Microsoft & KPMG to test Azure Quantum’s capabilities

(MicrosoftCloudblog) Microsoft and KPMG are getting set to test Azure Quantum’s capabilities on the sorts of real-world problems that should give quantum computing an edge over traditional approaches.
Such problems have to do with optimizing systems and networks, such as where best to place cellular phone towers or how to allocate investments to match a client’s priorities relating to risks vs. rewards.
“Optimization problems are found in many industries and are often difficult to solve using traditional methods which can accelerate optimization,” Krysta Svore, general manager of Microsoft Quantum, explained today in a blog post. “Emulating these quantum effects on classical computers has led to the development of quantum-inspired optimization (QIO) algorithms that run on classical hardware.”
“We are excited to work directly with Microsoft engineering and research experts applying Azure Quantum QIO technology to our clients’ most challenging optimization problems,” says Bent Dalager, Global Head of KPMG’s Quantum Hub. “The Azure Quantum platform allows us to explore numerous different solver approaches utilizing the same code, helping to minimize re-work and improve efficiency. The shared goal for these initial projects is to build solution blueprints for common industry optimization problems using Azure Quantum, which we can then provide to more clients at scale.”
Initial collaboration projects expect to focus on benchmarking solutions for financial services portfolio optimization and telecommunication service fleet optimization. The teams plan to share results in the coming months.