Honeywell to launch the most powerful quantum computer in three months

Morristown, New Jersey based technology and manufacturing firm Honeywell said it will roll out the world’s most powerful quantum computer within the next three months. 

Honeywell claims it has achieved a breakthrough in quantum computing that accelerates the capability of quantum computers, it said in a statement.

Read: What is quantum computing and how can it unlock value for businesses?

Honeywell has been working on the technical foundations for its quantum computer for over a decade now. Back in 2018, the company announced its first quantum computing capabilities. 

The quantum volume of its quantum computer is unmatched, Honeywell said.

Quantum volume measures computational ability, indicating the relative complexity of a problem that can be solved by a quantum computer.

When released, Honeywell’s quantum computer will have a quantum volume of at least 64, which is twice that of the next alternative in the industry, the company said. 

In a scientific paper released on Tuesday, the company explained the QCCD (quantum charge coupled device) architecture, a technical breakthrough in accelerating quantum capability.

“Building quantum computers capable of solving deeper, more complex problems is not just a simple matter of increasing the number of qubits. Quantum volume is a powerful tool that should be adopted as an interim benchmarking tool by other gate-based quantum computer companies.” Paul Smith-Goodson, analyst-in-residence for quantum computing, Moor Insights and Strategy said.

Recently, Seattle-based cloud service giant AWS (Amazon Web Services) launched quantum computing service Amazon Braket. The service will let customers explore, evaluate, and experiment with quantum computing hardware to gain in-house experience as they plan for the future.

Investments

Honeywell has also made strategic investments in Cambridge Quantum Computing (CQC) and Zapata Computing to accelerate the development of quantum computing and to explore practical applications for its customers.

Both Zapata and CQC complement Honeywell’s quantum computing capabilities. CQC has strong expertise in quantum software, specifically a quantum development platform and enterprise applications in the areas of chemistry, machine learning and augmented cybersecurity.

Zapata creates enterprise-grade, quantum-enabled software for a variety of industries, allowing users to build quantum workflows and execute them freely across a range of quantum and classical devices.

The firm also announced that it will collaborate with JPMorgan Chase, a global financial services firm, to develop quantum algorithms.

“Honeywell’s unique quantum computer, along with the ecosystem Honeywell has developed around it, will enable us to get closer to tackling major and growing business challenges in the financial services industry,” Marco Pistoia, managing director and research lead for Future Lab for Applied Research and Engineering (FLARE), JPMorgan Chase, said.

In late 2019, Honeywell announced a partnership with Microsoft to provide cloud access to its quantum computer through Microsoft Azure Quantum services.