The trial uses the same processor that powers the world’s fastest supercomputer, Fugaku.
Keisuke Fujii (pictured), a professor at Osaka University, said this “will greatly accelerate the future development of quantum software”.
He said: “High-speed simulators using supercomputers are of ever-increasing importance in the development of the quantum software and quantum applications on which the performance of quantum computers depends.”
Qulacs, an open source software used by quantum computing developers, and the technology at the heart of the Fugaku supercomputer “have been combined to realize the world’s fastest quantum simulator”, he added.
Fujitsu said its new quantum simulator “will serve as an important bridge towards the development of quantum computing applications that are expected to be put to practical use in the years ahead”.
The company plans to start work with Fujifilm on quantum computing applications in the field of materials science.
Fujitsu said it “will accelerate its efforts to develop quantum computers with the aim of developing a 40-qubit simulator by September 2022 and conduct joint research and development of quantum applications with customers in fields including finance and drug discovery”.
Fujitsu CTO Vivek Mahajan said: “We stand now at the edge of a new age in computing technology. Fujitsu has successfully developed the world’s fastest quantum simulator by applying its world-leading expertise in computing technologies cultivated over many decades.”
He added: “We aim to leverage this new quantum simulator for our customers to accelerate the development of quantum applications and ultimately contribute to a sustainable world by solving a range of issues facing society.”
