Yesterday, Microsoft announced Azure Quantum: a “full-stack, open cloud ecosystem that will bring the benefits of quantum computing to people and organizations around the world.”
Together with its partners 1QBit, Honeywell, IonQ, and QCI, Microsoft claims it is “assembling the most diverse set of quantum solutions, software, and hardware across the industry, in Azure.”
According to Microsoft, Azure Quantum is a diverse set of quantum services, ranging from pre-built solutions to software and quantum hardware, providing developers and customers access to some of the most competitive quantum offerings on the market.
It allows users target a variety of hardware through Azure Quantum – Azure classical compute, quantum simulators and resource estimators, and quantum hardware from Microsoft’s partners, as well as its future quantum system being built on the “topological qubit”.
It features the following services:
- Quantum solutions like pre-built solvers and algorithms that run at industrial scale
- Quantum software, including simulators and resource estimation tools, scaled by Azure compute
- Quantum hardware system options with a variety of different qubit architectures
- Scale, security, and support from Azure and its partners
Azure Quantum will launch in private preview in the coming months, and Microsoft has started inviting applications from organisations who wish to join the Network.
Microsoft has also made available quantum learning resources, such as samples, self-guided katas, code libraries, quickstarts, tutorials, notebooks, blogs, and community support in the Microsoft Quantum Development Kit.
