BURNABY, BC – June 26, 2019 — D-Wave Systems Inc., the leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services, today announced the general availability of D-Wave Hybrid™, a simple open-source hybrid workflow platform for building and running quantum-classical hybrid applications. D-Wave Hybrid is part of the Ocean software development kit within D-Wave’s Leap™ quantum cloud service and is available today for download. The D-Wave hybrid framework provides simplified workflow controls to developers, allowing them to use both classical and quantum systems in parallel, gain insight into system performance, optimize code across systems, and develop quantum hybrid applications more easily.
D-Wave Hybrid includes:
- Hybrid workflow control: enables rapid development of hybrid applications that can run across classical, the current D-Wave 2000Q™ family, and future quantum systems
- Modular approach: incorporates logic to simplify distribution of classical and quantum tasks, allowing developers to interrupt and synchronize across the systems and draw maximum computing power out of each system
- Problem deconstruction: capable of breaking down large problems that are bigger than the quantum processing unit (QPU) into parts that are then recombined for the overall solution
- Familiar coding environment: familiar Python-based framework and documentation includes examples that make it easy to get started without knowledge of quantum mechanics
- Flexibility: includes a number of example hybrid workflows, allowing developers to explore which workflows are best for the problem they are solving
- Leap quantum system access and Quantum Application Environment (QAE): free, real-time access to the D-Wave 2000Q family of systems and QAE resources, including learning tools, and community and technical forums for easy developer collaboration
D-Wave Hybrid is designed to simplify and accelerate developers’ ability to build and run algorithms across classical and quantum systems, continuing D-Wave’s work to help customers with their real-world application development. This release of D-Wave Hybrid is another element of the company’s next-generation platform announced last February, and is available in Leap for use by developers today. The next-generation platform will encompass a new topology, lower noise, increased qubit count, and expansion of hybrid software and tools that will continue to come to market between now and mid-2020.
As part of the general availability of D-Wave Hybrid, the company also shared its quantum hybrid strategy. The overview, Three Truths and the Advent of Hybrid Quantum Computing, details how developers, researchers, and forward-thinking businesses can optimize complex problems and now benefit from applying both classical and quantum systems to find solutions. D-Wave’s strategy is to deliver a hybrid platform that makes it easy for developers to leverage the most appropriate computing resources for each part of their application, and to eliminate the need to worry about the actual size and topology of the QPU. The hybrid platform also provides the flexibility for developers to experiment with different strategies for hybridizing their applications. The approach highlights the early benefits of hybrid quantum-classical algorithm development on a live quantum computer.
“At a company like Volkswagen, there are various ways in which optimization problems occur naturally. Whether it’s scheduling and logistics, production optimization, or intelligent mobility, difficult optimization problems need to be solved routinely and quickly. This is where we expect quantum annealing can help us,” said Sheir Yarkoni, quantum computing researcher at Volkswagen’s Data:Lab Munich. “Most quantum computing projects we’ve worked on in the past have relied on a classical hybrid quantum-classical approach. The release of D-Wave Hybrid has allowed us to prototype these hybrid approaches much faster than before, and gives us the algorithmic control required to customize different parts to suit our needs. We can now scale our prototypes from small proof-of-concepts to more production-ready code, which we hope to use in our next traffic flow optimization project. Moving forward, we expect D-Wave Hybrid will be an integral part of our quantum computing framework.”
“Quantum hybrid development very quickly brings the power of classical computing and quantum computing together. In fact, we expect most applications of our quantum technology to be run as hybrids of quantum and classical computation, much as CPUs and GPUs work together for many tasks today,” said Alan Baratz, executive vice-president and chief product officer at D-Wave. “Our approach is practical: D-Wave Hybrid facilitates applying current problem-solving knowledge to a hybrid platform so customers can increasingly use quantum power. This approach ensures we’re building toward outcomes where customers will see real business benefit.”
To date, D-Wave customers have developed more than 150 early applications in areas as diverse as airline scheduling, election modeling, quantum chemistry simulation, automotive design, preventative healthcare, logistics, and more. Many have also developed software tools that simplify application development. These existing applications, tools, and community give developers a wealth of examples to learn from and build upon. The releases of the D-Wave Hybrid platform, the lower-noise 2000Q processor, and the next-generation platform promise to continue expanding the variety, performance, precision, and breadth of applications.
D-Wave Next-Generation Quantum Platform Information Links
The Pegasus topology can be accessed via Ocean here.
Users can access and use both versions of the 2000Q processor here.
Developers can download the D-Wave Hybrid platform via Ocean here and can join a webinar to learn how to get started programming quantum hybrid algorithms.
About Leap Cloud-Access & Quantum Application Environment
Leap is D-Wave’s quantum cloud service, providing real-time access to a live quantum computer and a Quantum Application Environment (QAE). In addition to access, Leap’s QAE provides open-source development tools, interactive demos and coding examples, educational resources, and knowledge base articles to build and run applications in the cloud. Designed for developers, researchers, and forward-thinking enterprises, Leap enables collaboration through its online community, helping the community write and run quantum applications and speed the development of real-world applications.
Users can find both free (one minute a month when developers open-source their code) and paid plans designed for individual developers, commercial enterprises, government, research, and education sectors. To find out more and get started using Leap, visit the D-Wave website at www.dwavesys.com.
About D-Wave Systems Inc.
D-Wave is the leader in the development and delivery of quantum computing systems, software, and services and is the world’s first commercial supplier of quantum computers. Our mission is to unlock the power of quantum computing for the world. We do this by delivering customer value with practical quantum applications for problems as diverse as logistics, artificial intelligence, materials sciences, drug discovery, cyber security, fault detection and financial modeling. D-Wave’s systems are being used by some of the world’s most advanced organizations, including Volkswagen, DENSO, Lockheed Martin, USRA (sponsored by NASA and Google), USC, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. With headquarters near Vancouver, Canada, D-Wave’s US operations are based in Palo Alto, CA and Hanover, MD. D-Wave has a blue-chip investor base including PSP Investments, Goldman Sachs, Bezos Expeditions, DFJ, In-Q-Tel, BDC Capital, PenderFund Capital, 180 Degree Capital Corp., and Kensington Capital Partners Limited. For more information, visit: www.dwavesys.com.