Last week, technology giants IBM and Advanced Micro Devices announced a landmark partnership to develop the next generation of computers, signaling a significant industry shift toward a hybrid future that marries the strange power of quantum mechanics with the brute force of today’s most powerful supercomputers.

The collaboration aims to build what the companies call “quantum-centric supercomputing,” an architecture designed to tackle some of the world’s most intractable problems in fields from drug discovery to materials science.

The move represents a strategic bet by two market leaders to define the computational fabric of the coming decades. “Quantum computing will simulate the natural world and represent information in an entirely new way,” said Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM. “By exploring how quantum computers from IBM and the advanced high-performance compute technologies of AMD can work together, we will build a powerful hybrid model that pushes past the limits of traditional computing.”

New computational blueprint

The emerging paradigm of Quantum-Centric Supercomputing (QCS) does not seek to replace the silicon-based machines that power modern industry, but to augment them. In this new architectural vision, a Quantum Processing Unit, or QPU, acts not as a successor to today’s CPUs and GPUs, but as a specialized accelerator, much like the GPU became indispensable for graphics and later, artificial intelligence.

For example, a complex problem can be broken down into parts, with each assigned to the machine best suited for the task. A quantum computer could simulate the intricate behavior of atoms in a new battery material—a task that is impossible for classical machines—while a traditional supercomputer analyzes the resulting data.

This hybrid approach is a pragmatic response to the current state of the technology. The industry is in the “Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum” (NISQ) era, where quantum processors are powerful but highly susceptible to errors.

Therefore, by tethering these fragile quantum devices to mature, reliable High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems, researchers can leverage the unique strengths of both worlds. “By letting the quantum computer do what it’s good at, and the classical computer do what it’s good at, you can get more out of both,” as Matthew Keesan, IonQ’s VP of Product Development, states.

The IBM-AMD alliance is an union designed to realize this vision. IBM brings its decades of leadership in quantum hardware and its widely adopted open-source Qiskit software. AMD contributes its dominance in the HPC market, with its EPYC CPUs and Instinct GPUs powering the two fastest supercomputers in the world, Frontier and El Capitan.

The most forward-looking aspect of the partnership is its focus on achieving fault-tolerant quantum computing, the ultimate goal for the field. The companies will explore using AMD technologies for real-time error correction, a critical step on IBM’s roadmap to deliver a fault-tolerant system by the end of this decade.

“Integrating quantum and classical computing will transform how we solve problems that matter,” Dr. Kristin Milchanowski, Chief AI Officer at Bank of Montreal, told EE Times. “At BMO, this partnership provides real momentum towards that goal and a cutting-edge toolset that will help us tackle some of the most complex challenges we face.” Last February, BMO announced it has joined the IBM Quantum Network.

Global race for Quantum Advantage

The pursuit of quantum-centric supercomputing has ignited a global competition, with nations adopting distinct strategies to secure leadership in what many see as the next great technological frontier.

Europe, through initiatives like the one at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), is pursuing a “sovereign stack” approach, aiming to build a complete, indigenous supply chain to ensure technological autonomy.

The goal is to integrate a quantum computer built with purely European technology into its new MareNostrum 5 supercomputer. “Europe has embarked on a path that will lead us to have true quantum computers with European technology in just a few years,” said Mateo Valero, director of the BSC.

In contrast, the United States is leveraging its current dominance in classical supercomputing through a more market-driven, “hardware-agnostic” model.

For example, the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), home to the exascale supercomputer Frontier, runs a program that provides researchers access to a diverse portfolio of quantum computers from competing vendors.

The strategy fosters a competitive domestic industry while allowing the U.S. to explore various technologies, from the conventional superconducting systems built by IQM to novel room-temperature diamond-based quantum computers from Quantum Brilliance.

Meanwhile, Japan has already claimed a significant world-first. The RIKEN research institute has successfully established a direct connection between Fugaku, one of the world’s fastest supercomputers, and a trapped-ion quantum computer, creating a pioneering hybrid research platform. Other Asian powers are also making aggressive moves.

China is executing a massive state-driven plan to achieve full self-sufficiency across the entire quantum technology stack. At the same time, South Korea has committed over $2 billion to a national strategy aimed at becoming a global quantum leader by 2035, partnering with the U.S. firm IonQ to enhance its capabilities.

Trillion-dollar prize

The immense global investment is driven by the promise of solving problems with profound scientific and commercial value. Materials science and computational chemistry have emerged as the first “killer apps,” where quantum simulation could revolutionize the design of everything from next-generation batteries to more effective industrial catalysts and novel drugs.

Furthermore, the technology holds the potential to solve intractable optimization problems that plague industries like finance and logistics. Quantum algorithms could one day optimize investment portfolios to maximize returns or streamline global supply chains with unprecedented efficiency.

This convergence of quantum, HPC, and AI points to a future where these three pillars of computing work in concert, creating a computational platform of immense power and versatility. As everything comes together, the speed of innovation is expected to increase.

“The alliance between AMD and IBM to create a classic-quantum hybrid system… is of great interest to exploit the two technologies, with the quantum part acting as an accelerator,” Daniele Gregori, Chief Scientific Officer at E4 Computer Engineering SpA. wrote to EE Times. “I think that in the coming months, announcements about progress in these fields will become increasingly frequent.”

By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved