Qedma Ltd., a startup working to make quantum computers more reliable, today announced that it has raised $26 million in early-stage funding.

Glilot Capital Partners led the Series A round. It was joined by IBM Corp., Korean Investment Partners, TPY Capital and others.

Theoretically, qubits can process data exponentially faster than traditional transistors. In practice, however, today’s quantum chips are limited to performing fairly simple calculations. One of the main reasons for this limited processing capacity is that quantum hardware is difficult to operate reliably.

Qubits are highly sensitive to interference such as changes in temperature. Even tiny perturbations can delete a qubit’s data, which means that any calculations it was performing must be restarted. Interference-related errors are among the main obstacles building quantum hardware that can outperform classical computers.

Tel Aviv-based Qedma is working to address the challenge. Its flagship software platform, QESEM, promises to lower the frequency at which errors emerge in qubits. Reducing processing mistakes allows quantum chips to perform more complex calculations than would otherwise be possible.

“While the industry is making massive investments in quantum computing infrastructure and scaling the number of qubits, our platform-agnostic approach allows us to extract maximum value from existing hardware across all quantum computing architectures,” said co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Asif Sinay.

After researchers install QESEM on a quantum computer, the software collects technical data about the machine. It maps out which calculations the system can perform and when errors are most likely to emerge. It then applies optimizations that reduce the frequency at which those errors occur.

QESEM’s optimizations don’t block all the processing mistakes that qubits are prone to making. To resolve the mistakes that go unaddressed, the software performs post-processing error correction. This means that it not only attempts to avoid malfunctions from emerging but also fixes them when they do occur.

The company says that QESEM can help quantum computer makers mitigate a wide range of processing errors.

The software reduces crosstalk, a phenomenon whereby neighboring qubits interfere with one another. It also provides features for mitigating calibration errors. Those are malfunctions that involve the equipment with which researchers encode data into qubits and read processing results.

QESEM offers several advantages over competing error correction tools. According to the company, the software is more reliable and works with a wider range of quantum applications. QESMA is also compatible with today’s largest quantum chips, which feature more than 100 qubits.

Qedma currently employs about 40 staffers. TechCrunch reported that the company will use its newly raised capital to hire up to 20 additional researchers, software developers and go-to-market professionals. 

Image: IBM