Nvidia Corp. today took the wraps off what it says is a “unified computing platform” that combines classical computing architecture with advanced quantum computers to accelerate research and development.

The shiny new machine is known as the “Nvidia Quantum Optimized Device Architecture.” Nvidia said its primary purpose is to streamline hybrid quantum-classical computing development. To do this, it provides an open and unified environment across some of today’s most powerful supercomputers and quantum processors in order to boost scientific productivity and achieve greater scale in quantum research.

Hybrid quantum-classical computing refers to the marriage of classical computing systems with more advanced, yet still embryonic, quantum machines. The theory is that more progress can be made by combining traditional computers with their quantum cousins. That’s because quantum systems aren’t suited for many, more basic computing tasks that quantum applications still need to perform.

Tim Costa, Nvidia’s director of HPC and quantum computing products, said most researchers today agree that the biggest scientific breakthroughs will come by combining the two types of systems. “QODA will revolutionize quantum computing by giving many more developers fast access to the right tools,” he promised.

The QODA architecture includes Nvidia’s cuQuantum software development kit. That’s a collection of optimized libraries and simulation environments designed to accelerate quantum computing workflows on graphics processing units.

It also provides access to quantum hardware from companies including IQM Finland Oy, Pasqal SE, Quantinuum Ltd., Quantum Brilliance Pty. Ltd. and Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc., plus quantum software from firms such as QC Ware and Zapata Computing Inc. Classical computing resources are provided by supercomputing centers at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The idea is that developers can use Nvidia’s cuQuantum SDK to program quantum and classical resources within a single, consolidated environment.

Using the QODA architecture, researchers will be able to experiment with all manner of supercomputing resources and experimental quantum machines. For instance, Quantinuum, which has developed a 20-qubit machine based on a trapped-ion architecture, will make its H-series quantum processors available together with the supercomputing resources of its partners.

“Near-term applications in chemistry, drug discovery, materials science and more can now be seamlessly integrated with quantum computing, driving new discoveries in these fields as practical quantum advantage emerges,” said Zapata Chief Technology Officer Yudong Cao.

Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. said quantum computing technology is maturing fast. As a result, there’s a need to ensure adjacent platforms can coexist with quantum technologies.

“It’s all the more necessary because quantum machines will be the first computing platforms that enterprises don’t run in their own data centers, but rather, exclusively in the cloud,” Mueller said. “With the launch of its QODA platform, Nvidia is merging quantum technology with its powerful AI and HPC capabilities, so they can leverage each other to enable next-generation applications and use cases. It’s especially good to see the prominent partner adoption among the quantum players.”

Nvidia said it hopes the QODA platform will ultimately create a new class of developers who can leverage open and interoperable standards across a variety of classical and quantum hardware and software platforms.

Photo: Nvidia