Can Quantum Analog Computing Replace Fickle Atoms?

Diamonds, sub-zero temperatures, trapped ions, complicated error correction — the pursuit to create a stable, reliable, scalable qubit has led researchers down a variety of paths, but a new startup, InfinityQ, is ready to prove the solution might be much simpler: build an analog qubit out of a CMOS silicon circuit.

“We wanted to bring the computational power promised by quantum computing to the market today,” said  Hélouis, CEO and co-founder of infinity said. “While quantum will eventually revolutionize computing, most experts agree that quantum devices will take another decade or more to mature.”

The term Hélouis has coined for their approach is “quantum analog computing” and refers to both their proposed atomic quantum systems as well as its analog electronics.

“In practice, this means InfinityQ develops computational capabilities by using artificial atoms to exploit the superposition effect and achieve quantum computing capabilities without the error correction and cryogenics tax,” she said. “This allows the company to utilize several times less energy than a typical CPU and that its machine’s energy consumption is the same as a common light bulb.”

The quantum analog computing approach is a departure from more mainstream gated approaches the Hélouis added “We are closer to the adiabatic and the annealing paradigm right now,” she said in a recent interview. That gives the system the ability to achieve superposition without all the hassle of quantum entanglement, which means no supercooling or unusual materials required.

Just days ago, the quantum community welcomed news that Intel had made a breakthrough in upgrading its Horse Ridge qubit controller to operate at the super cold temperatures needed to wire together large numbers of qubits.

If InfinityQ’s solution proves effective, it could be the first step toward eliminating the cryogenic barriers to packing tens of thousands of unstable qubits together in a single, manageable system.

“Our technology’s additional advantages are two-fold. First, it can be integrated seamlessly into the existing HPC infrastructure,” Dr. Kapanova, CTO of infinityQ said. “But moreover, our quantum-analog approach is ideal for the era of edge computing due to its room-temperature capability and low energy requirements.”