Quantinuum and Microsoft usher in new era of reliable quantum computing

This achievement was made possible through the concerted efforts of Quantinuum's teams based in the USA and UK and Microsoft's quantum computing division. Together, they engineered four logical qubits with error rates that are 800 times lower than their physical counterparts. Remarkably, the collaboration led to 14,000 independent runs of a quantum circuit without encountering errors. Such advancements are poised to drastically propel us closer to the goal of universal fault-tolerant quantum computing, potentially hastening our ability to address complex challenges in material science, drug discovery, and more.

This milestone is attributed to the fidelity, scalability, and adaptability of Quantinuum's 32-qubit H2 quantum processor, powered by Honeywell, and Microsoft’s error correction techniques. By utilising 30 out of the 32 available physical qubits on the H2 processor, the teams successfully developed four logical qubits, referred to as the most "reliable logical qubits" by both companies. Additionally, they achieved syndrome extraction, a vital step towards fault-tolerant quantum computing. Further details on these groundbreaking results are available for review.

"The result announced today further cements Quantinuum's position at the forefront of universal fault tolerant quantum computing. Today’s achievement was only possible using Quantinuum’s H2 quantum computer, with its unparalleled 99.8% two-qubit gate fidelities; the 32 qubits in our QCCD architecture; and all-to-all qubit connectivity. Building on the exceptional performance of our current systems, we will continue to innovate to make universal fault tolerant quantum computing a reality sooner than previously imagined,” said Rajeeb Hazra, CEO, Quantinuum.

In the new era described by Microsoft as “Level 2 Resilient”, quantum computing is capable of dealing with the issues caused by errors, and can begin to tackle meaningful challenges, such as modelling the states of molecules and materials, simulating systems in condensed matter physics, and exploring solutions to problems across many fields. Based on Microsoft’s exacting criteria, the demonstration of multiple, entangled logical qubits, with the logical qubits outperforming the physical qubits marks a long-anticipated transition into this second phase of quantum computing.

“This is an important breakthrough for quantum computing. The collaboration between Quantinuum and Microsoft has established a crucial step forward for the industry and demonstrated a critical milestone on the path to hybrid classical-quantum supercomputing capable of transforming scientific discovery,” said Dr. Krysta Svore – Distinguished Engineer and VP of Advanced Quantum Development for Microsoft Azure Quantum

“As leaders, we will continue to innovate more rapidly than the competition, with hardware innovations and developing applications to take advantage of the new era of truly logical qubits. We will continue to ensure that our customers are the first to benefit from these and future breakthroughs. I am excited to see how they take advantage of reliable quantum computing, to generate more powerful solutions than ever to their most challenging problems,” said Ilyas Khan, Vice-Chairman and Chief Product Officer, Quantinuum.