IBM Doubles Its Quantum Computing Performance

This week, IBM announced that it’s reached it’s highest Quantum Volume ever, hitting a Quantum Volume of 64. That comes after four years and 28 quantum computers.

This week, IBM announced that it’s reached it’s highest Quantum Volume ever, hitting a Quantum Volume of 64. That comes after four years and 28 quantum computers.

According to IBM, Quantum Volume is “a single number meant to encapsulate the performance of today’s quantum computers, like a classical computer’s transistor count.” IBM has a goal of doubling its devices’ Quantum Volume every year. 

After upgrading one of IBM’s newer 27-qubit client systems, the team was able to reach a Quantum Volume of 64. Out of the 28 quantum computing systems deployed on IBM’s cloud, only eight of them have a Quantum Volume of 32. This new update has doubled the previous milestone, taking the development to a new level.

To achieve the impressive new Quantum Volume level, the team had to develop a series of techniques to optimize how the hardware is used when running the Quantum Volume circuits. This development definitely paid off when comparing the new specs to previous editions.

IBM provides Qiskit, an open-source software development kit (or SDK) for anyone interested in quantum computing development . According to IBM, these new techniques will be made available in the open-source SDK. 

Of course, the end game is the point where a quantum computer can process information more efficiently than a classical computer. IBM calls this quantum advantage. Google calls it quantum supremacy and claimed to achieve it last year, despite IBM’s objections. 

“We are always finding new ways to push the limits of our systems so that we can run larger, more complex quantum circuits and more quickly achieve a Quantum Advantage,” Jay Gambetta, IBM Fellow and Vice President, IBM Quantum, said in a statement.