How Will Quantum Computers Help Solve Complex Problems?

Excitement is steadily building around quantum computing and it’s much more than just hype. Last year, the UK Government announced its 10-year national quantum strategy, which aims to turn the UK into a global superpower and to commercialize quantum technologies while promising billions of pounds of public investment in the technology. Couple this with researchers successfully entangling 51 qubits, a record number there’s growing confidence that quantum computers are getting closer to playing a real role in the future of computing.

But the science community can’t simply wait until the technology has arrived. To make the most of quantum, now is the time to prepare by building the tools and applications we’ll need to use this emerging form of computing. These applications will increasingly demand a hybrid approach as quantum computing progresses, with quantum computers working alongside high-performance classical computers. In this new age of computing, ensuring seamless integration and collaboration between quantum and classical computers will be the key to tackling some of our most challenging tasks and problems.

The Power of Hybrid Quantum-Classical Systems

Hybrid quantum-classical systems combine the unique capabilities of quantum processing units (QPUs) with the robust computational power of classical GPUs and CPUs. This integration enables the efficient handling of complex computations, making it possible to tackle problems in drug discovery, computational fluid dynamics, and other scientific and engineering domains.

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Nvidia's CUDA-Q platform exemplifies this approach. CUDA-Q is an open-source platform that integrates QPUs with Nvidia's high-performance computing systems. This platform is accelerating quantum computing efforts at national supercomputing centers worldwide, including Germany's Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), and Poland's Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC).

Real-World Applications and Collaborations

Nvidia's partnerships and collaborations are driving significant advancements in quantum computing. For instance, Nvidia and Infleqtion have partnered to bring quantum-enabled solutions to Europe's largest cyber-defense exercise and the cloud-based platform qBraid is integrating CUDA-Q into its developer environment, enhancing the capabilities available to researchers and developers.

Drug discovery is an exceptionally computationally demanding task. It involves generating high-resolution simulations of potential drug molecules and running simulations to work out how well these molecules might bind to a target protein in the body. While today’s quantum computers are still in the research stage, hybrid super-computers are already demonstrating their power and potential. Qubit Pharmaceuticals' hybrid quantum-powered Atlas software has shown a path to performing calculations in hours that would take conventional methods years.

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In the field of computational fluid dynamics, Rolls-Royce is using hybrid quantum-classical systems to understand how quantum computing might help design more efficient jet engines. By simulating complex fluid flows with high precision, these systems can optimize engine designs, leading to significant improvements in performance and fuel efficiency.

Expanding the Ecosystem

Platforms including Nvidia’s CUDA-Q are continuously evolving, with new integrations and systems being deployed to expand the ecosystem for hybrid quantum-classical computing. Israeli startup Classiq, for example, has released a new integration that allows high-level functional models to automatically generate optimized quantum programs. This integration enables researchers to maximize the potential of current quantum hardware and scale their work on future algorithms. Quantum computers will soon reach a scale where only state-of-the-art classical compute will be able to control their operation, so QPU designers must be empowered to tap into the fastest control hardware in the world.

Collaborations with leading research institutions and companies are pushing the boundaries of what is possible with quantum computing. By integrating quantum and classical computing, we’re seeing breakthroughs in various fields, from drug discovery to engineering, and building the foundation for a future where quantum computing plays a central role in solving the world's most complex problems.