Quantum computing software firm Classiq has teamed with Microsoft to provide Classiq’s platform and Microsoft Azure Quantum’s cloud access to quantum computers as a combined offering for universities and educational institutions pursuing quantum research and education.
The companies said the goals of the combined offering, called Classiq Academia, are to accelerate quantum software education by providing an advanced platform for automated quantum software design and execution, and to give researchers a scalable platform with seamless access to computation that will help them advance quantum computing projects and research.
It will be used by university professors, students, and researchers for conducting courses and carrying out research in all aspects of quantum computing, and already is being used by some “leading universities,” Classiq said. The combined offering with Microsoft Azure Quantum arrives after Classiq announced a software integration last year with the Amazon Braket cloud-based quantum computing service.
Classiq and Microsoft said their new quantum stack brings quantum computing software closer to the vision presented by Microsoft in its 2020 Nature paper “Quantum Programming Languages.” In addition to designing state-of-the-art circuits for near-term quantum devices, Classiq’s synthesis engine allows researchers to easily explore large complex quantum circuits, dedicated to the fault-tolerant regime. The circuits, generated in QIR code, can then be sent to Microsoft’s resource estimation platform, and give the researcher unprecedented capabilities to design large-scale quantum applications, Classiq claimed.
Dr. Robert Willie, Technical University of Munich Professor and Chair for Design Automation of the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and Arts, commented, “In order to make quantum computing a success, we need a strong interplay between hardware and software. Designing quantum software at the functional level and executing it on multiple QPUs will advance both quantum research and education. The collaboration between Classiq and Microsoft aims at exactly that and will pave the way towards a quantum computing ecosystem capable of solving some of the future’s most important challenges.”
“The Classiq platform’s ability to simplify complex quantum circuits through visualization and automation, in fact, mirrors Classiq’s integration approach with Microsoft Azure Quantum,” added Fabrice Frachon, Azure Quantum Principal Program Manager. “Users access the best of Classiq’s quantum circuit design software and Azure Quantum’s cloud-based endpoints and capabilities through a single, simple-to-use Classiq interface and workspace.”
Dan O’Shea has covered telecommunications and related topics including semiconductors, sensors, retail systems, digital payments and quantum computing/technology for over 25 years.