved execution of computational tasks and automated calibration of quantum chips. It also supports a variety of quantum computers.
Zeng Bei, a professor of physics with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and an expert in quantum computing, said despite efforts to improve these quantum computers’ user interfaces, the pressing problem is that the hardware required is “way behind the software”.
“Yes, people are trying to make an operating system, borrowing the idea of classical calculating, but actually at this stage we don’t actually need them because the key part is the underlying hardware,” Zeng said.
“We don’t have quantum [computers] yet. Without hardware, talking about operating [systems] or software is a bit too early,” she said.