Emerging Technologies
Here Are Compelling Reasons to Invest in Quantum Computing
Introducing top ten quantum computing hardware with six quantum software solution organizations
Introduction
The financial market has a significant focus on quantum computing. Investors are looking for curated and high-quality information to make informed decisions.
The market is making good progress. However, there is a lot of noise too. To help my readers, I share my independent research into companies making solid progress in the quantum computing field.
In a recent article, I introduced the top six countries heavily investing in quantum computing and artificial super-intelligence and provided their compelling reasons.
I also touched on aspirations and plans for 6G, aiming 2030 technology revolution in this article.
Scientific breakthroughs require the processing of enormous amounts of data. Speed and accuracy are key factors.
Therefore, the capability of handling big data for research, including pharmacology, climate, cybersecurity, transportation, the stock market, genetics, and healthcare data, needs the power of quantum computers and the 6G communication protocol.
In this article, I introduce the top ten hardware companies with a clear roadmap for quantum consumers and the top six quantum software, platform, and solution organizations.
I share the strategic quantum computing roadmap of these leading companies. In addition, I introduce six prominent companies proactively investing in quantum computing solutions and creating new business offerings.
Even though quantum computing uses quantum physic theories, it can also contribute to quantum physics by studying the behavior of electrons in various materials. This essential observation is not possible via current computer systems.
Currently, quantum machines are based on the framework called NISQ (Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum Computers), coined by theoretical physicist John Preskill in 2018, describing the current state of quantum processor fabrication. In this current state, quantum processors have limited qubit capacity, such as a few hundred qubits.
Nevertheless, promising NISQ algorithms can make current quantum computers widespread by reducing the calculation load and implementing some parts of the algorithm in classical computer processors.
Two available algorithms are VQE (Varional Quantum Eigensolver) and QAOA (Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm). These algorithms can be used to reduce the demand for quantum hardware.
Any quantum computer machine providing under 1,000 qubits is considered academic, as only more than this number can solve real-life problems. Error correction functions are essential to solve business problems with quantum computers.
The number of qubits required to achieve these business goals is expected to be over a million. However, considering the current quantum technology capability, even leading companies are behind in achieving this goal.
Superconducting qubits are widely used in the industry. Error correction requires many qubits too. I want to clarify a critical point here. States of the qubit can be physically recognized by the distribution of electrical charge in addition to the fluidity of the electrical current on extremely cold microchips for superconducting.
These algorithms can also allow classical computers to integrate with quantum computers to solve complex problems such as drug discovery. In addition, we need to improve quantum firmware (such as those offered by Q-CTRL) and quantum error correction methods to achieve the generic use of quantum computers.
Here are the ten hardware companies leading the market and making significant progress in the quantum computing field.
1 — IBM
As a leader in the field, IBM introduced Quantum System Two, designed to cover more than 1,000 qubits. Quantum System Two, based on a more modular approach to scaling chips, is expected to cool and host multiple processors in one system by 2023.
IBM Quantum System Two incorporates scalable qubit control electronics and higher-density cryogenic components and cabling. In addition, IBM is collaborating with Bluefors Cryogenics to re-imagine the cryogenic platform.
Bluefors’ new Kide Cryogenic platform and its hexagonal footprint aim to optimize space inside the fridge to accommodate support hardware required by larger processors so that engineers can easily access and service the hardware inside the refrigerator.
For the 2022 roadmap, IBM added the Osprey system to include 433 qubits, and the 2023 roadmap to include the Condor system to have 1121 qubits. From 2024 onward, the company plans to scale quantum machines to over a million qubits.
Moreover, as mentioned in the Quantum Summit, by 2025, IBM plans to have “frictionless quantum computing” to allow broad multiple quantum applications that may be superior to the classical supercomputers.
IBM is also supporting open-source communities using Qskit SDK. I shared a list of quantum computing tutorials in this article.
2 — Google
Another leader in quantum computing is Google. According to Verge, after claiming a quantum supremacy breakthrough in 2019, Google wants to build a fully functional quantum computer by 2029. As a current restriction, quantum machines include fewer than 100 qubits.
However, similar to IBM, Google targets machines with a million qubits in a single logical unit. In addition, Google is working on reducing errors caused by qubits in quantum transistor hardware.
Google offers a quantum computing service for remote access to researchers with approved projects. These researchers can schedule computing jobs and run simulations on Google's quantum infrastructure.
Google has a quantum framework called Cirq. It includes a Python library allowing one to write, manipulate, and optimize quantum circuits and run them against simulators and quantum hardware.
Cirq has built-in simulators for wave functions and density matrices handling noisy quantum channels using Monte Carlo or full-density matrix simulations.
Google also has an open-source chemistry package for quantum computers called OpenFermion. This library compiles and analyzes quantum algorithms to simulate fermionic systems.
In addition, the package, coming with plugins, provides efficient data structures for representing fermionic operators to fermionic circuit primitives for execution on quantum devices.
3 — Honeywell
With over 130 years of experience in hardware and software technology, Honeywell offers Trapped-ion quantum computers using numerous individual and charged atoms to hold quantum information.
Honeywell’s systems use electromagnetic fields to trap each ion to manipulate and encode using microwave signals and lasers.
In July 2021, Honeywell’s 10-qubit System Model H1 achieved a quantum volume of 1024, the highest measured to date.
According to stats on their website, Honeywell started with four qubit volumes in 2019, increased it to 128 in 2020, and 1024 in 2021.
Honeywell, interestingly, does not use the term qubit to promote their systems. Instead, use the quantum volumes. Quantum Volume is a measurement metric IBM developed regarding connectivity, errors, and cross-talks.
Honeywell has three business values for quantum systems: capability, reconfigurability, and robustness. Their hardware capability includes high fidelity and high qubit count with error rates.
Besides, dynamic qubits can be rearranged and interact with each other to improve algorithm opportunities with control systems excellence for precise and stable operations.
Honeywell plans to contribute to various industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, finance, aerospace, defense, oil, gas, manufacturing, and telecommunications. Honeywell also offers data center facilities to accelerate machine learning and analysis of large data sets.
4 — D-Wave
By applying two decades of experience in superconducting quantum annealing systems, D-Wave has initiated a program to build and deliver a scalable gate-model quantum computing technology.
Notably, D-Wave is the first company to sell commercially available quantum computers with 5600 qubits.
D-Wave systems use a quantum annealing process to search for solutions to problems. The company designed quantum annealing for optimization purposes to solve complex problems with higher-quality answers.
D-Wave customers can benefit from cross-platform tools and developer platforms in the “Leap quantum cloud service”. This platform is fully integrated with annealing and gate technologies.
Quantum programmers can map problems to search for the “lowest point in a vast landscape” for the best possible outcome.
D-Wave’s quantum processing unit calculates all the possibilities simultaneously to determine the lowest energy required to form those relationships.
The “Ocean software” development tools and hybrid solvers may abstract the complexity of quantum programming so that researchers and users can focus on the business problem rather than technical issues.
Currently, D-Wave offers quantum services with 5000+ qubits, a million variables, and 250+ applications in science, manufacturing, and financial services.
D-Wave uses a different computation approach than IBM and Google, which use programmable hardware to address many other problems.
However, D-Wave quantum computers solve optimization problems defined by the hardware design. Therefore, D-Wave machines can only address specific issues.
5 — IonQ
IonQ, with 25 years of research experience, provides general-purpose trapped ion quantum computer and software solutions. Currently, IonQ offers 32 qubits quantum machines with minimal gate errors and high performance.
According to IonQ, while other quantum hardware developers use “synthetic” quantum systems for their quantum bits, such as loops of supercooled superconducting wire in crystalline silicon, IonQ uses a naturally occurring quantum system called “individual atoms” as part of the quantum processing units.
IonQ systems trap individual atoms (ionized ytterbium atoms, a silvery rare-earth metal) in 3D space and use lasers for initial preparation, processing, and output.
Their system leverages counterintuitive physics, precision optical, mechanical engineering, and fine-grained firmware control over the components.
IonQ expects quantum supremacy by 2025 and to solve difficult problems by 2028. You can access the IonQ publications published in various reputable journals via this link.
6 — QCI
Quantum Circuits Inc (QCI) is a relatively new company, started in 2015 as a startup. It was founded by Michel Devoret, Luigi Frunzio, and Rob Schoelkopf of Yale University’s Applied Physics Department.
On January 24, QCI officially opened its New Haven development and testing facility for quantum computing, including 6,000 square feet of laboratories and in-house manufacturing with around 20 scientists and engineers.
QCI delivers quantum as a service by building full-stack flexible software to run novel and complex algorithms, exploiting the full potential of quantum computation.
Error correction is made in every module of QCI systems.
7 — Rigetti
Rigetti Computing, founded in 2013, is a developer of quantum integrated circuits in the US. This company also developed a Cloud platform called Forest. This platform enables software programmers to code quantum algorithms.
Rigetti & Co Inc recently went public through a merger with SPAC in a deal expected to value around $1.5 billion. Rigetti computing has also been selected to lead a quantum simulation project for fusion energy awarded by the Department of Energy.
Moreover, Rigetti, as a pioneer in full-stack quantum computing, announced to launch of the world’s first multi-chip quantum processor.
This new processor incorporates a modular architecture that accelerates the path to commercialization and solves scaling challenges toward fault-tolerant quantum computers.
Rigetti plans to make an 80-qubit system powered by a breakthrough multi-chip technology available on the Quantum Cloud Services platform later this year.
8 — Xanadu
Photonic quantum computing is a new concept and approach where qubits are the properties of photons, such as the presence of a photon or the uncertainty state of a photon. Interestingly, Xanadu is the first company to introduce this concept.
Xanadu Quantum Technologies is a Canadian quantum hardware and software company. Xanadu works on developing Cloud accessible photonic quantum computers with silicon quantum photonic chips.
Xanadu also develops open-source software for quantum machine learning and simulating quantum photonic devices. PennyLane open-source tools serve quantum machine learning, quantum computing, and quantum chemistry goals.
The crucial benefit of photonic quantum computing is that quantum devices can be operated at room temperature without needing extreme cooling, which is currently the most significant hurdle from cost and management perspectives.
9 — PsiQuantum
PsiQuantum is another organization working on photonic quantum computing to scale up qubits to over 1,000 in a single unit.
PsiQuantum focuses on a large-scale, error-corrected, general-purpose quantum computer using photonics as the underlying technology. They are at the developmental stage and have many strategic partners and venture investors, as listed on their website.
Taking fault tolerance and error correction seriously, PsiQuantum focuses on solving real-world problems.
Therefore, they hire experts in quantum computing, error correction, nonlinear quantum optics, integrated photonics, digital, mixed-signal, and cryo CMOS electronics, semiconductor manufacturing, packaging and assembly, software engineering, systems engineering, and quantum mechanics algorithms.
10 — Intel
According to Intel, hardware companies are years away from large-scale implementation of quantum computing promises to enable breakthroughs in materials, chemicals, drug design, financial, climate modeling, and cryptography.
However, Intel has several research and development programs.
For example, Intel is leveraging expertise in high-volume transistor manufacturing to develop ‘hot’ silicon spin qubits, much smaller computing devices that operate at higher temperatures.
In addition, Intel’s Horse Ridge II cryogenic quantum control chip provides tighter integration. And the cryoprober enables high-volume testing that is helping to accelerate commercialization.
Here are the leading software, platform, and alternative solution companies with significant input in the market.
1 — Microsoft
I didn’t number Microsoft among these hardware players as it is a software, platform, and integration service provider.
Microsoft has an exceptional approach to quantum computing by providing platforms and tools partnering with leading quantum hardware companies offering fast and high-fidelity systems such as Honeywell, IonQ, and Quantum Circuits.
Azure Quantum enables clients to learn, build, and deploy quantum computing solutions at scale.
According to Microsoft:
“Azure Quantum assembles and curates some of the most compelling and diverse quantum resources available from industry leaders — including optimization and quantum hardware solutions — for developers and customers across all industries.”
2 — Toshiba
Toshiba offers long-distance quantum communication for security powered by quantum physics. QKD (Quantum Key Distribution) has two variants. They have multiplexed systems and long-distance systems.
Toshiba’s multiplexed QKD system uses a quantum channel with the wavelength in the telecom O-Band, leaving the C-band free for customer traffic.
As a result, it can operate in traditional modes with a fiber pair carrying uni-direction traffic or a single fiber with bi-direction quantum and classical signals.
The Long Distance QKD System operates with a quantum channel in the telecom C-band for the longest possible range and highest possible secure key rate. As a result, it can tolerate limited bandwidths of multiplexed data within the C-band.
3 — Fujitsu
Fujitsu has an alternative quantum computing solution. It is called Digital Annealer. It provides an alternative to quantum computing technology.
Using a digital circuit design leveraging quantum phenomena, the Digital Annealer focuses on rapidly solving complex combinatorial optimization problems without the added complications and costs associated with quantum computing methods.
The Digital Annealer computational architecture can bridge the gap to the quantum computing world to solve complex problems that classical computers cannot solve.
4–1QBit
Founded in 2012, 1QBit is a leading quantum software development company partnering with Microsoft, IBM, Fujitsu, and D-Wave Systems.
1QBit also partners with Fortune 500 clients to solve industry problems in optimization, simulation, and machine learning fields.
1QBit’s software systems and platforms are hardware-agnostic. Their software systems support both classical and quantum processors.
1QBit, with collaborators, is serving health authorities to support the Digital Technology Supercluster to facilitate the clinical implementation of XrAI.
5 — Amazon
Amazon established the AWS Center for Quantum Computing in 2019 to accelerate the development of quantum computing technologies and applications.
Last month, Amazon announced a new quantum computing data center at the California Institute of Technology to build fault-tolerant quantum computers.
Amazon also currently offers a Quantum Solutions Lab to help the client get ready for quantum computing. In addition, Amazon partnered with companies with different specializations, including computational chemistry, machine learning, and optimization.
Some partners that I listed above are Rigetti, 1Qbit, and Xanadu.
Amazon Quantum Solutions Lab engagements include collaborative research programs in quantum computing, machine learning, and high-performance computing.
The programs help clients identify critical applications of quantum computing. Moreover, the program aims to support the developing and benchmarking of algorithms and solutions.
6 — ColdQuanta
ColdQuanta provides products enabling quantum computers and quantum lab environments.
The company developed research in atomic physics by Professor Dana Anderson and his work at JILA (Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics).
ColdQuanta is collaborating with customers to develop prototypes for quantum positioning systems, quantum radio frequency receivers, and quantum memory devices.
The company also plans to offer high-precision clocks and cloud-based quantum computing. You can search the quantum products at this link.
Conclusions
Since quantum computers have critical constraints for decoherence, capacity, and scalability enhancements, some promising theories to overcome these challenges are being developed.
There are three emerging technology approaches at a developmental and proof of concept stage. Any company which can commercialize these three approaches can gain a significant competitive advantage in the quantum computing market.
The first one is “topological quantum computing”, where information is stored in conserved properties known as “quasi-particles” — collective motions of particles aiming to create a robust decoherence process.
The second one is “semiconducting qubits”, similar to superconducting qubits, proposing the qubits as the spin or single charge of electrons. This approach can overcome extreme cooling requirements.
Currently, Intel is working on this solution with the contributions of researchers in the Netherlands.
The third one is “nitrogen-vacancy systems”, where the qubits occur in the structure of a carbon crystal in which an atom is replaced with nitrogen. This will address the current size and cooling constraints.
I hope this information will be useful for your research into the quantum computing market.
Thank you for reading my research and perspectives.
Disclaimer: Please note that this article is not investment advice. It reflects my independent research for information purposes. I have no affiliations with any organization mentioned in this article.
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