TOKYO - Fujitsu Limited announced today a breakthrough in quantum simulation technology, achieving a 200-fold increase in computational speed for quantum-classical hybrid algorithms. This advancement is a significant leap forward in the early utilization of quantum computers, particularly for complex problems in materials science and drug discovery that traditionally could take hundreds of days to compute.
The new technique allows for the simultaneous processing of multiple quantum circuit computations, which are often executed repetitively and distributed among different groups. By optimizing this process, Fujitsu has managed to reduce the computation time from an estimated 200 days to just one day on one of the world's largest-scale quantum simulators.
Quantum-classical hybrid algorithms, such as the Variational Quantum (NASDAQ:QMCO) Eigensolver (VQE), are pivotal for the practical application of Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) computers, which can handle 100 to 1,000 qubits and are currently being developed to demonstrate the utility of quantum computing before the advent of fault-tolerant quantum computers (FTQC).
Fujitsu's innovation lies in its distributed processing technology, which uses Remote Procedure Call (RPC (NYSE:RES)) to submit quantum circuit computation jobs across a network, enabling different quantum circuits to be executed concurrently. This method has reduced computation time to 1/70th of what it was with previous technologies.
Additionally, by analyzing large molecules using 32 qubits of a 40 qubit quantum simulator, Fujitsu discovered that terms with smaller coefficients in the computation equation had minimal impact on final results. This insight allowed the company to reduce the number of terms in the equation while maintaining accuracy, cutting down quantum circuit computation time by approximately 80%.
The combination of these two technologies has demonstrated that a quantum simulation of 32 qubits, distributed across 1024 compute nodes into 8 groups, can be completed in one day, a task that previously would have taken 200 days.
Industry experts have expressed anticipation for the accelerated development of quantum algorithms and their application in various fields. Yukihiro Okuno, Senior Research Scientist at Fujifilm Corporation, and Tsuyoshi Moriya, Vice President at Tokyo Electron Limited, have both commented on the potential of this technology to expedite the verification of the VQE algorithm's principles and its applicability to material development.
Fujitsu plans to integrate this technology into its hybrid quantum computing platform to further research and practical application in fields ranging from finance to drug discovery. This development is based on a press release statement from Fujitsu Limited, a global technology and service provider with a mission to build trust in society through innovation.
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