Qunova Computing, a leading developer of quantum software applications for the chemical, pharmaceutical, and industrial engineering sectors, has announced groundbreaking results from a series of tests conducted on three distinct NISQ-era quantum computers, each with varying qubit counts.
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In each trial, Qunova’s algorithm successfully delivered results with an accuracy below the 1.6 millihartree threshold, a benchmark known as ‘chemical accuracy,’ essential for real-world quantum chemistry applications. This achievement marks the first time such accuracy has been attained on commercially available quantum devices.
This is a very exciting result for our team, and indeed for the quantum computing community more broadly. These results show that we are able to meet the requirements of industrial users on existing NISQ machines. We anticipate that running a similar demonstration on a NISQ machine with as few as 40 qubits could provide industrial users with a real quantum advantage. To that end, our team will spend the coming months preparing experiments to confirm if this theory is correct.
June-Koo Kevin Rhee, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Qunova Computing
At the Quantum Korea 2024 event, Qunova Computing demonstrated chemical accuracy using a 20-qubit IQM machine. Over three consecutive days, Qunova successfully produced energy estimations for three different geometries of lithium sulfide (Li2S), each demonstration lasting an hour and performed live at the event.
Prior to this, Qunova had showcased its algorithm's ability to achieve computational accuracy of 0.1 millihartrees—surpassing the chemical accuracy requirement—during a 24-qubit experiment using IBM’s Quantum Eagle processor, modeling the ground state energy of lithium sulfide. Similarly, comparable results were recently achieved on the IBEX Q1 quantum computer, an ion-based machine from AQT supporting up to 20 qubits.
These findings suggest that Qunova’s quantum algorithm is hardware-agnostic, as it delivered consistent results across various quantum processors. The tests spanned different molecules, including lithium sulfide, hydrogen sulfide, water, and methane.
The results Qunova has demonstrated mark a significant milestone for end-users aiming to use quantum hardware for applications in the field of chemistry. IQM is pleased to have supplied the hardware on which this demonstration was run repeatedly, over multiple days, during this summer’s Quantum Korea event.
Dr. Peter Eder, Head of Strategic Partnerships, IQM Quantum Computers
“Our commercial quantum system ran reliably and, together with Qunova’s advanced algorithm, demonstrated that we are now entering the era when quantum computing can deliver real value for users in the form of new business applications,” said Dr. Peter Eder.
At AQT, our aim is to solve challenges beyond classical computing capabilities, pushing boundaries to address business needs. Providing quantum hardware on which Qunova was able to achieve chemical accuracy is an excellent example of the kind of value we aim to deliver to our partners.
Dr. Thomas Monz, Chief Executive Officer, AQT
“The results from this experiment, using our 20-qubit trapped-ion system, show that Qunova’s solution is truly hardware agnostic, which is an impressive achievement. Through our cloud solution, ARNICA, we remain committed to accelerating quantum discovery and making this transformative technology readily available,” added Dr. Thomas Monz.
Unlike classical simulations using traditional Variational Quantum Eigensolvers (VQEs), which are not scalable, Qunova’s solution works across all quantum computer types and provides the necessary computational accuracy for advanced chemistry computations. To date, VQEs running on quantum systems have been unable to achieve chemical accuracy. However, Qunova has accomplished this using its newly developed simplified VQE, dubbed “HiVQE” (Handover Iteration VQE).
The results demonstrate that HiVQE reduces the computational resources needed to solve these problems by over 1000 times compared to traditional VQEs. Qunova estimates that its algorithm could provide a quantum advantage for chemical computations, surpassing classical computers, with a NISQ machine using as few as 40-60 qubits.
The key to this breakthrough was developing a method that prevents error propagation during the quantum computing process. To achieve this, the “Pauli word measurements” were removed from the standard VQE algorithm, simplifying the problem and capturing only the essential data related to the molecular orbitals. These results were then processed on classical computers to quickly compute the lowest energy outcomes, enabling chemical accuracy and improving computational efficiency by 1000 times.