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DARPA Quantum Benchmarking Program

QSI is partnered with DARPA in a landmark program to quantitively assess the performance of quantum computing algorithms and applications at scale.

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Quantum Benchmarking Program with DARPA 

Aim and background

QSI is partnered with US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in a landmark program to quantitatively assess the performance of quantum computing algorithms and applications at scale. 

The program aims to create new metrics for large quantum computers and to make these metrics testable by developing the computer hardware necessary to measure benchmark performance. Developing quantum yardsticks will guide progress towards the goal of building large, fault-tolerant quantum computers with revolutionary potential across industry and society.

Research project and expected outcomes

As part of the multi-million dollar partnership, QSI is partnering with global companies including HRL Laboratories, Boeing and General Motors, and quantum technology companies including Zapata Computing, Rigetti Computing, and IonQ to develop tools and carry out hardware-specific resource estimations for components throughout the quantum stack, with the goal of becoming the de-facto standard framework in quantum performance analytics.

QSI will help develop new benchmarks that measure progress towards specific computational challenges and estimate the hardware-specific resources required to achieve performance.

Hardware-agnostic benchmark creation 

  1. Identifying key applications in advanced materials, chemistry, machine learning and optimisation.
  2. Associating with core enabling computational capabilities. 
  3. Determining key parameters and metrics for these capabilities. 
  4. Developing test procedures to measure performance.
  5. Consolidating to create open performance benchmarks.

Hardware-specific resource estimation 

QSI researchers are developing the Bench‑Q software suite with the University of Southern California, University of Texas at Dallas, Aalto University in Finland, and Zapata Computing.

Working with Rigetti, USC and Aalto, this project leverages Rigetti’s seven years of experience designing and building superconducting quantum processors to bring realism and specificity to the process of benchmarking modular quantum computing hardware. 

“These DARPA initiatives will help us better understand the reality of where we are, and the potential for what’s ahead. We will be working with leading potential end users on assessing quantum applications of direct importance to their industries and partnering with billion-dollar quantum startups to link these applications to hardware roadmaps for large-scale quantum computers.” 

- A/Prof Simon Devitt, QSI’s Research director and leader of two DARPA projects.
 


“With our breadth of capability across the quantum software stack, this program is a great fit for QSI. QSI will play a major role in this program, bringing both experiences in the development of quantum algorithms and experience in the resource benchmarking of quantum computing applications.” 

- Michael Bremner, Professor and Director of the Centre for Quantum Software and Information at UTS.  

QSI Investigators

Dates

  •  2022 - 2025.

Links to press releases: