IBM has taken a major step in the commercialization of super-powerful quantum computers. The company told Reuters that one of its key quantum error correction algorithms can run in real time on standard chips from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
The algorithm, designed to reduce the high error rates of qubits (the fundamental building blocks of quantum computers), has been successfully implemented on AMD’s Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), reports Reuters . This allows error correction and control to be performed using widely available hardware, instead of expensive, custom-built quantum components.
According to Jay Gambetta, director of IBM research, the implementation runs ten times faster than necessary, significantly improving the practical applicability and affordability of hybrid quantum systems.
The work on the algorithm was completed a year ahead of schedule in IBM’s roadmap to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer, the Starling, by 2029.
