(TechRepublic) The quantum ecosystem is growing in all directions from academic to corporate boardrooms and producing new hardware, software and partnerships.
This roundup of quantum news ranging from advancements in hardware, benchmarking work or strategic investments shows why there are so many jobs and why it’s a challenge to fill them.
Accenture Ventures invests in quantum chemistry
The Good Chemistry Company got a vote of confidence via a strategic investment from Accenture Ventures, the consulting company’s corporate venture capital arm. The company’s QEMIST Cloud is an integrated platform designed for developers. Computational chemistry developers can use the platform to build chemical simulation applications and workflows with emerging algorithms in quantum chemistry, machine learning and quantum computing.
Pasqal partners with Siemens and Microsoft
Siemens Digital Industries Software is funding a research project with Pasqal to advance quantum computational multi-physics simulation. The company will use its proprietary quantum methods to solve complex nonlinear differential equations and enhance Siemens’ product design and testing software.
Zapata and IonQ win DARPA award
Zapata and IonQ announced at the end of March a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency multi-million dollar award for quantum benchmarking.
NVIDIA announces quantum progress
At the GTC conference in March, NVIDIA shared an update on its quantum work. The company’s cuQuantum is now in general release, while its cuQuantum DGX Appliance is in beta. CEO Jensen Huang announced a new quantum compiler: nvq++, which targets the Quantum Intermediate Representation, a specification of a low-level machine language that quantum and classical computers can use to communicate.
Maybell Quantum exits stealth mode
Colorado-based Maybell Quantum exited stealth mode in March with the Icebox, a new design for quantum hardware. The founders have shrunk the cooling system required to run the specialized hardware down the size of a kitchen refrigerator.
Q-CTRL opens research institute
Q-CTRL is also supporting expanded quantum research through a partnership with The Paul Scherrer Institute.
Agnostiq: Benchmarks should be application specific
SaaS startup Agnostiq has submitted a new research paper that recommends a more practical approach to measuring the progress of quantum computing: use benchmarks that match the application in question.
Sandra K. Helsel, Ph.D. has been researching and reporting on frontier technologies since 1990. She has her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.