Paris-based hardware developer Alice & Bob has announced the creation of a new 16-qubit quantum processing unit (QPU), ‘Helium 1’. This chip is expected to improve error rates with every qubit added, making it a prototype for the company’s first error-corrected, logical qubit. The company’s ‘cat qubit’ technology, which holds world records in addressing bit flips, will be used in this new platform. CEO Théau Peronnin believes this will help them reach the full computational potential of quantum computers. Alice & Bob, also based in Boston, has surpassed tech giants like Google and IBM in experimental results.
Alice & Bob’s New Quantum Processing Unit: Helium 1
Alice & Bob, a hardware developer specializing in quantum computers, has announced the tape out of a new chip, Helium 1. This 16-qubit quantum processing unit (QPU) is expected to improve error rates with every qubit added, making it a prototype for the company’s first error-corrected, logical qubit. The chip is now entering a characterization and calibration phase, after which it will be released on the cloud.
The quantum industry is on the verge of demonstrating logical qubits that show significant advantages over any existing physical qubit. These logical qubits are essential for achieving the extremely low error rates required by fault-tolerant quantum computing. Errors in quantum computers are caused by bit flips and phase flips. Helium 1 will run an error correction code that actively suppresses the remaining phase flips, effectively addressing both error types.
Cat Qubits: The Technology Behind Helium 1
The technology behind Helium 1 is cat qubits. These are protected from bit flips by design, making them hardware efficient and enabling logical qubit designs using significantly fewer qubits. Théau Peronnin, CEO of Alice & Bob, stated that their cat qubit technology already holds world records in addressing bit flips. Helium 1 is their new platform to exponentially suppress the remaining errors as they add more depth, enabling them to deliver on their clear roadmap to reach the full computational potential of quantum computers.
Alice & Bob’s Future Plans
Helium 1 is the first prototype which will be the basis of Alice & Bob’s “six-nines” logical qubit (with a logical error rate of 10-6 or lower). This is a significant step towards realizing the first universal, fault-tolerant quantum computer.
About Alice & Bob
Alice & Bob is a start-up based in Paris and Boston. Founded in 2020, Alice & Bob has already raised 30M€ in funding, hired over 80 employees, and demonstrated experimental results surpassing those of technological giants like Google or IBM. The company specializes in cat qubits, a technology pioneered by the company’s founders and later adopted by Amazon. Cat qubits reduce hardware requirements by up to 60 times compared to competing approaches.
Alice & Bob’s Achievements
Demonstrating the power of its cat architecture, Alice & Bob recently showed that the number of qubits required to run the well-known Shor’s algorithm can be reduced from 20 million to 350 thousand with a cat qubit-based system. This achievement is a testament to the potential of cat qubits and the future of quantum computing.
The work of Alice & Bob is contributing to the advancement of quantum computing. Their development of the Helium 1 chip and their pioneering work with cat qubits are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in this field. As they continue to innovate and develop new technologies, they are helping to shape the future of computing.
“Our cat qubit technology already holds world records in addressing bit flips,” said Théau Peronnin, CEO of Alice & Bob. “Helium 1 is our new platform to exponentially suppress the remaining errors as we add more depth, enabling us to deliver on our clear roadmap to reach the full computational potential of quantum computers.”
Summary
Alice & Bob, a hardware developer, has created a 16-qubit quantum processing unit named ‘Helium 1’, which is expected to reduce error rates with each additional qubit, marking a significant step towards fault-tolerant quantum computing. The new chip, which uses cat qubits to run an error correction code, is set to offer significant advantages over existing physical qubits, potentially unlocking the full computational potential of quantum computers.
- Paris-based hardware developer Alice & Bob has announced the creation of a new 16-qubit quantum processing unit (QPU) named ‘Helium 1’.
- This chip is expected to improve error rates with every qubit added, making it a prototype for the company’s first error-corrected, logical qubit.
- The Helium 1 chip combines cat qubits to run an error correction code, which will help to create a logical qubit with lower error rates than any existing single physical qubit.
- The chip is now entering a characterization and calibration phase, after which it will be released on the cloud.
- Logical qubits, such as those used in Helium 1, are seen as the future of quantum computing due to their extremely low error rates.
- Cat qubits, which are protected from bit flips by design, are hardware efficient and enable logical qubit designs using significantly fewer qubits.
- Alice & Bob’s CEO, Théau Peronnin, stated that their cat qubit technology already holds world records in addressing bit flips.
- The company, which was founded in 2020, specialises in cat qubits, a technology that reduces hardware requirements by up to 60 times compared to competing approaches.