Rigetti Announces Quantum Computing Prize

Rigetti Computing, a quantum computing company launched in 2013, has announced a new service called Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services (QCS). The service will support cloud-based experiments with quantum algorithms and will feature Rigetti’s hybrid classical/quantum technology, which the company believes offers a competitive edge compared with other similar services.

The company has also announced a $1 million prize for the first conclusive demonstration of quantum advantage by a user working on the new cloud service. In theory, quantum computers should have the capability of outperforming conventional computers for certain types of problems. Quantum advantage is a real-world demonstration that documents a quantum computer solving a “an important or valuable business problem” faster than any other computer technology.

Rigetti CEO Chad Rigetti writes in a blog post: “Three key capabilities are essential to achieving quantum advantage. First, users need more qubits with lower error rates. Second, users need computing systems designed to run the hybrid quantum-classical algorithms that offer the shortest path to quantum advantage. Finally, these capabilities must be delivered alongside a real programming environment so users can build and run true quantum software applications.”

For more information, see the story and interview at HPCWire.