Classiq’s quantum circuits automation gains attention and funding

(VentureBeat) Classiq, provider of a platform for quantum algorithm design that automates the creation of quantum circuits recently announced that it raised $33 million in a series B round, bringing the company’s total funding to $48 million. The company reports that the funding will be put toward further development of its algorithm design platform, which may be the closest thing yet to no/low-code development for quantum computing — if such a thing were possible.
Cofounder and head of algorithms at Classiq, Amir Naveh, demonstrated in a YouTube video why it’s difficult to build quantum circuits with current tools and also how quantum application development can help solve real-world problems. Some quantum applications expected to be coming online in the future include new drug discovery, advanced genomics, problem-solving in the financial world, and environmental research projects.
“Writing quantum software is hard, but we’ve made it far easier to design, debug and maintain sophisticated circuits,” Classiq cofounder and CEO Nir Minerbi said in a media advisory. “We are proud to showcase the results of our team’s years of work that led to this breakthrough, allowing companies to design circuits that were previously impossible to create.”
Rather than expressing quantum circuits using a series of gate-level or building-block connections, algorithm designers skip that whole step and use the Classiq platform to write functional models, similar to the successful approach used today in designing sophisticated computer chips. The Classiq Quantum Algorithm Design platform then examines the enormous implementation space to find an outcome that fits resource considerations, designer-supplied constraints, and the target hardware platform, Minerbi said.
The new software release makes it easy for users to add their own enterprise functionality on top of Classiq’s extensive set of existing functional models, while simultaneously using the circuit synthesis and optimization capabilities of the Classiq platform. So, instead of writing programs from scratch, Classiq users can now use functional models and knowledge bases created by internal domain experts, external providers, or Classiq itself, Minerbi said.