In a blog post published on 21 June 2023, Jason Zander, Executive Vice President of Strategic Missions and Technologies at Microsoft, unveiled new advancements in Azure Quantum designed to expedite scientific discovery. The announcement highlighted three key developments: Azure Quantum Elements, Copilot in Azure Quantum, and Microsoft’s roadmap to a quantum supercomputer.
Azure Quantum Elements is a new feature that integrates high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence, and quantum computing to accelerate scientific discovery. It promises to reduce the time and costs associated with research and development, increase the search space for new materials, and speed up certain chemistry simulations significantly. The tool is currently in private preview, with early adopters already leveraging its capabilities to transform their research and development processes.
Copilot in Azure Quantum is another significant development. This feature allows scientists to use natural language to reason through complex chemistry and materials science problems. It can generate underlying calculations and simulations, query and visualize data, and provide guided answers to complicated concepts. Copilot also aids in learning about quantum computing and writing code for today’s quantum computers.
The third key development is Microsoft’s roadmap to a quantum supercomputer. According to Zander, the ultimate unlock will come when organizations can accurately design new chemicals and materials with a quantum supercomputer. Microsoft has made significant strides towards this goal, having achieved the first milestone towards a quantum supercomputer. The company has successfully created and controlled Majorana quasiparticles, marking a significant step towards engineering a new hardware-protected qubit.
Featured Image Credit: Microsoft
