Quantum News Briefs March 3: Q-CTRL unites AI and quantum technology to boost progress with world-first software, Europe’s OpenSuperQ brings in new partners & announces new 7-year agenda 1,000 qubit quantum computing system; Quantum Exponential Group plc appoints Stuart Woods as Chief Operating & Strategy Officer + MORE.
Q-CTRL unites AI and quantum technology to boost progress with world-first software
The new tool suite in Boulder Opal allows users to accelerate manual tasks with the power of AI automation, freeing up researchers’ time to achieve more and dedicate their efforts to delivering the most foundational insights needed to make quantum technology useful. The new Boulder Opal features include:
– AI-automated system calibration: Users can replace manual, stepwise routines to tuneup hardware with an autonomous “experiment scheduler” which allows automated calibration of many intersecting tasks across entire systems in minutes.
– Low-latency AI: A new hybrid software architecture combines the best of cloud and local computing resources to deliver high-performance AI agents at the edge. Now users can connect their hardware directly to local AI agents in a closed loop, reducing hours of manual tuneup to fractions of a second and enabling optimization tasks that were previously impossible.
– Enhanced cloud computing platform: A huge boost to cloud computing power enables AI agents to handle much more complex learning tasks and empowers users to solve simulation and optimization problems that are out of reach for any other software package. Parallelization across CPUs, GPUs and large memory allocations is fully automatic.
“This technological intersection has been under development at Q-CTRL for some years,” said Q-CTRL CEO and Founder Michael J. Biercuk. “Now we’re excited to make custom-engineered AI agents available to solve some of the toughest challenges faced by researchers in the quantum sector. It’s thrilling to know that Q-CTRL is the true global leader in taking this technology from promise to practical. Click here to read announcement in-entirety from Q-CTRL site.
Europe’s OpenSuperQ brings in new partners & announces new 7-year agenda 1,000 qubit quantum computing system
OpenSuperQPlus (Open Superconducting Quantum Computers) is funded by the European Union with 20 million euros from a specific quantum grant within the Horizon Europe framework programme. This budget goes a long way through synergies with local and national initiatives. “We are bringing together European specialists for all the components of such a quantum computing system under a unified framework – be they in the public or private sector. The technological challenge of beating errors in quantum computers and scaling them up needs all hands on deck from the outstanding quantum ecosystem in Europe“, says coordinator Frank Wilhelm-Mauch of Forschungszentrum Jülich.
OpenSuperQ is now bringing the existing team together with new partners – including the key partners of the national initiatives of the Netherlands, France, Finland, Germany, Hungary and Sweden, full-stack quantum computing startups and many other key players in the field. The large-scale follow-up project coordinated by Forschungszentrum Jülich involves a total of 28 partners from 10 countries.\
This team has formed a framework partnership and put forward an ambitious seven year agenda ultimately leading to a 1,000 qubit quantum computing system. The consortium is now launching its first stage OpenSuperQPlus 100 that on the one hand aims at developing several systems for evaluating hard- and software as well as a user-oriented 100 qubit system for first quantum applications within the next 3.5 years. With regard to the second stage it will also look at the critical components and technological decisions needed for the 1,000 qubit quantum computing system. Click here to read complete release.
Quantum Exponential Group plc appoints Stuart Woods as Chief Operating & Strategy Officer
Mr. Woods has over three decades of experience and has led a number of technology companies ranging from startups to publicly traded, multi-million-pound businesses. His diverse portfolio comprises eleven disruptive technologies and includes five acquisitions. He has built, raised funds for and managed these companies by mapping their specific needs and strengths while building their teams.
Stuart’s operational, technical and managerial experience spans both size and sector and led him most recently into cryogenics for quantum computing, where he was managing director of Oxford Instruments NanoScience, part of London Stock Exchange-listed Oxford Instruments Plc, currently capitalised at c.£1.5 billion.
Here, he led a team at the forefront of the development and commercialisation of quantum computing globally, creating high performance cryogenic and cryogen-free environments for ultra-low temperature and high magnetic field applications in physics, chemistry and materials science research down to the atomic scale. Stuart was also a member of the Management Board of Oxford Instruments plc and played a key role in the delivery of the company’s environmental strategy, focused on minimising the environmental footprint of its operations, products and services. Stuart is also currently a Business Strategy Officer on the board of The Quantum Insider.
Commenting on his appointment, Stuart Woods said “I am looking forward to joining the Quantum Exponential team as we expand on the progress made to date. QE’s thorough due diligence process, the experience of the team, its commitment to technical depth and its quantum-only focus makes it a truly one-of-a-kind fund, providing investors access to usually inaccessible companies. With increasing investor awareness in quantum technologies, coupled with support from the UK Government for the quantum technology sector, an outstanding advisory board and a solid deal funnel, I am confident of exciting times ahead for Quantum Exponential and its shareholders”. Click here to read the announcement in-entirety on Quantum Exponential site.
CERN QTI launches its new series of online lectures to explore quantum science
The primary goal of the programme is to provide a platform for young scientists to showcase their work and experiences, exchange ideas with fellow emerging professionals and bring new insights into the rapidly evolving field of quantum science. Each lecture is intended to raise awareness and understanding of the recent developments, opportunities and challenges in various areas of quantum research, and will also offer resources and tools to learn more about the topics covered independently.
Free and open to all, the online lectures will take place regularly, on Wednesdays, starting at 11.00 a.m. CET. They will be broadcast live for participants worldwide and will also be made available via Zoom to everyone who has a valid Indico account. All lectures will be recorded and published on the CERN QTI website and on the CERN Lectures YouTube channel to watch and re-watch in the future.
The first round of talks, coming up in March, is listed below, and a full list of lectures can be found here*. Join us as we explore the exciting possibilities of quantum technologies together! Click here to read full details on CERN website.
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.