Quantum computers promise to be millions of times faster than today's fastest supercomputers, potentially revolutionizing everything from medical research to the way humans tackle climate change. But the wait for these machines has been long, despite the billions poured into them.
However, the uncertainty and dismal performance of the shares of publicly listed quantum computing companies including Rigetti Computing Inc did not scare off investors. Some are turning to startups focused on using powerful chips to run quantum-inspired software on mainstream computers while they bide their time.
These startups, which don't have quantum computers that customers can use today to gain an advantage over classical computers, are developing a new kind of software inspired by algorithms used in quantum physics, the scientific field that studies the fundamental building blocks of nature.
These algorithms, once too large for conventional computers, are finally being put to work thanks to today's powerful artificial intelligence chips, industry executives told Reuters.
QC Ware, a software startup that raised more than $33 million and initially focused only on software that could run on quantum computers, said it needs to change course and find solutions for clients today until future quantum machines arrive.
So QC Ware CEO Matt Johnson said he turned to Nvidia Corp's graphics processing units (GPUs) to "figure out how we can get them something that's a big change in performance ... and build a bridge to quantum processing in the future. "
GPUs are microchips that were made to process video for gaming and have become so powerful that they power most AI computing today. Now they are also used in quantum development.
This week, QC Ware is unveiling a quantum-inspired software platform called Promethium that will simulate chemical molecules—to see how they interact with things like protein—on a traditional computer using a GPU.
The software can reduce simulation time from hours to minutes for molecules of 100 atoms and months to hours for molecules up to 2,000 atoms compared to existing software solutions, said Robert Parrish, head of quantum chemistry at QC Ware.
$1 BILLION RAISED
Big-name investors and funds are backing the future, such as former Alphabet Inc chairman Eric Schmidt, asset manager T. Rowe Price, Samsung Ventures and the venture arm of US intelligence agencies In-Q-Tel.
Startups that have received the bounty say they are able to generate revenue as customers line up to be ready for the arrival of the "iPhone" of quantum computing. This in turn attracts investors.
In the past 18 months, quant software startups, including Alphabet spinoff SandBoxAQ, have raised about $1 billion, according to data firm PitchBook. Of course, the development of this technology is still in its infancy, and these startups have to work hard to convince some potential clients.
SandBoxAQ CEO Jack Hidary said that it was only 24 months ago that AI chips became powerful enough to simulate hundreds of thousands of chemical interactions simultaneously.
She developed a quantum-inspired algorithm for biopharmaceutical simulations on Google's AI chip called Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), which today generates revenue. SandBoxAQ told Reuters in February that it had raised $500 million.
Jason Turner, who founded Entanglement Inc in 2017 as "just a quantum lab," grew impatient with the slow pace of quantum hardware development.
"It's been ten years, huh, 40 years now, right?" he said. Eventually, he relented and turned to Silicon Valley AI chip startup Groq to help him launch a quantum cybersecurity-inspired algorithm.
Ultimately, software inspired by quantum physics won't work well on quantum computers without some changes, said William Hurley, head of Austin-based quantum software startup Strangeworks.
Still, he said companies that start using them will have engineers "learning about quanta and the phenomenon and the process, which will better prepare them to use quantum computers the moment they do." That moment could come suddenly, he said.
Strangeworks, which also runs a cloud with more than 60 quantum computers, raised $24 million last month from investors including IBM.
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