QHack 2024: Quantum Computing’s Global Celebration with $200k Prizes, 90 Countries, 600 Teams

QHack 2024, a world-renowned quantum hackathon, was hosted by Xanadu and featured coding challenges, an open hackathon, and prizes, including internships, mentorships, and access to exclusive technology. The event, which ran from February 8th–22nd, attracted over 2,000 participants from over 90 countries.

Xanadu Founder and CEO Christian Weedbrook welcomed participants to the in-person event. The coding challenges covered quantum machine learning, quantum chemistry, and quantum algorithms. Top teams won gift cards, interview opportunities, mentorships, internships, and more. The open hackathon allowed participants to showcase their quantum skills and win prizes. AWS, NVIDIA, and Denvr Dataworks provided support.

Overview of QHack 2024

QHack 2024, a globally recognized quantum hackathon, was a grand celebration of quantum computing. The event, which ran from February 8th to 22nd, attracted over 2,000 participants from across the globe. The hackathon featured Coding Challenges, an Open Hackathon, Streaming Sessions, and a range of prizes including internships, mentorships, and access to exclusive technology. The event was a success, with participants engaging in a variety of activities and competitions.

Pre-QHack Events and Main Events

In the lead-up to the main events, several mini-competitions were held to build anticipation. These included the QHack referral program, a draw for a copy of Maria Schuld’s book on quantum machine learning, and the QHack Meme Contest. The main events of QHack 2024 were held at Xanadu HQ, marking the first in-person event since QHack 2019. The two-day event featured talks from quantum experts, a quantum careers masterclass, a panel discussion on working in the field, and social events.

Coding Challenges at QHack 2024

The Coding Challenges at QHack 2024 provided an opportunity for participants to test their coding skills and collaborate with teammates from around the world. The challenge map featured 21 unique problems across the fields of quantum machine learning, quantum chemistry, and quantum algorithms. The event saw participation from 645 teams and received a staggering 24,000 submissions. The top teams were rewarded with gift cards, certificates of achievement, and access to exclusive interview opportunities, mentorships, internships, GPUs, hardware credits, and more.

Open Hackathon and Winning Projects

The QHack Open Hackathon allowed participants to showcase their quantum skills on a global stage and compete for a range of prizes. Participants were encouraged to share their ideas with the quantum community and demonstrate their creativity, problem-solving capabilities, and technical skills by building something unique. The Open Hackathon featured a total of US$30,000 in gift card prizes, and winners also had the opportunity to enter the winners’ pool and gain access to exclusive prizes.

Overview of Quantum Computing Challenges

The quantum computing field is witnessing rapid advancements and innovation through various challenges and competitions. These events are pivotal in exploring new techniques and applications in quantum computing, significantly contributing to the progress in this cutting-edge technology. Below, we summarize the outcomes and objectives of recent quantum computing challenges, highlighting the innovative projects and achievements of the participants.

Quantum Variational and Algorithmic Innovations

In a recent challenge focused on reducing the qubit requirements for quantum algorithms and circuits, participants were tasked with devising methods to accelerate the implementation of quantum computing applications. The winners showcased remarkable projects that push the boundaries of quantum variational techniques and algorithmic efficiency.

• First Place: The project “Crossing The Gap Using VQE: A comparative study” by Qjins won a $3,000 gift card. This project explored the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) technique to bridge computational gaps in quantum computing.
• Second Place: Awarded a $2,000 gift card, The Office 215’s project “Spectral Gap Superposition States” delved into the properties of spectral gaps to enhance quantum state manipulation.
• Third Place: Qimi’s “Bridging the Gap” received a $1,000 gift card, contributing further to the understanding and application of quantum computing techniques.

Advancements in Quantum Simulation

Another challenge emphasized the importance of Hamiltonian evolution in quantum simulations, particularly for quantum chemistry and optimization tasks. Participants were encouraged to develop or improve methods for constructing the complex exponential of the Hamiltonian, a crucial operator in quantum dynamics.

• First Place: The “Multiparticle Quantum Tunnelling Simulation” project by Hamiltonian Squad, which won a $3,000 gift card, presented an innovative approach to simulating quantum tunnelling phenomena in multiparticle systems.
• Second Place: Kuantum received a $2,000 gift card for their project “Statistical Phase Estimation on PennlyLane,” focusing on enhancing phase estimation techniques in quantum computing.
• Third Place: With a $1,000 gift card, Quantum_Questers’ project on “NISQ algorithm implementation inspired from Universal Quantum Algorithms” aimed at advancing Near Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) technology.

Quantum Machine Learning and Phase Transition Studies

The challenge of predicting spin system behaviors and studying phase transitions with quantum computers brought forward projects that integrate quantum computing with machine learning and data analysis.

• First Place: Kharkiv_team’s “Bridging the Gap is a Matter of Taste” won a $3,000 gift card, showcasing a novel approach to understanding quantum phase transitions.
• Second Place: The HHRI TeamQC project “Quantum-Train: Rethinking Hybrid Quantum-Classical Machine Learning in the Model Compression Perspective” received a $2,000 gift card, highlighting the synergy between quantum computing and machine learning.
• Third Place: Awarded a $1,000 gift card, the project “Identifying Phases with Quantum Convolutional Neural Network” by Team Name demonstrated the application of quantum neural networks in identifying quantum phases.

Recognition by Amazon Braket

AWS, as a Power-Up sponsor of QHack 2024, recognized three teams for their exceptional use of Amazon Braket in their projects. Each team was awarded $10,000 in AWS Credits, a mentorship session with an Amazon scientist, and a feature on an AWS blog.

• The Office 215 with their project titled “Spectral Gap Superposition States” was among the top awardees. Their work focused on exploring the properties of spectral gaps and their implications for quantum state manipulation, showcasing the potential for significant advancements in quantum computing methodologies.
• Team Name received recognition for their project “Identifying Quantum Phases with Quantum CNN.” This innovative approach combined quantum computing with convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to identify different phases in quantum systems, illustrating the powerful synergy between quantum computing and machine learning techniques.
• Quantum_Questers were awarded for their project “UQA inspired NISQ algorithm Implementation.” Their work aimed at leveraging the principles of Universal Quantum Algorithms (UQA) to enhance the implementation of algorithms on Near Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices, highlighting the ongoing efforts to optimize quantum computing applications for current hardware capabilities.

These challenges and their outcomes underscore the vibrant innovation and collaborative spirit within the quantum computing community, driving the development of quantum technologies and their applications across various fields.

QHack Sponsors and Future Events

The success of QHack 2024 was made possible by the generous support of its sponsors. As a token of appreciation, a QHack 2024 poster was created for the participants. Those interested in joining future events and learning about upcoming PennyLane certificates are encouraged to stay connected through the monthly newsletter, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Discord. Participants are also encouraged to continue building their quantum computing expertise and grow their quantum community by tackling more PennyLane Challenges, linking their project in their PennyLane Profile, and getting involved with the PennyLane community.