Ilana Wisby is CEO of Oxford Quantum Computing, a spin-off from the University of Oxford in the UK.
Oxford quantum computing
UK startup is now offering cloud-based access to its own superconducting quantum computer – but with a twist it hopes could one day help it compete with processors developed by giants quantum like IBM and Google.
Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), a start-up from the University of Oxford, approaches superconducting quantum computing in a slightly different way. Major superconducting quantum systems are typically built in a two-dimensional plane, with each qubit acting as a unit cell that requires complex wiring for controls and measurements. Increasing the number of qubits means increasing the amount of cabling – and on a 2D plane that comes with a higher risk of creating environmental noise that can damage the quality of the system.
Instead, OQC researchers use a three-dimensional architecture that moves control and measurement wiring out of the plane. With key off-chip components, OQC explains, the superconducting quantum processor is a more flexible and engineered system.
Dubbed “Coaxmon,” this new design approach ultimately has the potential to make it easier to increase the number of qubits on the processor without losing consistency, the company said.
“Coaxmon was designed on principle to address some of the scaling challenges underlying superconducting technologies,” Ilana Wisby, CEO of OQC, told ZDNet. “We’ve taken all that wiring – which is a very important part of reducing the power of what we can do with a processor – from the chip, which means the Coaxmon is inherently much more scalable. ”
According to Wisby, the 3D architecture makes it possible to increase the number of qubits on the processor without resorting to complex manufacturing steps for additional cabling, and without risking reducing the consistency of the system.
Despite the promising pitch, the quantum computer that OQC has just put online, called Sophia, is only four qubits powerful. By comparison, IBM’s current quantum processor can support 65 qubits, and the company is working to launch a 127-qubit system by the end of the year.
Even then, IBM’s quantum computer will not bring any significant business value to users: quantum technologies should not begin to show real-world utility until they are able to support at the same time. minus 1000 qubits. With that in mind, OQC’s new quantum computer still seems to have a ways to go before it can compete with the services offered by some of the larger companies dominating the quantum ecosystem.
But Wisby explains that this is only the beginning. As a spin-out of the University of Oxford, she said, the OQC until recently mainly developed in the context of university labs, where profitability was key and minds focused on profitability. demonstration of the fundamentals of technology.
Over the past year, however, OQC has built and opened its own quantum lab, a facility equipped with all of the cryogenic equipment, clean rooms, power and data supplies, duct fume cupboards, and other exotic quantum essentials needed to build. of a quantum system. .
Sophia’s low qubit count is therefore a business issue rather than a technological issue, says Wisby. “But the creation of our own independent commercial laboratory marked a moment of independence for the company,” she says.
“It’s only really now that we’ve changed the focus of our company to prove the business model, which is obviously more focused on scaling the entire system.”
The long-term goal, she assures, is to build a universal, fault-tolerant quantum computer – a goal that aligns with that of the biggest tech giants currently developing quantum technologies.
Of course, there are still many obstacles to scaling up. While increasing the number of qubits in the processor is a challenge in itself, it is also essential to ensure that the infrastructure and supporting architecture of the overall system can grow in parallel. OQC has therefore formed partnerships with companies like Oxford Instruments to start thinking about future iterations of Sophia.
For now, OQC is focused on attracting customers to its brand new cloud service, which it has just launched to provide customers with access to Sophia through a private cloud.
OQC has now invited companies to join the company’s beta list, to test how they could experiment with new quantum approaches. With only four qubits, however, the scope for potential applications will remain very limited.
Among those already registered, British quantum computing company Cambridge Quantum is already planning to test Sophia with its IronBridge platform – a cybersecurity service that exploits the unpredictability of quantum computers to generate non-hackable cryptographic keys.
Wisby also points to a long-standing partnership with software company Riverlane, which already uses OQC’s quantum computer to run a chemical simulation algorithm called alpha-VQE.
Riverlane and OQC have also worked together to develop a quantum operating system, Deltaflow.OS, that would allow the same quantum software to run on different types of quantum computing hardware.
