Quantinuum Connecting Classical and Quantum Computing With NVIDIA

July 25, 2022

The NVIDIA QODA platform for quantum-classical applications brings the C++ language into the quantum ecosystem. Alex Chernoguzov, the Chief Engineer of Commercial Products at Quantinuum, is helping to bring this programming platform to Quantinuum’s world-class quantum hardware. 

“The more languages that support quantum, the better, because that opens up an opportunity for different software specialists to start programming in quantum environments,” Chernoguzov said. “We need to develop a new workforce that's educated on quantum information science topics and capable of generating new algorithms that can run on quantum computers.”

Tony Uttley, president and chief operating officer at Quantinuum, said platforms such as QODA are important for the company and the quantum computing industry. 

“At Quantinuum, our objective is to accelerate quantum computing’s utility to the world,” Uttley said. “By bringing forward additional tools like QODA, we expand the number of brilliant people aiming their talents at getting the most out of today’s quantum computers.”

Why we need QODA

Quantum computers speak a different language than classical machines. Also, the current landscape doesn’t have many effective quantum compilers to support interoperability with classical machines. The NVIDIA QODA platform aims to change that. Until recently, most quantum programming languages were based on Python because many scientists are familiar with it, Chernoguzov said.

“QODA adds quantum capabilities to C++ because this language is what's often used to program high performance computing machines,” he said. “Having a C++ dialect expands the possible languages that you can program quantum with.”

A classical-quantum bridge 

Chernoguzov said interoperability between classical and quantum systems was another core goal of this project. 

“Let’s say you have a hybrid program that has some classical parts and some quantum parts,” he said. “You compile the program. There is a classical piece that you can run on a CPU or a GPU, and there is a quantum piece that you need to send to a quantum computer. In a sense, you could look at it as a quantum processor acting as a co-processor for the other classical processors you need for your program. After completion, you gather everything together and do some more classical computations and repeat the process.”

Quantinuum’s H1 quantum machine will act as a quantum processor working in conjunction with larger classical systems. If a computational task has an element that could be solved more easily by a quantum architecture, this task can be passed off to H1 so researchers can solve quantum problems. This process will currently work in a similar fashion to other cloud-based services with programs submitted for execution over the cloud to H1. 

Quantinuum hardware and the NVIDIA QODA platform are bridging the gap between existing classical architectures and emerging quantum resources and using the strengths of each system to solve complex problems.

“Let’s say you want to model a complex chemical molecule. Atomic interactions are best handled by a quantum computer,” Chernoguzov said, “but directing the overall program flow to tell it what to model and how to model it is best done by the classical computers.” NVIDIA’s QODA platform helps reveal a world where these two ecosystems coexist and thrive together. 

Chernoguzov also explained the benefits of the Quantum Intermediate Representation (QIR) Alliance: a group of people and organizations who are committed to improving interoperability for quantum machines. This group’s work forms the basis for the hybrid approach that uses both classical and quantum machines.

“Interoperability in the quantum world is possible and the QIR is a good fit for that,” he said. “Quantum computers cannot do everything themselves, but classical compute is also clearly limited. We need both, and they need to work closely together to solve difficult problems that neither technology can solve on its own.

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Kaniah Konkoly-Thege

Kaniah is Chief Legal Counsel and SVP of Government Relations for Quantinuum. In her previous role, she served as General Counsel, Honeywell Quantum Solutions. Prior to Honeywell, she was General Counsel, Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies, LLC, and Senior Attorney, U.S. Department of Energy. She was Lead Counsel before the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Kaniah holds a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law and B.A., International Relations and Spanish from the College of William and Mary.

Jeff Miller

Jeff Miller is Chief Information Officer for Quantinuum. In his previous role, he served as CIO for Honeywell Quantum Solutions and led a cross-functional team responsible for Information Technology, Cybersecurity, and Physical Security. For Honeywell, Jeff has held numerous management and executive roles in Information Technology, Security, Integrated Supply Chain and Program Management. Jeff holds a B.S., Computer Science, University of Arizona. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, attaining the rank of Commander.

Matthew Bohne

Matthew Bohne is the Vice President & Chief Product Security Officer for Honeywell Corporation. He is a passionate cybersecurity leader and executive with a proven track record of building and leading cybersecurity organizations securing energy, industrial, buildings, nuclear, pharmaceutical, and consumer sectors. He is a sought-after expert with deep experience in DevSecOps, critical infrastructure, software engineering, secure SDLC, supply chain security, privacy, and risk management.

Todd Moore

Todd Moore is the Global Vice President of Data Encryption Products at Thales. He is responsible for setting the business line and go to market strategies for an industry leading cybersecurity business. He routinely helps enterprises build solutions for a wide range of complex data security problems and use cases. Todd holds several management and technical degrees from the University of Virginia, Rochester Institute of Technology, Cornell University and Ithaca College. He is active in his community, loves to travel and spends much of his free time supporting his family in pursuing their various passions.

John Davis

Retired U.S. Army Major General John Davis is the Vice President, Public Sector for Palo Alto Networks, where he is responsible for expanding cybersecurity initiatives and global policy for the international public sector and assisting governments around the world to prevent successful cyber breaches. Prior to joining Palo Alto Networks, John served as the Senior Military Advisor for Cyber to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and served as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy.  Prior to this assignment, he served in multiple leadership positions in special operations, cyber, and information operations.