Quantinuum Launches Industry-First, Trapped-Ion 56-Qubit Quantum Computer, Breaking Key Benchmark Record
Quantinuum and JPMorgan Chase achieved a 100x improvement over the existing industry benchmark using Quantinuum’s H2-1 quantum computer
Broomfield, Colorado and London, UK, June 5th, 2024 — Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum computing company, today unveiled the industry’s first quantum computer with 56 trapped-ion qubits. H2-1 has further enhanced its market-leading fidelity and is now impossible for a classical computer to fully simulate.
A joint team from Quantinuum and JPMorgan Chase ran a Random Circuit Sampling (RCS) algorithm, achieving a remarkable 100x improvement over prior industry results from Google in 2019 and setting a new world record for the cross entropy benchmark. H2-1’s combination of scale and hardware fidelity makes it difficult for today’s most powerful supercomputers and other quantum computing architectures to match this result.
“We’re extending our lead in the race towards fault tolerant quantum computing, accelerating research for customers like JPMorgan Chase in ways that aren’t possible with any other technology,” said Rajeeb Hazra, CEO of Quantinuum. “Our focus on quality of qubits versus quantity of qubits is changing what’s possible, and bringing us closer to the long-awaited commercialization of quantum’s applications across industries like finance, logistics, transportation and chemistry.”
Quantinuum’s analysis also indicates that the H2-1 executes RCS at 56 qubits with an estimated 30,000x reduction in power consumption compared to classical supercomputers, reinforcing it as the preferred solution for a wide array of computational challenges.
“The fidelity achieved in our random circuit sampling experiment shows unprecedented system-level performance of the Quantinuum quantum computer. We are excited to leverage this high fidelity to advance the field of quantum algorithms for industrial use cases broadly, and financial use cases in particular,” said Marco Pistoia, Head of Global Technology Applied Research at JPMorgan Chase.
Today’s announcement is the latest in a string of breakthroughs made by Quantinuum in 2024:
- In March, the company revealed a long-sought solution to the “wiring problem”, demonstrating that the quantum charge-coupled device (QCCD) architecture can scale to large qubit numbers.
- Quantinuum’s H-Series became the first to achieve “three 9s” – 99.9% – two-qubit gate fidelity across all qubit pairs in a production device, a critical milestone enabling fault-tolerance.
- Then, in collaboration with Microsoft, Quantinuum ’s H2-1 was declared the first – and so far the only – quantum computer capable of achieving Level 2 Resilient quantum computing, creating four reliable logical qubits using error correction and detection to achieve an 800-fold reduction in error rate.
“Microsoft looks forward to a continued collaboration with Quantinuum as they release their high fidelity 56-qubit machine,” said Dennis Tom, General Manager Microsoft Azure Quantum. “Recently, the teams created four highly reliable logical qubits by applying Azure Quantum's qubit-virtualization system to Quantinuum's 32-qubit machine. With the additional physical qubits available on Quantinuum's new machine, we anticipate creating more logical qubits with even lower error rates. As we reach these milestones, we will continue to increase the resiliency of quantum operations as well as the utility of quantum computing.”
Quantinuum also recently closed a $300 million equity fundraise anchored by JPMorgan Chase with additional participation from Mitsui & Co., Amgen and Honeywell, which remains the company’s majority shareholder, bringing the total capital raised by Quantinuum since inception to approximately $625 million.
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 almost 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents. Since it’s formation by Honeywell and Cambridge Quantum in 2021, Quantinuum has raised approximately $625 million to further the development and commercialization of quantum computing.
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.
- 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.
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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.