At the IBM Quantum Developer Conference 2024, experts gathered to discuss the latest advancements in quantum computing. Jay Gambetta, Abhinav Kandala, Heather Saunders, Jen Glick, Jerry Chow, and Iskandar Sitdikov from IBM Quantum presented the State of the Union 2024, highlighting remarkable performance breakthroughs and innovations in software and hardware. The conference focused on using utility-scale quantum computers for algorithm discovery, exploring uncharted computational territory.
The event featured sessions on IBM Quantum Functions, a new layer of abstraction, with demonstrations by Suhare Nur, Sanket Panda, John Malcolm from Multiverse, Rowen Wu from Q-CTRL, Ming-Zhi Chung from Qunasys, and others. These functions enable users to build their application functions with templates.
The conference also covered designing utility-scale workloads, with talks by Julien Gacon and Bryce Fuller from IBM, showcasing performance improvements to the Qiskit SDK and introducing Qiskit addons. Participants had the opportunity to try out these tools during a hands-on coding challenge.
IBM Quantum Developer Conference 2024: Unlocking Utility-Scale Quantum Computing
The IBM Quantum Developer Conference 2024 marked a significant milestone in the journey towards utility-scale quantum computing. The conference brought together experts from IBM and its partners to share breakthroughs, innovations, and progress along the development roadmap.
State of the Union 2024: Entering the Era of Quantum Utility
In his keynote address, Jay Gambetta, Abhinav Kandala, Heather Saunders, Jen Glick, Jerry Chow, and Iskandar Sitdikov from IBM Quantum presented the remarkable performance breakthroughs and software and hardware innovations that will enable users to explore uncharted computational territory with quantum computers. They highlighted the progress made along the development and innovation roadmaps, emphasizing the importance of utility-scale quantum computing.
The era of quantum utility is characterized by the ability to use quantum computers for algorithm discovery, a significant leap forward from the previous focus on developing small-scale quantum systems. This shift in focus is expected to unlock new possibilities for solving complex problems in various fields, including chemistry, machine learning, and optimization.
Functions: A New Layer of Abstraction
The conference introduced the IBM Quantum Functions catalog, a new layer of abstraction that enables users to create and deploy application functions on quantum computers. The catalog provides a set of pre-built functions that can be easily integrated into existing workflows, making it easier for developers to build and deploy quantum applications.
Suhare Nur from IBM presented an overview of Qiskit Functions, while Sanket Panda demonstrated the Qiskit Functions Catalog walkthrough, showcasing application functions from IBM and partners. The session also featured demonstrations of circuit functions, including Singularity machine learning classification by John Malcolm from Multiverse, and QURI Chemistry: a Qiskit Function by Ming-Zhi Chung from Qunasys.
The second part of the seminar on IBM Quantum Functions included additional demonstrations of application functions, such as Exploring circuit functions by Sanket Panda, IBM circuit function by Jessie Yu, and TEM Qiskit Function by Matteo Rossi from Algorithmiq. The session also covered designing utility-scale workloads with Fire Opal by Rowen Wu from Q-CTRL, and QESEM: a Qiskit Function by Asaf Berkovitch from Qedma.
Designing Utility-Scale Workloads
The conference highlighted the importance of designing utility-scale workloads to support large-scale quantum computing. Julien Gacon from IBM presented an overview of new capabilities and improvements designed to support utility-scale quantum work, including performance improvements to the Qiskit SDK and an introduction to Qiskit addons.
Bryce Fuller from IBM discussed tools for utility beyond the SDK, focusing on Qiskit Addons. These tools are designed to provide developers with a more comprehensive set of resources to build and deploy large-scale quantum applications.
Challenges and Hands-on Coding
The conference included a hands-on coding challenge, where participants had the opportunity to try out the tools they learned about during the morning seminars. The challenge was designed to test their skills in building utility-scale quantum workloads using the Qiskit SDK and addons. Although the competition is now closed, the notebooks are still available for reference on the Github repository.
In conclusion, the IBM Quantum Developer Conference 2024 marked a significant milestone in the journey towards utility-scale quantum computing. The conference highlighted the importance of innovation, collaboration, and education in unlocking the potential of quantum computers to solve complex problems in various fields.
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