Over at the Rigetti Blog, Chad Rigetti writes that the company just rolled out Quantum Cloud Services (QCS), “the only quantum-first cloud computing platform.”
With QCS, for the first time, quantum processors are tightly integrated with classical computing infrastructure to deliver the application-level performance needed to achieve quantum advantage. Users access these integrated systems through their dedicated Quantum Machine Image. The QMI is a virtualized programming and execution environment designed for users to develop and run quantum software applications. Every QMI comes pre-configured with Forest 2.0, the latest version of our industry-leading software development kit. We will be granting early access to Quantum Cloud Services in the coming weeks. You can sign up to reserve a QMI today at rigetti.com.
According to Rigetti, Quantum Cloud Services was designed from the bottom-up to accelerate the pursuit of quantum advantage.
We don’t know when the first demonstration of quantum advantage will be achieved, or what shape it will take, but one thing is certain: it will dramatically accelerate progress in unlocking the power of quantum computing for everyone. Recognizing the significance of this achievement, Rigetti Computing is offering a $1 million prize for the first conclusive demonstration of quantum advantage on QCS. More details of the prize will be announced on October 30th, 2018.
Semantics aside, there are a number of alternatives out there for folks who want to kick the tires on quantum computing in the Cloud:
- IBM Q Experience. Explore the world of quantum computing! Check out our User Guides and interactive Demos to learn more about quantum principles. Or, dive right in to create and run algorithms on real quantum computing hardware, using the Quantum Composer and QISKit software developer kit.
- D-Wave Systems. D-Wave has installed more than $50 million worth of quantum systems at customer sites. The D-Wave 2000Q system is available through sale or lease as a standalone system, or via our quantum cloud. We also provide competition-winning, quantum-inspired machine learning services, application development services, and custom fabrication of superconducting circuits.
- China’s Quantum Computing Cloud. The quantum computing cloud platform is driven by a superconducting quantum processor containing eleven qubits. The entire processor operates in extremely low temperatures down to 10mk (273.14°C below zero).
