Quantum Circuits Accelerates Momentum Toward Commercial Quantum Computing With New Aqumen Seeker Quantum Processing Unit

Insider Brief

• Quantum Circuits, Inc. (QCI) has unveiled its 8-qubit Aqumen Seeker processor, completing its scalable full-stack quantum system with an innovative dual-rail qubit architecture designed to prioritize error correction and enhance scalability.
• The dual-rail qubit system, featuring real-time control flow (RTCF) and error detection handling (EDH), enables enterprises to run more efficient and reliable quantum algorithms while reducing the need for high qubit counts, accelerating the path to fault-tolerant quantum computing.
• QCI’s partnerships, including work with Algorithmiq on drug discovery algorithms, and a $60 million Series B investment round, position the company to drive advancements in quantum computing applications across industries.
• Image: QCI

PRESS RELEASE — – Quantum Circuits, Inc., announced highly efficient, scalable hardware that rounds out its full-stack quantum computing system, accelerating the path to fault tolerance and commercial readiness with an industry first featuring error detection built into powerful dual-rail cavity qubits.

The highly efficient 8-qubit quantum processor, called Aqumen Seeker, follows the company’s software announcement three months ago of its quantum cloud service, software development kit, and simulator to build and test quantum applications before they run on production hardware. That announcement foreshadowed Quantum Circuits’ forthcoming hardware, which is now being used by enterprise customers with the software as a full-stack system.

Quantum Circuits’ error-detecting dual-rail qubits follow the company’s innovation philosophy that errors must be corrected first to avoid disrupting performance at scale. They evolve beyond single-qubit approaches that attempt to scale first, then correct along the way, overcoming inherent challenges of brute-force performance requirements, inefficiency, and limited scale. Quantum Circuits ensures that qubit performance is carefully analyzed and understood before they are released, resulting in more scalability with less qubits required.

Quantum Circuits’ dual-rail qubits incorporate the industry’s only combination of quantum error detection (QED), error detection handling (EDH), and real-time control flow (RTCF). RTCF and EDH enhance tools that programmers use to explore and create algorithms with Quantum Circuits’ dual-rail qubits. Together, these features significantly enhance the performance of the quantum system, enabling algorithms to run efficiently with greater scale, fidelity, and reliability.

“We take a pragmatic approach to quantum computing – we correct first, then scale,” Quantum Circuits’ Chief Scientist and Co-founder Rob Schoelkopf said. “We are producing notable fidelity and efficiency per each dual-rail qubit, enabling us to avoid brute-force techniques that require high volumes of qubits. We are achieving better results with less qubits. We feel that this efficient approach accelerates the path to fault-tolerant, commercial-ready quantum computing.”

Algorithmiq, a leading quantum computing software company, is investigating the optimal metabolism of a drug by integrating its advanced error mitigation algorithm with Quantum Circuits’ cutting-edge dual-rail qubit architecture. This achievement marks a significant step toward the onset of fault-tolerant quantum computing and its transformative potential in drug discovery.

“At Algorithmiq, we are thrilled to see the powerful synergy between our advanced quantum chemistry algorithms and state-of-the-art error mitigation software, combined with Quantum Circuits’ innovative error detection capabilities,” Algorithmiq CEO Sabrina Maniscalco said. “Together, we have developed a proof-of-concept for the transition to early fault-tolerant quantum computing. This collaboration has opened a path to accurately predict reaction barriers in drug metabolism — critical for optimizing drug clearance and paving the way for more efficient drug development.”

“With the increased demand for highly accurate gates, the fidelities promised by erasure detection in Quantum Circuits’ dual rail hardware promise to be a real game changer,” said Nathan Wiebe, technical advisor to Quantum Circuits.

Recently, Quantum Circuits announced a Series B investment round of more than $60 million. The funding will support ongoing innovation and delivery of full-stack solutions that continually improve qubit efficiency and scale while overcoming the biggest challenge to reliable commercial quantum computing – error detection and correction.

“Aqumen Seeker represents one in a series of future hardware releases that will continually improve dual-rail qubit efficiency and scale,” Quantum Circuits CEO and President Ray Smets said. “Customers are using our full-stack hardware-software system to explore quantum use cases and applications that can help solve problems across various industries. Enterprises cannot afford to miss the quantum computing wave. They must start now. We’re here to enable and explore with them.”