Fujitsu Pitches Its ‘Real Quantum Computer’ and Digital Annealer

(TechCentral) Fujitsu is developing a ‘real quantum computer’ the head of the company’s research lab has revealed. Hirotaka Hara, director of Fujitsu Laboratories, said the company is working with a number of research groups to develop a ‘true’ quantum machine.
The company is already pitching its ‘quantum inspired’ Digital Annealer to businesses, a classical chip designed to solve complex combinatorial optimisation problems. “Even before a real quantum computer arrives to market, we have taken action and completed the Digital Annealer, which embraces what we can do with existing quantum computing,” Hara said at the Fujitsu Forum in Tokyo.
The company’s second generation Digital Annealer, which features a circuit design ‘inspired by quantum phenomena’ was released in March. The new chip has 8192-bit full connectivity, meaning all bits can freely exchange signals, and fits into a standard rack operating at room temperature. It is a direct competitor to D-Wave’s Quantum Processing Unit (QPU), which also solves optimisation problems. Fujitsu claims its Digital Annealer, with 64-bit graduations, is far more accurate than D-Wave’s offering.