Several Technology Firms Providing Free Access to Quantum Computers & Supercomputers to Combat Global Pandemic

(WallStreetJournal) Canadian firm D-Wave is among several technology companies providing free advanced computing resources to researchers working to combat the global pandemic. International Business Machines Corp., for example, in March started offering free remote access to two of the world’s most powerful supercomputers.
D-Wave has assembled a team of experts from about a dozen universities and companies including Volkswagen AG , Denso Corp. and startup Menten AI who are familiar with its quantum-computing services to help interested researchers program the computers.
Japanese startup Sigma-i Co. is exploring how D-Wave’s quantum-computing systems could be used to solve optimization problems related to sending Covid-19 patients to the right hospitals in the fastest time while not over-burdening health-care systems.
“What we’re working on right now is on the issue of handoff by allocating patients to medical facilities as close as possible according to the patient’s symptoms, so as not to exceed the capacity of the medical facilities,” Sigma-i Chief Executive Masayuki Ohzeki said in an email.
Menten AI, a San Francisco-based startup that uses machine learning and quantum computing to design protein drugs and enzymes for use in drug discovery, said D-Wave’s hybrid quantum system has shown promising results outside of Covid-19 research.
The company recently used D-Wave’s hybrid machine to run several computations related to protein packing, which is a component of drug discovery, said Hans Melo, co-founder and CEO.