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First quantum computers need smart software

Nature volume 549, pages 149–151 (2017)Cite this article

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Early devices must solve real-world problems, urge Will Zeng and colleagues.

The world is about to have its first quantum computers. The complexity and power of quantum hardware, such as ion traps and superconducting qubits, are scaling up. Investment is flooding in: from governments, through the billion-dollar European Quantum Technology Flagship Program, for example; from companies, including Google, IBM, Intel and Microsoft; and from venture-capital firms, which have funded start-ups. One such is ours, Rigetti Computing, which in June opened the first dedicated facility for making quantum integrated circuits: Fab-1 in Fremont, California. The vision is that commercial quantum- computing services will one day solve problems that used to be unimaginably hard, in areas from molecular design and machine learning to cybersecurity and logistics.1

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. director of quantum cloud services at Rigetti Computing in Berkeley, California, USA

    Will Zeng

  2. director of quantum engineering at Rigetti Computing in Berkeley, California, USA

    Blake Johnson

  3. senior software engineer at Rigetti Computing in Berkeley, California, USA

    Robert Smith

  4. senior applications researcher at Rigetti Computing in Berkeley, California, USA

    Nick Rubin

  5. director of quantum engineering at Rigetti Computing in Berkeley, California, USA

    Matt Reagor

  6. principal quantum engineer at Rigetti Computing in Berkeley, California, USA

    Colm Ryan

  7. chief executive at Rigetti Computing, Berkeley, California, USA

    Chad Rigetti

Authors
  1. Will Zeng
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  2. Blake Johnson
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  3. Robert Smith
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  4. Nick Rubin
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  5. Matt Reagor
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  6. Colm Ryan
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  7. Chad Rigetti
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chad Rigetti.

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Competing interests

The authors are employees of Rigetti Computing, which offers quantum accelerated computing services.

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Rigetti Computing

Wired: Rigetti’s quantum-computer factory

Scientific American: Making quantum computing more accessible

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Zeng, W., Johnson, B., Smith, R. et al. First quantum computers need smart software. Nature 549, 149–151 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/549149a

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