Terra Quantum announces hybrid quantum computing collaboration with NVIDIA

Terra Quantum, a quantum services company with headquarters in Germany and Switzerland, has today announced a collaboration with NVIDIA aimed at fostering the development of quantum-accelerated applications.

The chicken and egg conundrum

As the manufacturers of quantum computers and error correction mechanisms continue to compete in a qubit arms race, in order to do the algorithm research needed to develop applications that can leverage this technology, scientists need a solution to bridge the divide between classical and quantum computing. A chicken and egg conundrum that Terra Quantum has been working on since 2019 with its hybrid algorithm approach.

Focusing on harnessing the power of quantum computing, both hybrid now and native in the future, and applying it specifically in the fields optimisation, simulation, and machine learning, the Swiss/German outfit has assembled, in the words of its founder and CEO Markus Pflitsch, “one of the largest libraries in the world” of algorithms designed to not only deliver unprecedented accelerated computing solutions using today’s hybrid computational power but ones that will scale exponentially when native quantum hardware is realised.

The quantum inflection point

There is no arguing that NVIDIA has been instrumental, if not the linchpin in driving the explosion of AI technologies that proliferate today’s headlines.

The company is so crucial to the development of next-gen technologies that world governments have butted heads on who has dibs on the company’s next purchase orders.

And now, according to Pflitsch, we’re about to see the same revolution in quantum computing.

Driven by NVIDIA’s open-source CUDA Quantum initiative, a project that allows for the integration and programming of quantum processing units (QPU), graphics processing units (GPU), and central processing units (CPU) all in one system, the chicken and egg conundrum has seemingly met its match.

C-suite proof

While we’ve seen governments pour tremendous amounts of money into quantum, China $9.7 billion, the United States $1.9 billion, and the European Union $1.1 billion, government support can and will only take the market so far.

To fully realise and advance the potential of a technology, c-suite executives have to see the bottom line in dollars and cents. Helping to move this needle Terra Quantum has partnerships with a number of blue chip organisations including HSBC, Thales, and Schaeffler Group.

Now in collaboration with NVIDIA providing its CUDA Quantum participants with access to Terra Quantum’s library of algorithms, that needle is set to jump.

Pflitsch shared:

“We are using our hybrid quantum algorithms delivered on NVIDIA GPUs to deliver significant business impact today. This collaboration will not only accelerate this impact but also help unlock  a whole new range of opportunities in the areas of machine learning and simulation — while also setting a pathway for quantum computing.”

Furthermore, NVIDIA’s director of HPC and Quantum Tim Costa explained:

“Our collaboration with Terra Quantum will put CUDA Quantum into the hands of a new set of  researchers working to build the world’s first quantum accelerated applications, contributing to breakthroughs on the path to valuable quantum computing.”

Lead image: benzoix