Quantinuum quantum systems now support parallel operations

Quantinuum's H1-1 quantum computer now supports 20 fully-connected qubits, making it possible to process operations in parallel.

The added improvements strengthen the system's computational capabilities, opening up opportunities to pursue new uses in the cybersecurity and optimization markets. The improvements make it possible for developers to run more complex calculations without sacrificing overall system performance, according to Tony Uttley, Quantinuum's president and CEO.

The company will also add these improvements to Model H1-2 later this year, Uttley said.

"I think these advances show we understand what it takes to scale trapped-ion quantum hardware that keeps us on target with our roadmap," Uttley said. "We are adding qubits and maintaining fidelity without compromising features."

The improvements have increased the number of fully-connected qubits from 12 to 20 while maintaining  low two-qubit gate errors, as well as features such as qubit reuse quantum conditional logic and all-to-all connectivity. The H1-1 system's support of gate zones has gone from three to five, which is essential to its ability to support increased parallelization in circuit execution, the company said.

"Being able to carry out operations simultaneously across all of those zones gives them a lot more flexibility and power," said Paul Smith-Goodson, analyst-in-residence for quantum computing with Moor Insights & Strategy. "It also helps them do full error correction and sets the stage for even further advances there, which is important in establishing better reliability."

JP Morgan Chase uses Quantinuum's quantum system, and conducted experimental testing on the new improvements involving mid-circuit measurement and the reuse of qubits. The company said in a press statement that its testing results matched their expectations.

Smith-Goodson and other analysts are encouraged by some of the steady technology improvements made by Quantinuum and other quantum system makers.

"There's progress being made by a lot of major quantum companies," he said. "Look at the monster roadmap IBM recently laid out where they'll have a system with thousands of qubits in a year or two, or the interesting stuff Atom Computing is doing with spin qubits," he said.

But the march of quantum computers making meaningful contributions to production enterprise IT platforms remains a slow creep.

In a recent IT spending survey by Enterprise Systems Group (ESG), a division of TechTarget, Inc., 11% of respondents said their organizations were piloting quantum for a few applications, 17% indicated they are conducting some level of testing and 24% said they have begun research but are years away from producing production apps. Lastly, 27% have expressed an interest in quantum computing but have not taken any action.

With some of the recent technology advances, however, Paul Nashawaty, senior analyst with ESG, said this could be a good time for  organizations to take a closer look at how quantum technology could apply to  their workloads.

"This slow growth in adoption is about to change, and possibly quickly," Nashawaty  said.. "As leading organizations explore new ways to produce faster results and accelerate buying cycles, they're more open to shifting away from purely classical solutions to accelerate the adoption of quantum."

As Editor At Large with TechTarget's News Group, Ed Scannell is responsible for writing and reporting breaking news, news analysis and features focused on technology issues and trends affecting corporate IT professionals.