Microsoft is providing more insight into its quantum computing efforts with the public preview of Azure Quantum. The newly announced solution is a full-stack, public cloud ecosystem for quantum solutions designed to give developers, researchers, systems integrators, and customers access to diverse quantum software and hardware solutions.
“The transition to Public Preview of Azure Quantum is a key milestone for quantum computing and our ecosystem. This continues the momentum we saw last year, which includes selection for the National Quantum Initiative Quantum Research Centers, the addition of new Azure Quantum partners, and hardware advances in scaling control circuitry for qubits,” Krysta Svore, the general manager of Microsoft Quantum wrote in a blog post.
Users will have access to the open-source Quantum Development Kit (QDK) and the Q# programming language, which protects the developers’ investments by proactively anticipating and integrating with advances in quantum systems, according to Microsoft.
Azure Quantum also includes Microsoft’s new Quantum Intermediate Representation (QIR), which is a common open-source interface between different languages and quantum computing platforms.
Since quantum computing is a rapidly growing and changing new field, Microsoft is helping new users with fundamental quantum concepts in Microsoft Learn, and offers self-paced tutorials in Katas.
Many samples on Microsoft’s website demonstrate how quantum computing can be implemented for various tasks such as moving quantum data with quantum teleportation, using the Q# standard libraries to implement a three-qubit bit-flip quantum error correction code, and calculating the path in a weighted graph with the smallest cost.
Users also have access to quantum computing and optimization resources from Microsoft’s hardware partners Honeywell Quantum Solutions and IonQ through a single development interface.
Honeywell’s solution allows for mid-compute measurement and qubit reuse and IonQ’s system lets users run a two-qubit gate between any pair. Microsoft also encourages developers to help accelerate quantum computing research by developing optimization solutions based on solvers from Microsoft and 1QBit.
“Customers using Azure Quantum have already demonstrated valuable ways to build solutions to complex problems. From logistics and freight optimization to risk management solutions and fighting cancer, we’re seeing real-world application of Azure Quantum solutions today, and we are pleased to now expand Azure Quantum to Public Preview,” Svore added.
