Quantinuum has demonstrated logical qubits that outperformed their physical counterparts by a factor of 800, a breakthrough detailed in a new Nature publication and signaling substantial progress in error correction for quantum computing. The company is differentiating itself by achieving these fault-tolerance advancements on commercial hardware, rather than relying on theoretical or prototype systems, and is focused on reducing the resource overhead needed to scale quantum computers for practical applications. “Our progress is not only scientific; it is commercial,” Quantinuum states, emphasizing a path toward solving complex problems with confidence. Beyond high fidelity, these advancements include logical-qubit teleportation, multiple error-correction breakthroughs, and a recent computation utilizing 48 logical qubits derived from just 98 physical qubits, highlighting an efficient architecture for large-scale fault tolerance.
Logical Qubit Performance Surpasses Physical Counterparts by 800x
This achievement differentiates Quantinuum from many research efforts focused on theoretical systems or prototype hardware, as these breakthroughs were realized on commercially available Quantinuum hardware. Beyond simply achieving high fidelity, Quantinuum has focused on core components essential for large-scale fault tolerance, including logical-qubit teleportation and multiple error-correction breakthroughs. Last year, in collaboration with Microsoft, the initial demonstration of this 800x performance improvement laid the groundwork for further advancements. Subsequent work has included high-fidelity teleportation of a logical qubit, published in Science, and improvements to the System Model H2’s fidelity, exceeding previous milestones in fault tolerance. Researchers also achieved a single-shot error correcting code, significantly reducing resource requirements, and extended qubit lifetimes tenfold using a concatenated code.
A recent computation performed with logical qubits yielded better error rates than those of their physical counterparts while exploring questions in materials and magnetism. Quantinuum reinforces the delivery of consistent performance to its customer base and solidifies a practical roadmap for fault-tolerant systems capable of handling valuable workloads.
This result also includes a leading “encoding rate” squeezing 48 logical qubits out of just 98 physical qubits, emphasizing how our architecture helps to support large scale fault tolerance without enormous resource costs.
Quantinuum’s System Model H2 Achieves Error Correction and Encoding Advances
Actively translating advances in quantum error correction from theoretical exercises into demonstrable improvements on commercially available hardware is a crucial step toward realizing practical quantum computation. This emphasis on holistic system development distinguishes Quantinuum’s approach, as evidenced by a recent publication in Nature detailing a factor of 800 improvement in performance between logical and physical qubits. This leap, initially demonstrated in collaboration with Microsoft last year, signifies a substantial reduction in the error rates that plague current quantum systems. The company’s System Model H2 played a central role in these advancements, consistently exceeding previous milestones. Researchers successfully teleported a logical qubit with high fidelity, a feat initially published in Science, and subsequently improved upon through ongoing refinements to the hardware. This efficient use of resources is particularly significant, as it suggests a viable path toward scaling quantum computers without incurring prohibitive hardware costs.
Last year, in partnership with Microsoft, we published a breakthrough in logical computing, demonstrating logical qubits that outperformed their physical counterparts by a factor of 800.
