Latest news with #Alice&Bob
Business Insider
11-08-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Quantum Computing News: Amazon's $36.7 Million IonQ Stake, Alice & Bob's 53-Qubit Breakthrough, Japan's Fully Domestic Debut
Welcome to this week's overview of everything that is quantum computing. Today, we track steps that move work from the lab to real use. First, we see lean state prep, then a new stake from Amazon (AMZN), and next, fresh build news in Japan and the UAE. For stock watch, also keep an eye on IonQ (IONQ) and Honeywell (HON), as each moves toward steady scale. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Alice & Bob and Inria Cut Magic State Costs with New Method We begin our weekly journey with Alice & Bob, a France-based quantum computing firm, and Inria, France's national institute for digital science. The two entities have reported a significant step in making quantum systems more efficient. Their joint team has developed a way to prepare 'magic states' using fewer qubits and less time. Magic states are a key ingredient for running advanced quantum algorithms. The work uses 'cat qubits,' a type of superconducting qubit designed to resist certain kinds of errors. The researchers adapted a three-dimensional code into a simpler two-dimensional layout, which they call the 'Heart Code.' This design needs only 53 qubits to prepare a single magic state, an 8.7% drop compared with top competing methods. It also cuts the number of error correction cycles, making the process about five times faster while keeping the error rate below one in a million. Importantly, the new method fits into Alice & Bob's current hardware, so it does not require new equipment. The result follows earlier work from the company that showed cat qubits could reduce hardware needs for large-scale quantum computers by up to 200 times. Amazon Discloses Stake in IonQ Amazon (AMZN) has revealed a $36.7 million stake in IonQ (IONQ) in its latest SEC filing. The position makes Amazon one of the largest known tech investors in a public quantum hardware company. IonQ builds quantum computers using trapped-ion technology, which offers strong connectivity between qubits. The investment adds to Amazon's broader quantum push through AWS and its Braket service. IonQ's systems are already available to AWS customers. The disclosure has raised expectations that more cloud providers could compete for access to future quantum infrastructure. IonQ shares rose about 7% after the news. Playground Global Backs Quantum Use Cases At Deep Tech Week San Francisco, during the Playground Next-Gen Compute event, three seniors from PsiQuantum, Ideon Technologies, and NVision, all part of Playground Global's portfolio, outlined how they are applying quantum technology to practical problems. PsiQuantum, one of the most promising private quantum companies out there, with strong backers such as BlackRock (BLK), is developing a photonic quantum computer that will need at least one million qubits to tackle major tasks in chemistry and materials science. Ideon Technologies uses quantum sensors to scan the Earth's subsurface for critical minerals, while NVision applies quantum techniques to boost MRI scans for early cancer detection. While their focus areas differ, all three aim to solve real-world challenges with quantum tools. Japan Debuts Fully Domestic Quantum Computer Now let's move on to Asia, as Japan continues to push for self-reliant quantum technology. It has launched a superconducting quantum computer built entirely with domestic components and software at Osaka University's QIQB. The system uses an open-source software stack called OQTOPUS. It will be on display for visitors to Expo 2025, where people can run simple quantum programs through a public interface. The project involved multiple Japanese companies and research bodies, replacing imported hardware with local alternatives. It reflects Japan's push for self-reliance in advanced computing systems. Quantinuum Partners with the UAE's Technology Innovation Institute Quantinuum, backed by Honeywell (HON), has signed a deal with Abu Dhabi's Technology Innovation Institute to advance quantum research and applications in the UAE. The institute will gain access to Quantinuum's high-fidelity systems, including the upcoming Helios platform. The partnership will focus on materials science, data encoding, and optimization. It will also train researchers to build algorithms, supporting the UAE's goal of becoming a global quantum hub. We used the TipRanks' Comparison Tool to line up some of the top quantum stocks with a few names mentioned in this piece. It's an easy way to see how they compare and get a feel for where the space might be going.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Building quantum supercomputers: Scientists connect two quantum processors using existing fiber optic cables for the first time
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Scientists in the U.K. have successfully connected two separate quantum processors, paving the way for a quantum internet and, potentially, quantum supercomputers. Increasing the number of quantum bits (otherwise known as qubits) in a quantum computer has proven challenging, as quantum computers are "noisy" — they are sensitive to any interference from heat, movement or electromagnetism and fail much more often than bits in classical computing. The more qubits there are in a quantum computer, the more complex the system becomes and the greater the risk of decoherence — the loss of quantum information — and the resources needed to prevent errors. That's why scientists are focusing on building more reliable qubits before scaling systems up to the millions of qubits needed for a genuinely useful quantum computer. In a study published Feb. 5 in the journal Nature, scientists proposed working around this scalability problem by connecting separate quantum processors together using existing fiber optic cabling, thereby increasing the number of available qubits. This is an important step in demonstrating the feasibility of distributed quantum computing (DQC), whereby quantum processors are connected together to perform calculations. DQC would enable multiple quantum processors to work together to solve increasingly complex problems in far less time than it would take classical supercomputers. The scientists described how they connected two quantum processors – called Alice and Bob (not to be confused with the quantum computing company Alice & Bob) using a photonic network interface (optical fibers). Sending quantum algorithms across the photonic network interface allowed the two quantum processors to share resources and operate as a single entity. By connecting the two processors like this, the scientists could also transmit photons, together with quantum information and, for the first time, a quantum algorithm. Such algorithms are the computational functions that enable quantum computers to solve problems. These were shared by exploiting the phenomenon of quantum entanglement between photons. The quantum processors could also work together on the test problem using the Grover search algorithm — a quantum algorithm that is designed to find a 'needle in a haystack'; searching for a certain piece of information in a large pool of unsorted data. This breakthrough is key to cracking the scalability problem in quantum computing. Instead of a single machine containing millions of qubits, which would be massive and unwieldy, the new technique allows for computations distributed across many smaller processors. Using small modules of trapped-ion qubits linked by optical cables, it allows qubits in separate QPUs to be entangled. An additional benefit of connecting processors in a DQC system is ease of maintenance, as modules can be upgraded or replaced without disrupting the rest of the system. As there was only a 6.6 feet (2 meters) gap between the two quantum processing units (QPUs), future trials of this technology would need to expand the operating distance to ensure the connection remains stable over much longer distances. Quantum repeaters, which increase the range over which quantum information can be transmitted, may also be incorporated into future systems. Adding more quantum processors would provide further proof that DQC would be a viable solution for building quantum supercomputers. In much the same way that today's supercomputers are hundreds of classical processors connected together, it is theoretically possible to create a quantum supercomputer by linking quantum processors together over vast distances. RELATED STORIES —History of quantum computing: 12 key moments that shaped the future of computers —Quantum computers are here — but why do we need them and what will they be used for? —World's 'best-performing' quantum computing chip could be used in machines by 2027, scientists claim As a proof of concept, the experiment proved that DQC is viable. It also creates the foundations for a secure quantum internet, which could allow for a more secure method of transmitting information, as quantum processors in different locations could be used to build a secure communications network. In a statement, David Lucas, the principal investigator of the research team and lead scientist for the UK Quantum Computing and Simulation Hub, said the team's "experiment demonstrates that network-distributed quantum information processing is feasible with current technology." However, Lucas admitted there's plenty of work to be done before quantum computers are available for practical applications. "Scaling up quantum computers remains a formidable technical challenge that will likely require new physics insights as well as intensive engineering effort over the coming years," he said.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Israel's Quantum Machines partners with Alice & Bob in Paris quantum lab
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli startup Quantum Machines said on Thursday it would partner with French tech startup Alice & Bob in an advanced quantum computing laboratory in Paris. Alice & Bob is building the $50 million lab and Quantum Machines, whose hardware and software platform aims to accelerate the realization of practical quantum computers, will equip the lab along with Bluefors, a maker of cryogenic measurement systems in quantum technology. The new lab will enable Alice & Bob's next-generation quantum chip series - Lithium, Beryllium and Graphene. This development hub will be funded by the company's recent $103 million private funding round. Alice & Bob was founded in 2020 and specialises in the field of quantum computing. Quantum Machines said in February it had raised $170 million in mid-stage funding.
Zawya
30-01-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Qatar backs $104mln funding in quantum computing firm Alice & Bob
The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, along with French lender Bpifrance, has led a €100 million ($104.3 million) investment in quantum computing company Alice & Bob. The capital raised in the Series B funding round will support the Paris and Boston-based firm's plan to build the world's first useful quantum computer by 2030. Almost 50% of the fresh capital will go towards the construction of a state-of-the-art laboratory and production facility, and additional funds will be used to finance the hiring of new staff. The company, which developed the technology called 'cat qubit' that was later used by e-commerce giant Amazon, has already recruited more than 110 employees and raised €130 million in funding. 'Having established performance records with our cat qubits, Alice & Bob now enters a new phase focused on building a quantum computer that can deliver valuable results,' said Théau Peronnin, CEO of Alice & Bob. The latest investment round also drew support from other Series A investors, including Elaia Partners, Breega and Supernova Invest, as well as new institutional investors like Axa Venture Partners and the European Innovation Council.
