Quantum Cloud Computing Platforms

Quantum computing infrastructure refers to the hardware and software systems that are used to build and run quantum computers. This includes the physical devices that make up the quantum computer, such as qubits (the basic units of quantum information) and the devices used to control and manipulate them, as well as the software and algorithms that are used to program and run quantum computations. Building and maintaining a quantum computing infrastructure can be challenging due to the complexity and fragility of the systems, and the need for specialized expertise in both physics and computer science.

The history of quantum computing infrastructure can be traced back to the early days of quantum mechanics in the 1920s and 1930s. The basic principles of quantum computing were first proposed in the 1980s by Paul Benioff and Yuri Manin, but it wasn’t until the 1990s that the first functioning quantum computers were built. Early quantum computing experiments were primarily focused on demonstrating the principles of quantum computing, rather than on building useful computational devices.

In the early 2000s, several companies, including D-Wave and IBM, began to develop more advanced quantum computing systems, with a focus on building devices that could be used for practical applications. The first commercially available quantum computing systems were made available in the 2010s, but they still had very limited capabilities.

In recent years, significant progress has been made in the field of quantum computing. Advancements in qubit technologies and improvements in control systems and algorithms have enabled the development of quantum computers with greater capabilities and more qubits. This in turn has led to the creation of powerful quantum computing hardware and software infrastructure.

As quantum computing is getting explored very fast with some large players like IBM, Google, Microsoft and IonQ, as well as a number of startups, working to develop new technologies and improve existing ones, the landscape of quantum computing infrastructure is likely to continue to evolve rapidly in the coming years.

1. IBM Q EXPERIENCE: IBM (QUANTUM CLOUD PROVIDER)

IBM Q provides access to quantum hardware as well as HPC (High-performance computing) simulators. These can be accessed programmatically using the Python-based Qiskit framework, or via a graphical interface with the IBM Q Experience GUI.

The IBM Quantum Composer and the IBM Quantum Lab form an online platform allowing public and premium access to cloud-based quantum computing services provided by IBM Quantum.

Qiskit is an open-source software development kit for working with quantum computers at the level of circuits, pulses, and algorithms. It provides tools for creating and manipulating quantum programs and running them on prototype quantum devices on IBM Quantum Experience or on simulators on a local computer.

2. GOOGLE QUANTUM AI: GOOGLE (QUANTUM CLOUD PROVIDER)

Google Quantum AI is advancing the state of the art of quantum computing and developing the tools for researchers to operate beyond classical capabilities.

The Quantum AI Lab was established by Google Research in May 2013. The Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab (also called the Quantum AI Lab or QuAIL) is a joint initiative of NASA, Universities Space Research Association, and Google (specifically, Google Research) whose goal is to pioneer research on how quantum computing might help with machine learning and other difficult computer science problems.

3. XANADU QUANTUM CLOUD: XANADU (QUANTUM CLOUD PROVIDER)

Xanadu Quantum Technologies develops cloud accessible photonic quantum computers and develops open-source software for quantum machine learning and simulating quantum photonic devices.

Xanadu’s hardware efforts have been focused on developing programmable Gaussian boson sampling (GBS) devices. GBS is a generalization of boson sampling, which traditionally uses single photons as an input; GBS uses squeezed states of light.

4. FOREST SDK: RIGETTI COMPUTING (pyQuil, quilc, and qvm)

The Rigetti Forest Software Development Kit includes pyQuil, the Rigetti Quil Compiler (quilc), and the Quantum Virtual Machine (qvm).

Rigetti Computing is a Berkeley, California-based company — offers its Quantum Cloud Services (QCS), With QCS, its quantum processors (QPUs) are tightly integrated with classical computing infrastructure and made available over the cloud.

Forest SDK is a set of software tools that allow individuals to write quantum programs in Quil, then compile and run them via QCS or a simulator.

5. AMAZON BRAKET: AWS (CLOUD SYSTEM PROVIDER)

I always think of Amazon Cloud, or AWS, as a family of computing services (Combo Pack). If I want to deploy any solution, the first thing that comes to mind is AWS.

Amazon Braket, a fully managed service that helps users get started with quantum computing by providing a development environment to explore and design quantum algorithms, test them on simulated quantum computers and run them on your choice of different quantum system hardware technologies.

Amazon Braket empowers users to research quantum computing algorithms, test different quantum hardware, build quantum software faster, as well as explore industry applications.

It’s amazing to see their capabilities:

· Amazon Braket provides access to quantum hardware based on superconducting qubits from Rigetti.

· Amazon Braket provides access to ion-trap quantum computers from IonQ.

· Amazon Braket provides access to Rydberg atom-based quantum computers from QuEra Computing

· Amazon Braket provides access to photonic quantum computers from Xanadu.

6. AZURE QUANTUM: MICROSOFT

Azure Quantum is the cloud quantum computing service of Azure, with a diverse set of quantum solutions and technologies. Azure Quantum ensures an open, flexible, and future-proofed path to quantum computing that adapts to your way of working, accelerates progress, and protects technology investments..

Designed as an open ecosystem to write and run code on a diverse selection of today’s quantum hardware, Azure Quantum gives people the flexibility to use their preferred development tools with support for Cirq, Qiskit, and Q#.

7. QUANTUM INSPIRE: QUTECH (QUANTUM CLOUD SERVICES)

Quantum Inspire by Qutech was launched in May 2020 by Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven and European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel and is probably the least known quantum cloud computing supplier offering services that can proudly boast as being the first platform in Europe to provide cloud based quantum computing to two hardware chips.

Quantum-Inspired Optimization algorithms exploit some of the advantages of quantum computing on classical hardware, providing a speedup over traditional approaches. Quantum-inspired algorithms are classical algorithms where you classically emulate the essential quantum phenomena that provide the speedup

Quantum Inspire is a prototype full-stack quantum computer. It serves as a training and education platform, a test-bed for application development and as an invitation for co-development and collaborative R&D of quantum computers.

8. FORGE: QC WARE (QUANTUM CLOUD PLATFORM)

QC Ware Forge Forge, QC Ware’s cloud services platform, enables large enterprises and public-sector organizations to start building quantum skills and prepare for the potential disruption that quantum computing will bring to the market in the near future..

Built for turn-key algorithm implementations for data scientists, financial analysts, and engineers, its circuit building blocks system also allows for the creation of users’ own algorithms.

Future of Quantum Computing Platforms

The future of quantum computing platforms is likely to see continued progress and advancements in a variety of areas. Some of the key areas of focus for the development of quantum computing platforms include:

i. Increasing qubit count and quality: One of the main challenges facing quantum computing is the difficulty of building and maintaining large numbers of high-quality qubits. As the number of qubits in a quantum computer increases, it becomes more powerful and capable of running more complex algorithms.

ii. Improving quantum error correction and fault tolerance: As quantum computers are still very fragile, error correction and fault tolerance are crucial to their operation. Researchers are working on developing new techniques for detecting and correcting errors in quantum computations.

iii. Development of new quantum algorithms: With the advent of more powerful quantum computers, the development of new quantum algorithms will become increasingly important. Algorithms will be developed which will be useful for specific fields like AI, Drug design, optimization, etc.

iv. Building larger-scale quantum networks: To achieve the full potential of quantum computing, it will be necessary to connect multiple quantum computers together to form large-scale quantum networks. This will enable quantum distributed computing, where multiple quantum devices will work together.

v. Making quantum computing more accessible and user-friendly: As quantum computing becomes more powerful and capable, it will be important to make it more accessible to a wider range of users. This will include the development of more user-friendly software and programming languages, as well as the creation of cloud-based quantum computing services.

All these advancements will allow quantum computing to be integrated into practical real-world problems and in various fields of applications. The world is yet to see the full potential of Quantum computing. Let’s wait for more faster computing engines.