Zapata Computing to prepare Andretti Autosport for quantum era

(HPCWire) Andretti Autosport is always seeking a performance edge over the competition, and Zapata Computing is on a mission to provide customers with a competitive advantage with quantum-ready software and infrastructure. Today, the two companies announced that they have entered into a multi-year partnership that includes brand sponsorship and a multi-million-dollar agreement to deploy and leverage Zapata’s platform, Orquestra, in search of race day success with advanced analytics and quantum techniques.
The partnership names Zapata as the Official Quantum Computing Provider of Andretti Autosport and the team’s advanced technology arm, Andretti Technologies. Applied quantum computing technology and methods could boost the performance of even the most powerful classical computers, especially in the realm of optimization, Machine Learning (“ML”) and simulation use cases. These areas are where Orquestra, Zapata’s quantum-classical software platform, which is built for enterprise scale, truly come into play.
Andretti engineers will work trackside from the Zapata Performance Innovation and Technology (P.I.T.) Center, a mobile engineering environment where accelerated analytic capabilities, powered by Orquestra, will bring real-time performance edges to Andretti’s team at NTT INDYCAR SERIES events. The Zapata P.I.T. Center is built to provide Andretti’s engineering team enhanced efficiencies over their current infrastructure and analytics solutions—beginning with advanced ML and optimization work, and increasingly using quantum techniques as the technology matures during the course of the partnership.
“The Zapata team is thrilled to partner with Andretti and put our Orquestra software platform to work in the pursuit of a competitive edge that no other racing team can match,” said Christopher Savoie, CEO of Zapata. “The Zapata P.I.T. Center’s analytics environment will be this ‘edge’ manifested in a real world, mobile and deployed setting. Our companies have the same DNA of always competing to win, and we can’t wait until the 2022 season kicks off to begin putting all this work into action.”
“We’re excited to be working with a true leader in quantum computing through our partnership with Zapata,” said Michael Andretti, Andretti Autosport Chairman and CEO. “INDYCAR racing is all about finding every possible edge and then maximizing it. Zapata’s expertise gives us that advantage through their Orquestra quantum software platform and expert scientists and engineers. The partnership is going to propel both organizations to great things this year and beyond.”

Andretti Autosport, led by racing legend Michael Andretti, boasts a wide racing portfolio rooted in tradition and designed for success.
Under the banners of Andretti Autosport and Avalanche Andretti Formula E, the Indianapolis-based team fields multiple entries across the INDYCAR SERIES, Indy Lights, the FIA Formula E World Championship and the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship. The team also competes as Walkinshaw Andretti United in the Australian Supercars category through partnership with Walkinshaw Racing and United Autosports. Additionally the team fields an entry in the Extreme E championship via Andretti United Extreme E.