On Friday, November 7th Eastern Time, IBM announced that it has been selected for Phase B of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI) under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the US Department of Defense. This is a key validation for the company’s path in building large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computers.
QBI, also known as Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, was launched by DARPA in 2024 with the aim of evaluating through rigorous third-party validation whether industrial grade fault-tolerant quantum computers with computational value exceeding their cost can be built by 2033.
IBM was selected for Phase A of the program in April this year. DARPA revealed that as of November 6th, the agency has selected 11 companies, including IBM, to enter Phase B, which adopt various technological paths from superconducting qubits to neutral atoms.
Jay Gambetta, Director of Research at IBM, stated that IBM’s advancement to Phase B of the DARPA Quantum Benchmarking Program is a strong affirmation of IBM’s approach to providing large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computers. “
As part of the QBI program, IBM also announced on Friday a technology partnership with quantum computing startup SEEQC to research new methods for expanding quantum computer control systems.
SEEQC stated that the new collaboration will explore how to integrate SEEQC’s Single Flux Quantum (SFQ) chip control layer technology with IBM’s cutting-edge quantum system architecture. SEEQC envisions utilizing its SFQ technology to shrink and integrate external classical control hardware racks by transferring some components onto a system on chip (SoC), enabling them to operate adjacent to quantum chips in an ultra cold dilution refrigeration unit.
While SEEQC explores how SFQ control chips can improve quantum system performance and reduce unsystematic energy consumption, IBM will continue to advance its IBM quantum development roadmap, including its large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computer research and development work.
Jay Gambetta, the head of IBM’s quantum computing research, stated that IBM aims to launch a fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029. Controlling and expanding such a large-scale quantum system is a challenging engineering problem, with many unresolved research issues. I am delighted to collaborate with SEEQC to jointly study these issues and accelerate the achievement of our 2029 goals.
Competition for Multi Technical Paths in the Three Stage Verification System
The Quantum Benchmark Testing Plan (QBI) consists of three progressive stages. The six-month Phase A requires participants to elaborate on the preliminary technical concepts of practical quantum computers with a reasonable short-term implementation path.
The current Phase B lasts for one year and requires participants to propose a comprehensive R&D plan, including identifying relevant risks, mitigation strategies, and prototypes needed to reduce risks.
The final Phase C will be tested by DARPA’s independent verification and evaluation team on the company’s computer hardware to determine whether its practical level quantum computer concept can be built as designed and run as expected.
As an independent research and development agency of the US Department of Defense, DARPA focuses on identifying and supporting technologies that are transformative to national security. QBI adds value to the development of quantum computing by providing unbiased third-party validation for participants’ research and development work, and communicating the validation results to other US government stakeholders.
The 11 companies selected for Phase B this time are located in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, each using different quantum bit technologies. In addition to IBM’s modular superconducting processors, it also includes ion trap technology from IonQ and Quantianum, neutral atom technology from Atom Computing and QuEra Computing, and photon quantum computing from Xanadu.
DARPA emphasizes that QBI is not an elimination competition, but an independent evaluation of each company’s technological advantages. One major challenge in evaluation is the diversity of quantum computing technology paths, which are different from the dominant architectures in classical computing. Ultimately, there may be multiple, single, or no participants able to demonstrate the path towards industrial practical quantum computers within the next eight years.
DARPA expects that more teams will enter each stage in the future, and the timing of the company’s entry into the evaluation process varies, resulting in a staggered state of advancement in the three stages. The institution will announce the subsequent promotion decision after completing the contract with the new team.
暂无评论内容