For the First Time Ever, Quantinuum’s New H2 Quantum Computer Has Created Non-Abelian Topological Quantum Matter and Braided its Anyons
The controlled creation and manipulation of non-Abelian anyons leading to topological qubits represents a significant step towards universal fault-tolerant quantum computing
Broomfield, Colorado, May 9th, 2023 — Quantinuum is proud and excited to announce this significant step towards fault-tolerant quantum computing. This achievement has been uniquely enabled by the release of Quantinuum’s System Model H2 - the highest performing quantum computer ever built.
The official launch of Quantinuum’s H2 quantum processor, Powered by Honeywell, follows extensive pre-launch work with a variety of global partners and was essential to the controlled creation and manipulation of non-Abelian anyons. The precise control of non-Abelian anyons has been long held as the path to using topological qubits for a fault-tolerant quantum computer.
Tony Uttley, President and COO of Quantinuum, stated “With our second-generation system, we are entering a new phase of quantum computing. H2 highlights the opportunity to achieve valuable outcomes that are only possible with a quantum computer. The development of the H2 processor is also a critical step in moving towards universal fault-tolerant quantum computing.”
He added, “This demonstration is a beautiful proof point in the power of our H-Series hardware roadmap and reinforces our primary purpose which is to enable our customers to tackle problems that were previously beyond the reach of classical computers. The implications for society are significant and we are excited to see how this technology truly changes the world."
One of the first experiments conducted on H2 by scientists from Quantinuum, in collaboration with researchers from Harvard University and Caltech, demonstrated a new state of matter, a non-Abelian topologically ordered state. This is an area of expertise that has been pursued in “stealth mode” for some years within Quantinuum, with the core team based in Munich and led by Dr. Henrik Dreyer.
Due to the differentiating features and precision control of the H2 processor, the topological state (that is essentially a qubit with limited gate capacity) was created in a way where its properties could be precisely controlled in real-time, demonstrating the creation, braiding and annihilation (measurement) of non-Abelian anyons.
The results, which were published today in a pre-print of a detailed scientific paper that has been made available on Nature, details Quantinuum’s work. This work opens up exciting new fields of research within condensed matter physics, which would have been impossible using a classical computer alone. Together with other QEC codes (found here and here), we have demonstrated, this achievement shows that it is only a matter of time until the Quantinuum hardware demonstrates the best path to fault-tolerance.
“Fault-tolerant quantum computing is our ultimate aim. Our world leadership in quantum computing continues to be showcased and proven by real advances, and the creation and manipulation of non-Abelian anyons to create topological qubits is another example that when incredible tools are given to brilliant people, they will find something amazing to do with them,” said Ilyas Khan, Founder and Chief Product Officer at Quantinuum. “This could well be a transistor moment for the quantum computing industry – and the fact that we have used a quantum computer as the machine tool for building topological qubits that are a significant step towards fault-tolerant quantum computing is further testimony to our long-held belief that quantum systems are best explored and created by other quantum systems. This is precisely what Feynman anticipated in his now famous remarks that are so often quoted as foundations for quantum computing.”
He added, “We are looking forward to building on this critical breakthrough. These are exciting times ahead for the whole industry and we have some further milestones that we can’t wait to share with the world.”
Innovations in H2
The H2 features initially include 32 fully-connected, high-fidelity qubits and an all-new architecture that advances the System Model H1’s linear design (with a new ion trap whose oval shape resembles a “racetrack”). Quantinuum showcased the H2’s capability by demonstrating a 32-qubit GHZ state (a non-classical state with all 32 qubits globally entangled), the largest on record.
The unique “racetrack” design of the System Model H2 enables all-to-all connectivity between qubits, meaning that every qubit in the H2 can directly be pairwise entangled with any other qubit in the system. Near-term doing so reduces the overall errors in algorithms, and long term opens up additional opportunities for new, more efficient error correcting codes – both critical for continuing to accelerate the capabilities of quantum computing. When combined with the demonstration of controlled non-Abelian anyons, the integrated achievement highlights an important step in topological quantum information storage and processing.
Additionally, the new design is a powerful step towards showing the scaling potential of ion-trap devices. Not only is H2 a demonstration of the scaling power of ion traps in the quantum charge coupled device (QCCD) architecture: showing the ability to simultaneously scale qubit number while maintaining performance, it also contains new technologies that pave the way for further scaling in subsequent generations. Similar to the first-generation systems, H2 is designed to accommodate future upgrades over its product lifecycle, meaning that qubit number and qubit quality will both be improved upon.
Built on the proven foundations of Quantinuum’s H-Series, the System Model H2, includes numerous hallmark features that collectively set it apart from other types of quantum computers: all-to-all connectivity, qubit reuse, mid-circuit measurement with conditional logic, industry leading high-fidelity qubit operations, and long coherence times. Additionally, the impressive performance gains of the System Model H1 to achieve repeatedly increasing Quantum Volume (QV) records is expected to continue with H2. H2 launches with a Quantum Volume 65,536 surpassing the last record announced using H1-1 in February of this year.
Using the H2 Today
Besides the headline breakthrough, the H2 has already been active in experimental studies by a range of organizations and companies, with notable results:
- Global Technology Applied Research at JPMorgan Chase has published a scholarly paper on the quantum optimization algorithm design for portfolio optimization, with numerical results successfully validated on H2 during early access.
- Quantinuum’s machine learning team demonstrated a new heuristic optimization routine that can solve optimization problems with minimal quantum resources.
These recent studies are available in individual technical papers here. A separate published paper describing the H2 features, benchmarking, and comparisons to other hardware, along with details on world record entanglement, can be found here. All technical papers will be submitted to the scientific peer review process.
The H2 is available now through cloud-based access from Quantinuum and will be available through Microsoft Azure Quantum beginning in June. Additionally, a noise-informed emulator of H2 is made possible through NVIDIA’s cuQuantum SDK of optimized libraries and tools, which help accelerate quantum computing simulation workflows.
Dr. Rajeeb (Raj) Hazra, CEO of Quantinuum said, “For anyone who thought that quantum computers that are able to push forward the boundaries of human knowledge and scientific progress are still in the far distance, today marks a turning point. A world leading team of scientists have used Quantinuum’s H2 quantum computer to achieve something that was previously not possible.” He went on to comment, “The H2 provides a breakaway moment for Quantinuum. Our second-generation quantum computer powered by the H2 quantum processor and associated software, delivers the industry's best performance today, while laying the groundwork for significantly accelerating the path for fault-tolerant quantum computing.”
About Quantinuum
Quantinuum is the world’s largest standalone quantum computing company, formed by the combination of Honeywell Quantum Solutions’ world-leading hardware and Cambridge Quantum’s class-leading middleware and applications. Science-led and enterprise-driven, Quantinuum accelerates quantum computing and the development of applications across chemistry, cybersecurity, finance and optimization. Its focus is to create scalable and commercial quantum solutions to solve the world’s most pressing problems in fields such as energy, logistics, climate change, and health. The company employs over 480 individuals, including 350+ scientists and engineers, at eight sites across the United States, Europe, and Japan. For more information, please visit www.quantinuum.com.
The Honeywell trademark is used under license from Honeywell International Inc. Honeywell makes no representations or warranties with respect to this service.
About Quantinuum
Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With over 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.
Broomfield, Colorado, November 19th, 2024 – Quantinuum, the world’s largest and leading integrated quantum computing company, has been recognized by Fast Company as a winner in the 2024 Next Big Things in Tech Awards in the Computing, Chips, and Foundational Technology category. In its fourth year, the list honors technology breakthroughs that promise to shape the future of our society. This prestigious accolade underscores Quantinuum’s advancements with its System Model H2 quantum processor, the latest in a series of groundbreaking announcements.
Quantinuum’s H2 Quantum Processor: A Breakthrough in Quantum Computing
Launched in 2023 and upgraded in 2024, the H2 quantum processor represents a major advancement in quantum computing. As the most benchmarked system with the highest quantum volume in the industry, H2 is a testament to Quantinuum’s path in leading the world to universal, fully fault tolerant quantum computing future.
"The System Model H2 represents a significant leap in computing, demonstrating capabilities that can no longer be fully simulated by classical computers." said Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, President & CEO of Quantinuum. "Its unique design has led to significant achievements, including the creation of 12 reliable logical qubits and a 100-fold enhancement in a key quantum computing benchmark, Random Circuit Sampling (RCS). These results have made our systems integral to hybrid quantum computing workflows, combining our high performing quantum systems with leading AI and HPC solutions.”
These innovations have the potential to revolutionize fields like chemistry, drug discovery, and financial forecasting, demonstrating the far-reaching implications of Quantinuum's work.
Roadmap to Universal, Fully Fault Tolerant Quantum Computing
Quantinuum recently unveiled its accelerated roadmap to achieve universal fault-tolerant quantum computing in 2029. This integrated path not only emphasizes hardware advancements but also focuses on critical software capabilities that are essential for delivering full-stack quantum computing and hybrid quantum computing solutions.
Quantinuum’s next system, Helios, will launch in 2025 with 96 qubits and will help to unlock scientific advances that will surpass classical computing results.
About Quantinuum
Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum computing company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With over 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.
- Companies aim at developing powerful ion traps for Quantinuum’s future generations of quantum computers.
- Infineon provides expertise in process development, fabrication, and quantum processing unit (QPU) technology
- Partnership to drive progress in fields such as generative chemistry, material science, and artificial intelligence.
Neubiberg, Germany and Broomfield, Colorado, USA, 19 November 2024 – Infineon Technologies AG, a global leader in semiconductor solutions, and Quantinuum, a global leader in integrated, full-stack quantum computing, today announced a strategic partnership to develop the future generation of ion traps. This partnership will drive the acceleration of quantum computing and enable progress in fields such as generative chemistry, material science, and artificial intelligence.
“We are thrilled to partner with Quantinuum, a leader in quantum computing, to push the boundaries of quantum computing and generate larger, more powerful machines that solve meaningful real-life problems," said Richard Kuncic, Senior Vice President and General Manager Power Systems at Infineon Technologies. “This collaboration brings together Infineon's state-of-the-art knowledge in process development, fabrication, and quantum processing unit (QPU) technology with Quantinuum's cutting-edge ion-trap design expertise and experience with operating high-performance commercial quantum computers.”
Infineon innovates with a dedicated team to make their trapped-ion quantum processing units (QPUs) the heart of the leading quantum computers. The company has invested in this field since 2017, applying its expertise in high-volume processing technologies and developing technologies, like integrated photonics and control electronics, to enable their partners to scale the qubit count of their machines.
In Quantinuum’s hardware approach, charged atoms are trapped with electromagnetic fields so they can be manipulated and encoded with information using microwave signals and lasers. This design has distinct advantages over other quantum hardware, including higher fidelities and longer coherence times.
This collaboration builds on today’s leading performance of Quantinuum's trapped-ion quantum computers, which currently hold the world records in key performance benchmarks such as 2-qubit gate fidelity, quantum volume and cross-entropy benchmark fidelity. To deliver even better fidelity at greater scale and achieve commercial advantage, larger and more sophisticated ion traps are needed. Engineers from the two companies have been working together for more than a year and will intensify their efforts under the current partnership to develop powerful ion traps for Quantinuum’s next-generation quantum computers.
“At Quantinuum, our mission is to accelerate useful quantum computing. We have announced a roadmap to reach universal fault-tolerance in 2029. Our partnership with Infineon is key to our delivering on this commitment,“ said Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, President and CEO of Quantinuum.
About Quantinuum
Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum computing company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With over 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.
For more information, please visit the website at www.quantinuum.com
About Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG is a global semiconductor leader in power systems and IoT. Infineon drives decarbonization and digitalization with its products and solutions. The Company had around 58,060 employees worldwide (end of September 2024) and generated revenue of about €15 billion in the 2024 fiscal year (ending 30 September). Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the OTCQX International over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: IFNNY).
For more information, please visit the website at www.infineon.com
- First successful delivery of quantum tokens using commercial QKD hardware, demonstrating fast transaction verification at the point of exchange - a crucial step toward quantum-enhanced financial security and a major advance for QKD.
- Quantum tokens are designed to provide unforgeability, privacy, and fast settlement, in a single financial instrument. No previous technology can deliver these three combined benefits.
- In the world’s first implementation using off-the-shelf hardware, quantum tokens were transmitted across 10km of fibre in Tokyo, using commercial quantum key distribution (QKD) devices provided by NEC*.
- This is a pivotal step towards the deployment of ultra-high-security quantum tokens in use cases such as tokenized asset security and high-speed trading.
Tokyo, Japan and Broomfield, Colorado - November 18th, 2024 – In a long anticipated trial, Quantinuum ("Quantinuum", Head Office: Broomfield, Colorado, U.S.A., CEO: Rajeeb Hazra), together with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Kenichi Hori) and NEC ("NEC", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Takayuki Morita) today announced the successful delivery of quantum tokens across a 10km fibre-optic network in Japan. This is the first time such a delivery has been accomplished.
Quantum tokens are a new financial instrument that take advantage of the properties of quantum physics to meet the robust demands of asset trading without the communication overheads required by traditional financial systems. Quantum tokens are transmitted across fibre-optic quantum key distribution (QKD) networks, which are rapidly expanding around the globe. Today's announcement with Mitsui demonstrates growing industry recognition of quantum tokens' potential in financial services.
Ilyas Khan, Founder and Chief Product Officer at Quantinuum, said: “The original motivation for quantum communications was the exchange of money, as envisaged by Stephen Wiesner. Today, we have demonstrated real-world security enhancements for financial systems using off-the-shelf quantum communications hardware. This opens the door to a new era in quantum-enhanced security with wide applicability, providing commercial organisations with something concrete to utilise.”
Koji Naniwada, Deputy General Manager, Quantum Innovation Dept. at Mitsui, said: “Quantum tokens will increase the security of digital assets, while improving transaction performance and maintaining privacy. These topics are critical for our customers and partners in the financial sector and this demonstration is a valuable outcome of our partnership with Quantinuum.”
Naoki Ishida, Director with the Trading and Service Solution Department at NEC, said: “We are the first to provide a platform for realizing a quantum token system using NEC’s quantum key distribution (QKD) devices. Based on the results of this trial between Mitsui & Co. and Quantinuum, we will continue to work towards the social implementation of quantum cryptography technology.”
Quantum tokens are designed to use quantum physics to prevent forgery, while ensuring transactions can be settled near-instantly, whereas traditional payments systems rely on double-entry bookkeeping to prevent double-spending of funds. This adds time, overhead and risk to every transaction, as digital systems are consulted to confirm funds are available and to settle transactions.
Quantum tokens instead rely on the no-cloning theorem of quantum physics to prevent forgeries and double-spending. Only the intended recipient will receive the correct token data, which can only be spent at one location in the future. This enables near-instant transaction settlement by removing the need to check multiple systems or wait for network confirmations.
As demonstrated in Quantinuum’s recent work with HSBC, securing digital assets in the quantum-age is growing in urgency. The financial sector is increasingly looking to quantum technology to solve these complex problems with the power of nature.
Learn more about this new frontier of financial security, powered by quantum, in our whitepaper.
***
Note:
(*) The equipment provided by NEC was partially supported by results from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ (MIC) “Research and development for construction of a global quantum cryptography network”(JPJ008957) under “R&D of ICT Priority Technology Project” (JPMI00316) and Japan’s Cabinet Office’s "Photonics and Quantum Technology for Society 5.0" project under the Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP).
About Mitsui
Mitsui & Co. is a global trading and investment company with a presence in more than 60 countries and a diverse business portfolio covering a wide range of industries.
The company identifies, develops, and grows its businesses in partnership with a global network of trusted partners including world leading companies, combining its geographic and cross-industry strengths to create long-term sustainable value for its stakeholders.
Mitsui has set three key strategic initiatives for its current Medium-term Management Plan: supporting industries to grow and evolve with stable supplies of resources and materials, and providing infrastructure; promoting a global transition to low-carbon and renewable energy; and empowering people to lead healthy lives through the delivery of quality healthcare and access to good nutrition.
Visit https://www.mitsui.com/jp/en/index.html for more information.
About Quantinuum
Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With over 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of “Orchestrating a brighter world.” NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.