In collaboration with NVIDIA, quantum company ORCA Computing has marked a leap forward in quantum computing with the first successful demonstration of a hybrid quantum/classical algorithm. This groundbreaking achievement, powered by ORCA’s PT Series System and NVIDIA CUDA Quantum, was announced to highlight a major milestone toward harnessing quantum computing for real-world applications. The demonstration, scheduled for unveiling at 3:00 pm PST on Monday, March 18th, is a testament to ORCA’s dedication to transformative changes in computational science and showcases the diverse capabilities enabled by CUDA Quantum within ORCA Computing’s framework.
The collaboration between ORCA and NVIDIA has resulted in the development of algorithms with broad applicability, including in areas such as generative chemistry, time series forecasting, and satellite image processing. The ORCA PT-1 Photonic Quantum Processor, integral to this success, utilizes a hybrid generative adversarial network (GAN) approach for image generation, combining the quantum processor’s output with neural networks running on GPUs. This integration advances the quality of data generated and emphasizes the seamless operation enabled by NVIDIA CUDA Quantum, ensuring efficient communication and synchronization between the quantum and classical computing elements.
This innovation is poised to open new avenues in computational science, with ORCA’s Co-founder and CEO, Richard Murray, and Timothy Costa, NVIDIA’s Director of High-Performance Computing and Quantum, expressing optimism about the potential of hybrid quantum-classical computing to tackle some of the most complex challenges facing the world today. Furthermore, ORCA’s recent selection to develop a quantum computing testbed for the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) underscores its leading role in the quantum computing landscape, particularly in leveraging photonic quantum processors and hybrid architectures for machine learning applications. This venture into hybrid quantum/classical algorithms signifies a pivotal step in making quantum computing accessible and functional for various scientific and industrial purposes, heralding a new era in computational capabilities.