The U.S. Department of Defense summons Microsoft to research practical-scale quantum computing, aiming to seize global leadership

February 3 It is reported that the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to cooperate with Microsoft to study how to achieve utility-scale (utility-scale) Quantum Computing, committed to seeking global leadership in quantum technology. Microsoft is one of three companies selected by the department to explore non-mainstream quantum computing solutions. Analysts say collaborating on large-scale quantum computing projects will be key to realizing quantum technology's long-term potential.

Several technical routes for developing quantum computing

There are many ways to develop quantum computing, and it is unclear which method will dominate in the next few decades. status. The race is to achieve sustainable, scalable fault-tolerant processing for computing tasks that are impossible or infeasible with traditional supercomputers. DARPA is investing in the development of currently unrealized quantum computing ideas that may reach practical scale in the future.

Quantum computing technology is still in its early stages of research and development, despite some early use cases in finance and pharmaceuticals. Although two technologies, trapped ions and superconducting qubits, are most commonly used, no one technology currently dominates.

In a trapped ion quantum processor, charged particles are suspended in free space and qubits are stored in the stable electronic state of each ion. This is popular among startups including Oxford Ionics, IonQ and Quantinuum, in part because its qubits have a longer life and is also one of the more established methods of quantum computing.

Another major technology is superconducting quantum computing, which is being used by some of the biggest companies in the field (such as IBM, Google, D-Wave, IQM, etc.) and even Microsoft. Under this approach, superconducting circuits are used to perform quantum operations. This is one of the most mature forms of quantum computing, offering more qubits than other types and requiring less energy.

In addition to these two technologies, several other companies are developing other methods, including photonics, nuclear magnetic resonance, quantum annealing and topological quantum computing.

DARPA joins hands with Microsoft to focus on practical-scale quantum computing

Topological quantum computing is a new focus for Microsoft and is part of the company’s partnership with DARPA areas to explore.

In addition, Atom and PsiQuantum will also cooperate with DARPA to explore how quantum technology can expand to the point where the value of computing exceeds the cost, much faster than traditional predictions.

Among them, Atom is building a highly scalable quantum computer based on large arrays of optically trapped atoms, while PsiQuantum is using silicon photonics to build an error-correcting quantum computer based on a photon qubit lattice structure.

Microsoft Azure’s quantum team is building an industrial-scale quantum computer based on topological qubits. The company says this should theoretically allow them to build a quantum computer small enough to fit in a cabinet and fast enough to solve previously unsolvable problems using more than 1 million qubits. .

Microsoft engineers wrote in a blog post: "We are confident in this design because we have achieved a major breakthrough in physics and swept the engineering design of the world's first topological qubit. "We cleared a major hurdle and finally built a quantum machine at scale."

Rather than making small iterations of just a few qubits at a time, as other quantum computing companies have done, Microsoft is focusing on developing more Large-scale quantum computing technology based on the need for at least 1 million qubits to perform any useful calculation.

This is also what prompted DARPA to cooperate with the company. As part of its Unexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing (US2QC) program, DARPA hopes to reduce the danger of strategic surprises from unexplored quantum approaches.

DARPA Defense Science Office US2QC program manager Joe Altepeter explained in a press release: "We put out a call last year if anyone thought they had a real revolution in the near future (within 10 years) We hope to hear their suggestions and actively work with them to find innovative ways to build truly usable quantum computers, fund more technical experts to join the development team, and provide rigorous government verification and verification of their proposed solutions. ”

DARPA hopes to occupy U.S. leadership in quantum computing

DARPA’s ultimate goal is to promote U.S. commercial leadership in a strategically important technology area. and ensuring national security to avoid any major surprises as other countries lead in areas that the United States has not yet extensively explored.

The three companies will each present their own design concepts describing their plans for a practical-scale quantum computer, which will require rigorous design of all systems and subsystems. Once built and tested, DARPA's test and verification teams will The concept is being evaluated in more detail and will move onto the next phase, which may see the implementation of these machines in the real world.

Ekaterina Almasque, a partner at venture capital firm OpenOcean, is an early investor in quantum computing startup IQM. Quantum computing is a long-term investment, she said, and its development relies heavily on the research budgets of government agencies and big tech companies, including those forward-thinking organizations that plant early seeds and cultivate the ecosystem.

She pointed out: "DARPA has a long history of groundbreaking research, and their view that scale is a key factor in quantum computing is very convincing. We are not yet in the quantum era, but we are not yet in the quantum era. We are in what some observers call a catastrophic 'quantum winter.' Startups have the opportunity to break through, scale up and compete with tech giants like Microsoft." She said, "While quantum supremacy (the moment when quantum computers surpass classical computers) is still some time away, we may not see capabilities in the short term. Complete quantum computers, but much progress is expected in the next decade.”

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