Cisco and IBM will collaborate to create a connected network of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers with a target of 2030 for proof-of-concept.
IBM and Cisco say a distributed quantum network would lay the groundwork towards a quantum computing internet defined by quantum computers, sensors and communications in the late 2030s.
The companies say that combining IBM’s experience in building useful quantum computers with Cisco’s quantum networking innovations will allow them to explore how to solve fundamental challenges towards a quantum computing internet. They hope to demonstrate a first proof-of concept within the next five years.
The aim is to ultimately create a network of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers, enabling them to work together “to run computations over tens to hundreds of thousands of qubits”.
They say such a network would potentially allow problems to be run with trillions of quantum gates, “the fundamental entangling operations required for transformative quantum applications such as massive optimisation problems, or the design of complex materials and medicines”.
IBM’s stated ambition is to deliver large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers before the end of this decade, and working with Cisco it hopes to find a way to even further scale that potential.
“By working with Cisco to explore how to link multiple quantum computers like these together into a distributed network, we will pursue how to further scale quantum’s computational power,” said Jay Gambetta, director of IBM Research and IBM fellow. “And as we build the future of compute, our vision will push the frontiers of what quantum computers can do within a larger high-performance computing architecture.”
“Getting quantum computing to useful scale is not just about building bigger individual machines, it is also about connecting them together,” said Vijoy Pandey, GM/SVP at Outshift by Cisco.
“IBM is building quantum computers with aggressive roadmaps for scale-up, and we are bringing quantum networking that enables scale-out. Together, we are solving this as a complete system problem, including the hardware to connect quantum computers, the software to run computations across them and the networking intelligence that makes them work.”
It is one thing to look at linking two quantum computers that are physically close, but IBM and Cisco will explore how to transmit qubits over longer distances, such as between buildings or data centers, via for example optical-photon and microwave-optical transducer technologies.
The sheer breadth of the challenge means that the two tech players will collaborate extensively with academia and federal labs in the US, as much of the technology required has yet to be created.
They say that a future internet of quantum computers would enable a whole range of new possibilities from ultra-secure communications, to precise monitoring of climate, weather and seismic activity, potentially by the late 2030s.
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