IBM y Cisco have reached a collaboration agreement within the framework of network distributed quantum computingwhich will be released at the beginning of the next decade. Thanks to the agreement, and combining IBM’s experience in building quantum computers with Cisco’s innovations in quantum networks, both companies will explore building a network of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers.
Additionally, both Cisco and IBM will collaborate to try to solve the fundamental challenges posed by quantum computing on the Internet. In five years, both parties want to show the first proof of concept of the aforementioned network, which will combine individual large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers, causing them to work together to perform calculations with tens or hundreds of thousands of qubits.
This network would allow solving problems with potentially billions of quantum gates, the fundamental entanglement operations necessary for transformative quantum applications. Among these applications are mass optimization problems and the design of complex materials and drugs.
On the other hand, IBM and Cisco want to explore the development of quantum hardware and software that can physically connect many large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers together, with the aim of composing a distributed quantum computing network. To do this, they want to do a proof-of-concept demonstration at the end of 2030.
Towards this goal, they plan to entangle qubits from several independent quantum computers located at different cryogenic points. To achieve this, they will first have to devise new connections, such as optical microwave transducers, as well as a supporting software stack.
Cisco’s vision for a quantum data center is based on an architecture that could make distributed quantum computing a reality in the near future. This vision includes a complete hardware and software stack with the goal of preserving (very fragile) quantum states, distributing entanglement resources, facilitating teleportation between quantum computers, and synchronizing operations with sub-nanosecond precision.
To overcome the connection between two separate quantum computers, even if they are close, IBM and Cisco plan to explore how to transmit qubits over longer distances, such as between buildings or data centers. To achieve this, the two companies will work on the use of optical photon technologies and optical microwave transducers. They will also study how to incorporate them into a quantum network to transmit information when necessary.
On the other hand, they will take into account that connecting several quantum computers will require a suitable interface. IBM plans to build a quantum network unit (QNU) that serves as an interface to a quantum processing unit (QPU). All to convert the stationary quantum information of the QPU into flying quantum information through the QNU to then connect it, through a network, to several quantum computers.
Cisco’s future quantum network will aim to distribute interleaving to arbitrary pairs of these QNUs on demand, to drive the transfer of quantum information necessary for a particular quantum algorithm or application. To achieve this, the company is developing a high-speed software protocol framework that can continuously and dynamically reconfigure network paths. Thus, the interleavings can be distributed to the QNUs when they have finished their partial calculations.
The two companies plan to jointly investigate how a network bridge, with innovative hardware and open source software, could use the nodes of Cisco’s quantum network to connect a multitude of QPUs in different data centers.
This would allow a larger quantum network to be extended to even greater distances, laying the foundation for a future quantum computing Internet. IBM quantum computers connected using this architecture could facilitate workloads that require a lot of computing power.
Creating a scalable, distributed quantum computing network will lead to an exponentially large computing space. In addition, it will allow the expansion of different technologies, which could lead to a future Internet based on quantum computing at the end of the next decade.
A quantum computing Internet offers a future in which many distributed quantum technologies, such as quantum computers, quantum sensors, and quantum communications, will be connected and share information over distances.
This vision could facilitate new possibilities, such as ultra-secure communications or precise monitoring of climate, weather and seismic activity. IBM and Cisco also plan jointly finance research projects academic and collaborative to promote a broader quantum ecosystem.
