CINECA and D-Wave Expand Access to Quantum Computing in Italy

(InsideHPC) CINECA, the Italian inter-university consortium and supercomputing center, and D-Wave Systems Inc., the quantum computing systems, software and services company, today announced a formal collaboration to offer Italian universities, researchers,= and developers expanded access to practical quantum computing technology and resources through D-Wave’s Leap quantum cloud service.
CINECA, which is made up of 69 Italian universities, 25 national research institutions, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Universities and Research, will benefit from expanded, real-time access to the Leap quantum cloud service. This access includes D-Wave’s hybrid quantum/classical solvers, which leverage both quantum solutions and best-in-class classical algorithms to run large-scale business-critical problems. With real-time access to quantum computers via the cloud, the Italian and international scientific community have the opportunity to further quantum education, publication, and R&D, while boosting the development of real-world quantum applications.
This collaboration aids the consortium’s mission to support Italy’s scientific community and improve quantum computing literacy and skills training for university partners. This, in turn, will benefit the larger public administration and private enterprise ecosystem. CINECA university members, such as the Polytechnic University of Milan, have already expressed interest in leveraging quantum computing to explore drug repurposing and development, natural disaster response and relief, and sustainability challenges such as decarbonization and energy production. As an example of the value of the collaboration, D-Wave and CINECA hosted a joint webinar on March 31st showcasing CINECA’s work on molecular docking for drug discovery utilizing D-Wave’s quantum system.