Built for All: Introducing Our New Software Stack
Our next-generation quantum computer, Helios, will come online this year as more than a new chip. It will arrive as a full-stack platform that sets a new standard for the industry.
With our current and previous generation systems, H2 and H1, we have set industry records for the highest fidelities, pioneered the teleportation of logical qubits, and introduced the world’s first commercial application for quantum computers. Much of this success stems from the deep integration between our software and hardware.
Today, we are excited to share the details of our new software stack. Its features and benefits, outlined below, enable a lower barrier to entry, faster time-to-solution, industry-standard access, and the best possible user experience on Helios.
Most importantly, this stack is designed with the future in mind as Quantinuum advances toward universal, fully fault-tolerant quantum computing.
Watch the technical webinar on our new software stack
Our Next-Generation Software Stack: What’s New
Our Current Generation Software Stack
Currently, the solutions our customers explore on our quantum hardware, which span cybersecurity, quantum chemistry, and quantum AI, plus third-party programs, are all powered by two middleware technologies:
- TKET, an open-source tool kit used by developers to build quantum software programs; and
- Nexus, a cloud-based SaaS platform, is the pathway to access our hardware, as well as third-party hardware. Nexus is our all-in-one computing platform, the entry point to everything quantum.
Our Next Generation Software Stack
The launch of Helios will come with an upgraded software stack with new features. We’re introducing two key additions to the stack, specifically:
- Guppy, a new, open-source programming language based on Python, one of the most popular general-use programming languages for classical computing; and
- Selene, a platform that partially emulates Helios, is used to perform program analysis and verification. Selene can be seen almost as a “digital sister” for Helios.
Moving forward, users will now leverage Guppy to run software applications on Helios and our future systems. TKET will be used solely as a compiler tool chain and for the optimization of Guppy programs.
Nexus, which remains as the default pathway to access our hardware, and third-party hardware, has been upgraded to support Guppy and provide access to Selene. Nexus also supports Quantum Intermediate Representation (QIR), an industry standard, which enables developers to program with languages like NVIDIA CUDA-Q, ensuring our stack stays accessible to the whole ecosystem.
With this new stack running on our next generation Helios system, several benefits will be delivered to the end user, including, but not limited to, improved time-to-solution and reduced memory error for programs critical to quantum error correction and utility-scale algorithms.
Below, we dive deeper into these upgrades and what they mean for our customers.
Introducing Guppy: A Purpose-Built Language for Quantum Programming
Designed for the Next Era of Quantum Computing
Guppy is a new programming language hosted in Python, providing developers with a familiar, accessible entry point into the next era of quantum computing.
As Quantinuum leads the transition from the noisy intermediate scale quantum (NISQ) era to fault-tolerant quantum computing, Guppy represents a fundamental departure from legacy circuit-building tools. Instead of forcing developers to construct programs gate-by-gate, a tedious and error-prone process, Guppy treats quantum programs as structured, dynamic software.
With native support for real-time feedback and common programming constructs like ‘if’ statements and ‘for’loops, Guppy enables developers to write complex, readable programs that adapt as the quantum system evolves. This approach unlocks unprecedented power and clarity, far surpassing traditional tools.
Designed with fault-tolerance in mind, Guppy also optimizes qubit resource management automatically, improving efficiency and reducing developer overhead.
All Guppy programs can be seamlessly submitted and managed through Nexus, our all-in-one quantum computing platform.
Find out more at guppylang.org
The Most Flexible Approach to Quantum Error Correction
When it comes to quantum error correction (QEC), flexibility is everything. That is why we designed Guppy to reduce barriers to entry to access necessary features for QEC.
Unlike platforms locked into rigid, hardware-specific codes, Quantinuum’s QCCD architecture gives developers the freedom to implement any QEC code. In a rapidly evolving field, this adaptability is critical: the ability to test and deploy the latest techniques can mean the difference between achieving quantum advantage and falling behind.
With Guppy, developers can implement advanced protocols such as magic state distillation and injection, quantum teleportation, and other measurement-based routines, all executed dynamically through our real-time control system. This creates an environment where researchers can push the limits of fault-tolerance now—not years from now.
In addition, users can employ NVIDIA’s CUDA-QX for out-of-the-box QEC, without needing to worry about writing their own decoders, simplifying the development of novel QEC codes.
By enabling a modular, programmable approach to QEC, our stack accelerates the path to fault-tolerance and positions us to scale quickly as more efficient codes emerge from the research frontier.
Real-Time Control for True Quantum Computing
Integrated seamlessly with Guppy is a next-generation control system powered by a new real-time engine, a key breakthrough for large-scale quantum computing.
This control layer makes our software stack the first commercial system to deliver full measurement-dependent control with undefined sequence length. In practical terms, that means operations can now be guided dynamically by quantum measurements as they occur—a critical step toward truly adaptive, fault-tolerant algorithms.
At the hardware level, features like real-time transport enable dynamic software capabilities, such as conditionals, loops, and recursion, which are all foundational for scaling from thousands to millions of qubits.
These advances deliver tangible performance gains, including faster time-to-solution, reduced memory error, and greater algorithmic efficiency, providing the foundational support required to convert algorithmic advances into useful real-world applications.
Meet Selene: A “Digital Sister” for Helios and Beyond
Quantum hardware access is limited, but development shouldn't be. Selene is our new open-source emulator, built to model realistic, entangled quantum behavior with exceptional detail and speed.
Unlike generic simulators, Selene captures advanced runtime behavior unique to Helios, including measurement-dependent control flow and hybrid quantum-classical logic. It runs Guppy programs out of the box, allowing developers to start building and testing immediately without waiting for machine time.
Selene supports multiple simulation backends, giving users state-of-the-art options for their specific needs, including backends optimized for matrix product state and tensor network simulations using NVIDIA GPUs and cuQuantum. This ensures maximum performance both on the quantum processor and in simulation.
Nexus: Bringing It All Together
These new features, and more, are available through Nexus, our all-in-one quantum computing platform.
Nexus serves as the middle layer that connects every part of the stack, providing a cloud-native SaaS environment for full-stack workflows, including server-side Selene instances. Users can manage Guppy programs, analyze results, and collaborate with others, all within a single, streamlined platform.
Further, Selene users who submit quantum state-vector simulations—the most complete and powerful method to simulate a general quantum circuit on a classical computer—through Nexus will be leveraging the NVIDIA cuQuantum library for efficient GPU-powered simulation.
Bringing Us All Together
Our entire stack, including Nexus and Selene, supports the industry-standard Quantum Intermediate Representation (QIR) as input, allowing users to program in their preferred programming language. QIR provides a common format for accessing a range of quantum computing backends, and Quantinuum Helios will support the full Adaptive Profile QIR This means developers can generate programs for Helios using tools like NVIDIA CUDA-Q, Microsoft Q#, and ORNL XACC.
Always Looking Forward
Our customers choose Quantinuum as their top quantum computing partner because no one else matches our team or our results. We remain the leaders in quantum computing and the only provider of integrated quantum resources that will address our society’s most complex problems.
That future is already taking shape. With Helios and our new software stack, we are building the foundation for scalable, programmable, real-time quantum computing.
About Quantinuum
Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With over 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.
Progressing your organization along the five levels of quantum maturity
Quantum computing has moved from a bet on the future to a race already underway. Early adopters are locking in strategic partnerships, building proprietary IP, and positioning themselves years ahead of competitors who are still watching from the sidelines. For executives, the question isn't whether to engage with quantum computing. It's how far along that journey your organization actually is, and what it takes to move forward.
That's a harder question to answer than it sounds. Quantum maturity isn't a single milestone you either hit or miss. It's a progression, built across talent, technology access, workflow integration, partnerships, and value realization, and most organizations aren't entirely sure where they currently stand and what to do next.
Our new paper, A Roadmap for Quantum Maturity, is built to answer exactly that.
A Framework for Where You Stand, and Where to Go Next
Drawing on extensive client experience, the paper lays out five distinct levels of quantum maturity, from early awareness through full transformation, along with the leadership actions that move an organization from one level to the next.
- Awareness — early conversations, but no clear ownership or use cases yet
- Exploration — exploring partnerships and prioritizing use cases with limited budget
- Experimentation — quantum roadmap established and guiding dedicated teams, funding, and partners to execute pilot use case projects
- Integration — quantum computing applications are being embedded into business unit workflows, and the quantum roadmap is integrated with broader digital technology strategy, including AI, HPC, and data
- Transformation — quantum capabilities are embedded in core products and decision-making, with differentiated, proprietary advantage
Most industry leaders today sit at the exploration or experimentation stages, with clear ambitions to reach transformation within the next several years. The paper breaks down what separates organizations that progress from those that stall out at proof-of-concept.
The Advantage Is Built, Not Bought
One of the paper's central takeaways is one many executives underestimate: investing in quantum technology alone isn't enough. Organizations that advance fastest pair that investment with a deliberate strategy, building quantum literacy across leadership and technical teams, honestly assessing capability gaps, focusing on a small number of high-impact use cases tied to real business metrics, and defining a clear roadmap that connects research to business advantage.
How Quantinuum Can Help
Achieving quantum maturity is a journey, not a single step, and most organizations don't need to make that journey alone. Quantinuum's consulting services are built to support every stage of it, from advisory and use-case identification, to capability building, technology access, and the co-development of scalable quantum solutions.
Whether your organization is just starting to build awareness or already scaling toward transformation, our team can help you identify exactly where you stand today, and what it takes to move to the next level.
- SoftBank Corp. and Quantinuum articulated a roadmap connecting quantum algorithms, hardware evolution, and commercial applications, helping organizations understand when quantum computing can address real-world challenges.
- The analysis demonstrates that quantum value will emerge in stages, with early opportunities in data analysis and longer-term breakthroughs in scientific computing as fault-tolerant systems mature.
- The work provides a practical planning framework for enterprises preparing to integrate quantum computing alongside AI and classical high-performance computing infrastructure in quantum-AI data centers.
Quantum computing is increasingly moving from exploratory discussion to structured enterprise planning. As organizations begin to assess where and when quantum technologies may deliver real business impact, a new class of work is emerging: integrated roadmaps that connect algorithmic feasibility, hardware development, and commercial opportunity.
A recent white paper from SoftBank Corp. and Quantinuum represents one of the most comprehensive examples of this approach to date. Rather than treating quantum computing as a distant, abstract capability, the study constructs a detailed, quantitative framework for understanding how real-world use cases evolve as hardware matures—and what this means for enterprise strategy.
A Comprehensive Roadmap
The SoftBank–Quantinuum white paper is broad in scope. It attempts to answer a fundamental question:
Which real-world problems can benefit from quantum computation, at what scale, with what accuracy requirements, and under what hardware conditions?
To address this, the study adopts a structured methodology that connects:
- Algorithmic resource estimates (logical qubits, circuit depth, gate counts)
- Explicit error correction assumptions and overhead models
- Hardware roadmaps across multiple generations
- Timelines for when specific classes of problems may become feasible
Two representative domains anchor the analysis:
- Quantum chemistry, particularly excited-state dynamics and photochemical processes
- Topological data analysis (TDA), including graph-based structure and anomaly detection
These domains were selected because they combine industrial relevance with computational structures that scale poorly on classical systems but map naturally onto quantum approaches.
Quantum chemistry is closely tied to materials science, energy systems, and the development of sustainable technologies. TDA, by contrast, offers tools for understanding complex data structures in networks, finance, and large-scale systems—where identifying structure and anomalies is increasingly critical.
Together, they illustrate how quantum computing may create value across both deep scientific domains and high-impact data applications.
An important caveat is that the resulting roadmap assumes a widely-studied but inefficient error correcting code. As more error correcting codes come online, the resources required to run algorithms will shrink. That means that the timelines detailed in this work can be thought of as “worst case” scenarios, which adds to the value by setting out a clear limit.
A distinguishing feature of the work is its emphasis on implementation over abstraction. Rather than relying solely on theoretical models, the study explicitly constructs quantum circuits and executes them on Quantinuum’s Helios and H2 system.
Parallel Paths to Value
A notable insight from the study is that quantum value creation will not follow a single linear path.
Instead, two complementary regimes are expected to emerge:
- In quantum chemistry, the focus is on fault-tolerant, logical-qubit-based computation, where error correction is essential for scaling toward meaningful scientific and industrial outcomes.
- In TDA, value can emerge earlier, where partial quantum advantage may already support useful computational tasks without full error correction.
This dual-track structure is important: it shows that quantum computing is not a single “threshold technology,” but a spectrum of capabilities that unlock value at different stages of maturity.
The Vision for Quantum Industrialization
The framework ultimately supports a broader strategic vision: the evolution of Quantum AI Data Centers—hybrid infrastructures where quantum processors operate alongside AI and classical HPC systems.
For enterprises, the implication is clear: quantum computing readiness is no longer about speculation. It is about structured preparation, disciplined modeling, and early engagement with the full stack of capabilities that will define the next generation of computational infrastructure.
Every year, The IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering – or IEEE Quantum Week – brings together engineers, scientists, researchers, students, and others to learn about advancements in quantum computing. This year’s conference, from September 13th - 18th in Toronto, Canada, will focus on translating research into real-world impact through the convergence of generative AI, distributed quantum systems, and quantum software engineering.
Throughout IEEE Quantum Week, our quantum experts will be on-site to share insights on upgrades to our hardware, enhancements to our software stack, our path to error correction, and more.
Meet our team at Booth #501 and join the below sessions to discover how Quantinuum is forging the path to fault-tolerant quantum computing with our integrated full-stack.
Keynote with Quantinuum's CEO, Dr. Rajeeb Hazra
September 14th
5:00 – 6:30pm | 800 Hall G
Quantum computing has passed the point where error correction is theoretical. What comes next depends on systems that hold logical performance steady and do real work at scale. On September 14th, join Quantinuum’s CEO Dr. Rajeeb Hazra for his keynote session on “Logically Speaking: The Next Era of Error Correction” where he will explore what the next era of quantum computing requires: shared definitions of logical performance, and benchmarks built on real workloads.
Speaking Sessions
September 13th
11:00 – 11:12am | Location: 601A/B
Workshop: QGenAI: Synergies between Quantum Computing and Generative Artificial Intelligence
Finding Compatible Datasets for Quantum Generative Modeling
Presenting Author: Chen-Yu Liu
September 14th
1:00 – 1:20pm | Location: 701B
Workshop: Q3-Control: Integrated Systems for Quantum Computing, Sensing, and Networking
Cryo-ASICs for Scalable Control
Speaker: Dr. Patty Lee
September 15th
2:30 – 3:30pm | Exhibit Hall (informal event)
Workshop: Q3-Control: Integrated Systems for Quantum Computing, Sensing, and Networking
The Quantum Spectrum
Speaker: Dr. Patty Lee
3:00 – 4:30pm | Location: 801A
Where Quantum-HPC Integration Actually Stands in 2026
Panelist: Neal Erickson
3:00 – 4:30pm | Location: 718A
From Research to Commercialization: Defining the Quantum Workforce for the Next Five Years
Panelist: Kortny Rolston-Duce
September 16th
10:00 – 11:30am | Location: 801B
Who Will Turn Quantum Computing into Value? Specialists, Domain Experts, and the Workforce Gap
Panelist: Enrico Rinaldi
September 17th
10:00 – 11:30am | Location: 701B
International Workshop on Quantum Computing for Power Systems: From Optimization Algorithms to Grid-Scale Applications | Session 1
Organizer: Kortny Rolston-Duce
10:00 – 11:30am | Location: 714A
openQSE: Co-Designing the Quantum-HPC Software Stack from Applications to Control Systems | Session 1
Speaker: Neal Erickson
10:00 – 11:30am
The Impact of Qubit Connectivity on Quantum Advantage in Noisy IQP Circuits
Presenting Author: Leonardo Placidi
10:15 – 11:00 am | Location: 601A/B
Workshop: AI for Circuit Synthesis, Optimization, and Discovery
Automated near-term quantum algorithm discovery
Speaker: Konstantinos Meichanetzidis
11:00 – 11:15am | Location: 601A/B
Workshop: AI for Circuit Synthesis, Optimization, and Discovery
Fast Stabilizer State Preparation via AI-Optimized Graph Decimation
Presenting Author: Jasmine Brewer
1:00 – 1:15pm | Location: 601A/B
Workshop: AI for Circuit Synthesis, Optimization, and Discovery
Reinforcement Learning for Adaptive Composition of Quantum Circuit Optimisation Passes
Speaker: Gabriel Matos
1:00 – 1:20am | 718B
Quantum Software 2.6: current challenges and headways in quantum software | Session 1
Quantum compilation and hybrid compilation
Speaker: Ross Duncan
1:00 – 2:30pm | Location: 714A
openQSE: Co-Designing the Quantum-HPC Software Stack from Applications to Control Systems | Session 2
Speaker: Phillipp Seitz
1:45 – 2:00pm | Location: 601A/B
Workshop: AI for Circuit Synthesis, Optimization, and Discovery
Graph-Theoretic Quantum Circuit Optimization with the ZX-Calculus and Gumbel AlphaZero
Speaker: Alexander Koziell-Pipe
2:00 – 2:15pm | Location: 601A/B
Workshop: AI for Circuit Synthesis, Optimization, and Discovery
Reusable Equivariant Neural Compilers for Matrix-Group Quantum Circuit Synthesis
Speaker: Richie Yeung
3:30 - 4:00pm | Location: 715B
Workshop: 4th Workshop on Quantum Computing for Natural Sciences: Technology and Applications
Quantum Algorithms
Speaker: Setso Metodi
September 18th
10:00 – 11:30am | Location: 801B
Scalable QPU architectures
Panelist: Setso Metodi