Swiss-German firm Terra Quantum, led by CEO Markus Pflitsch, is making strides in quantum computing, offering quantum-as-a-service to businesses. The company uses hybrid computing, combining classical computation with quantum processors, to solve complex problems. Terra Quantum’s chief product officer, Florian Neukart, explains that their hybrid algorithms can outperform classical ones, even with just a few qubits. The company also emphasizes data security, using quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols to protect against potential quantum attacks. Terra Quantum’s services are used in various industries, including automotive, healthcare, energy, and finance.
Quantum Computing: A Service for Today’s Industry
Quantum computing, a field often associated with future potential, already delivers tangible benefits to various industries. While tech giants compete over quantum bit (qubit) counts, quantum tech start-ups and scale-ups are transitioning quantum computing from research and development to industry boardrooms. One such company, Terra Quantum, is pioneering the concept of “quantum as a service.”
Hybrid Computing: A Quantum-Classical Fusion
Terra Quantum is leveraging hybrid computing, which combines high-performance classical computation with available quantum processors, to address the current limitations of quantum hardware. While the quantum computing industry aims for processors with thousands or even millions of qubits, today’s commercial processors range from a dozen to a thousand qubits.
Hybrid algorithms utilize classical and quantum computing and have shown promising performance improvements over their conventional counterparts. These hybrid systems are particularly effective in artificial neural networks or deep-learning algorithms in tasks such as image recognition and drug design. Terra Quantum’s cloud-based hybrid platform allows powerful conventional computers to perform most of the work, strategically delegating calculations to quantum processors as needed.
Simulated Quantum Processors: A Practical Approach
Terra Quantum’s hybrid algorithms can outperform classical ones without physical qubits by using simulated quantum processors. These simulated qubits mimic the behavior of entire quantum chips, extending the concept of observing the behavior of single particles to a larger scale. However, simulation requires a lot of hardware, and for more complex problems, physical quantum chips are necessary. Terra Quantum’s algorithms can run on real or simulated quantum processors, with more powerful quantum processors being seamlessly integrated as they become available.
Quantum Key Distribution: A New Standard for Security
Data security is a critical aspect of Terra Quantum’s offering. The company emphasizes the difference between post-quantum cryptography approaches and its protocols. Post-quantum cryptography uses classical algorithms, which are currently resistant to quantum attacks but may be vulnerable to future quantum computers.
Terra Quantum advocates for quantum key distribution (QKD), a technology that derives its security from the fundamental property that measuring a quantum system necessarily disturbs that system. This allows for the detection of eavesdroppers by monitoring changes in quantum states. Terra Quantum has introduced a novel QKD protocol based on the second law of thermodynamics following from quantum irreversibility. This protocol allows for control of signal loss and extends the safe communications channel over long distances.
Terra Quantum: A Quantum Tech Company for the Present
Founded in 2019, Terra Quantum is one of the fastest-growing quantum tech companies. With clients in various sectors, including automotive, healthcare, energy, and finance, the company provides services that enhance productivity and profitability without requiring clients to build expertise in-house. Terra Quantum provides infrastructure, software, and easy-to-use APIs, deployed through the cloud, effectively lowering the entry barrier to quantum for industry.
While the company is passionate about quantum, it emphasizes its role as a business performance-enhancement company first. Terra Quantum aims to solve business problems using quantum technology without requiring its clients to understand or care about the quantum aspect. This approach reflects a shift in the discussion around quantum computing from focusing on the technology itself to the services it can provide.
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