D-Wave Systems Inc., a provider of quantum computing systems, software and services, today launched a new cloud service called Leap 2 aimed at helping developers build “hybrid quantum applications” that run on both computing architectures.

Leap 2 extends the capabilities of D-Wave’s original Leap Quantum Application Environment service that was launched in 2018 for developers to start playing around with quantum systems and test new software applications on the company’s platform.

D-Wave, known for building the world’s first working quantum computer, sold its first system for $15 million to cybersecurity firm Temporal Defense Systems Inc.

D-Wave’s machines work by storing information using “qubits,” which encode information using 0s, 1s or both at the same time, as opposed to traditional computers, which use “bits” and only encode information using 0s or 1s. By using qubits instead of bits, D-Wave claims, its quantum computers can “manipulate enormous combinations of states at once,” making them far more powerful than their nonquantum cousins, at least for certain applications.

With Leap 2, developers will be able to access new capabilities including D-Wave’s hybrid solver service, which enables them to solve “large and complex problems of up to 10,000 variables,” the company said. The hybrid solver service runs on both quantum and classical computing resources and uses advanced algorithms to decide on the best way to solve each problem it’s presented with.

There’s also a new problem inspector tool for “more advanced quantum developers” that works by showing how problems map into a quantum processing unit.

“By showing the logical and embedded structure of a problem, the inspector displays the solutions returned from the QPU and provides alerts that allow developers to improve their results,” the company said.

Leap 2 further offers an Integrated Developer Environment for building quantum-hybrid apps in the Python programming language. D-Wave said it’s also offering more flexible pricing plans for all skill and investment levels, in addition to its free tier of service that enables up to one minute’s use of its D-Wave 2000Q quantum computer.

“With Leap 2, we’re giving developers and businesses the key to business applications,” D-Wave Chief Executive Officer Alan Baratz said in a statement. “By delivering a hybrid offering, we’re removing many of the barriers related to complexity and problem size.”

D-Wave’s new service is yet more evidence that quantum computing is rapidly maturing as a platform for next-generation applications, Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller told SiliconANGLE.

“The hardware battle seems to be yesterday’s battle, as today’s focus is more on the development platform and the software side,” Mueller said. “Leap2 is a key step into this market, and we will see how much uptake and success DWave can garner from the new platform.”

Image: D-Wave