Rigetti Computing Announces Next-Generation 40Q and 80Q Quantum Systems

BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 15, 2021 — Rigetti Computing, a pioneer in hybrid quantum-classical computing, today introduced its next-generation “Aspen-M” 80-qubit quantum computer into private beta. Aspen-M is the world’s first commercial multi-chip quantum processor, solving a critical scaling challenge in the race toward fault-tolerant quantum computing. The Aspen-M processor leverages Rigetti’s proprietary multi-chip technology and is assembled from two 40-qubit chips.

Rigetti’s 80-qubit Aspen-M: a commercial multi-chip quantum processor.

In addition, Rigetti announced it is collaborating with Deloitte, a multinational professional services company, and Strangeworks, a leading managed quantum service provider, to explore quantum applications in material simulation, optimization, and machine learning using Rigetti’s new scalable processors.

Separately, a new Aspen system based on a single-chip 40-qubit processor will be released today for general availability on Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services, the Strangeworks Ecosystem, and Amazon Braket.

These latest Rigetti Aspen superconducting processors incorporate improvements in scale, speed, and fidelity—three metrics critical to unlocking broad commercial value. In addition to more than doubling the processor size over its previous generation, the systems powered by these processors deliver a 2.5x speedup in quantum processing times and reduce readout errors by up to 50 percent, drastically improving the reliability of quantum program results.

“With these systems, we’ve reached a critical milestone in the emerging quantum advantage era,” said Chad Rigetti, founder and CEO of Rigetti Computing. “Our machines are now at a scale and speed where they can process the real-world data sets that underpin high-impact applications. We believe these systems give researchers and enterprises the best platform to pursue quantum advantage on real problems.”

Quantum vs classical machine learning performance using a QNN (quanvolutional neural network) – inspired algorithm on Rigetti’s Aspen-M 80Q quantum computer. Using CNNPred financial market data we performed classification tasks to predict next-day NYSE performance. At approximately 0.84 AUC, QML shows comparable accuracy to the best classical machine learning algorithms with AUC of 1.

In one example using publicly available benchmark data from the New York Stock Exchange, the company performed a machine learning classification task that predicted whether the stock market would close higher or lower the following day. Results on both the 40Q and 80Q systems demonstrated quantum processing capabilities competitive with industry standard classical machine learning models. This example is an early demonstration of Rigetti’s scale advantage, and it sets the stage for addressing problems of even greater computational complexity that remain inaccessible to existing classical computers.

In another early benchmark, the company targeted an optimization problem with 65 variables that was able to run on the Aspen-M system in under 5 minutes. Quantum algorithms of this scale are too large to simulate with classical computers, making Rigetti QCS what we believe to be the most broadly accessible platform for large-scale quantum algorithm development. This type of variational algorithm can be applied to a range of industry use cases including supply chain, logistics, and network optimization.

“As quantum computing continues to advance, organizations should explore the potential of quantum technologies to understand how they can advance their business models in the future,” said Scott Buchholz, quantum computing leader, government and public services chief technology officer, and managing director, Deloitte Consulting LLP. “At Deloitte, we are collaborating with diverse technology providers and our clients to apply our combination of business and technology experience to define, design and engineer a tech-forward future. As part of this joint effort, we are looking forward to exploring Rigetti’s new architecture jointly with Strangeworks to help clients define the right set of questions that will advance their stories.”

Time needed to run combinatorial optimization problems of increasing complexity on Rigetti QPUs compared with commercial quantum simulators. In this early benchmark, a 65Q combinatorial optimization problem is executed in just under 5 minutes on the Aspen-M 80Q processor. In contrast, the time requirement for simulators grows exponentially beyond 32Q, eventually becoming intractable in the regime easily accessible by Aspen-M.

“The scalability and speed of Rigetti’s new processors is impressive and opens the door to new possibilities for quantum application developers and researchers,” said William Hurley, founder and CEO of Strangeworks. “This kind of computing power enables enterprise-sized companies, like Deloitte, to apply quantum computing to problems of real importance. We’re excited to work together with Deloitte and Rigetti to usher in a new era for quantum application development.”

Rigetti expects the Aspen-M system to be publicly available in Q1 2022.

About Rigetti Computing

Rigetti Computing is a pioneer in full-stack quantum computing. The company has operated quantum computers over the cloud since 2017 and serves global enterprise, government, and research clients through its Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform. The company’s proprietary quantum-classical infrastructure provides ultra-low latency integration with public and private clouds for high-performance practical quantum computing. Rigetti has developed the industry’s first multi-chip quantum processor for scalable quantum computing systems. The company designs and manufactures its chips in-house at Fab-1, the industry’s first dedicated and integrated quantum device manufacturing facility. Rigetti was founded in 2013 by Chad Rigetti and today employs more than 140 people with offices in the United States, U.K., and Australia.

Rigetti Computing announced in October it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Supernova Partners Acquisition Company II, Ltd. (“Supernova II”) (NYSE:SNII), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company. When the transaction closes, the publicly traded company will be named Rigetti Computing, Inc. and its common stock is expected to be listed on the NYSE under the ticker “RGTI.” Learn more at www.rigetti.com.

About Deloitte

Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500 and more than 7,000 private companies. Our people come together for the greater good and work across the industry sectors that drive and shape today’s marketplace — delivering measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to see challenges as opportunities to transform and thrive, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthier society. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Building on more than 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte’s more than 345,000 people worldwide connect for impact at www.deloitte.com.

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the “Deloitte” name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms.

About Strangeworks

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Strangeworks is a group of experienced serial entrepreneurs, enterprise software developers, and quantum physicists who seek to humanize quantum computing and make it accessible to everyone. By guiding companies through the confusion of quantum computing, Strangeworks helps accelerate the integration of this new technology in corporations, universities, and enterprises.

To learn more about how Strangeworks can accelerate your quantum journey visit https://strangeworks.com or start learning for free on Strangeworks QC, available at https://quantumcomputing.com.

About Supernova II

Supernova II is led by Michael Clifton, who was most recently a technology investor at The Carlyle Group; Robert Reid, a long-time senior partner at Blackstone; Spencer Rascoff, a serial entrepreneur who co-founded Hotwire, Zillow, dot.LA and Pacaso and who led Zillow as CEO for nearly a decade; and Alexander Klabin, founder and CEO of Ancient and former managing partner, co-CIO and co-founder of Senator Investment Group.

Source: Rigetti Computing