AWS reveals first quantum computing partners

A quantum computer
(Image credit: Graham Carlow/IBM)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced that it will allow all existing customers to access quantum computers through its cloud service. 

The quantum computers are early-stage models provided by three technology companies—D-Wave Systems Inc., IonQ Inc. and Rigetti Computing—rather than by Amazon itself.

Ahead of the launch, Amazon spent more than eight months testing out these quantum computing platforms on its cloud. Fidelity Investments, the financial behemoth, was one of a handful of companies given early access to the platforms. 

Adam Schouela, head of emerging technologies at the Fidelity Center for Emerging Technology, noted that running financial calculations over the cloud-based quantum computers was ‘orders of magnitude faster’ than running the same calculations on traditional computing hardware.

Next generation of computing

However, Amazon isn’t the only major cloud provider jumping into the quantum computing ring. Microsoft, which is the closest competitor to Amazon in the cloud services space with 18% of the market, has developed its own quantum computers rather than rely on smaller companies. IBM also offers quantum computing services, although it controls less than 2% of the burgeoning cloud market.

Quantum computing is widely seen as the next jump in processing technology. Traditional computers read electrical pulses that are interpreted as strings of ones and zeros. But quantum computers read qubits—particles like photons and electrons rather than electrical pulses—that have some special quantum properties. For example, qubits can be both one and zero at the same time, a phenomenon known as superposition.

These properties enable quantum computers to be vastly more powerful than even today’s most advanced supercomputers. Among other things, they can calculate all possible outcomes of a model simultaneously rather than running simulations in sequence. 

The development of quantum computing, along with increased accessibility to quantum computers through the cloud, is expected to have significant impacts on data security, artificial intelligence, financial modeling, and more.

Via Wall Street Journal

Michael Graw

Michael Graw is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Bellingham, Washington. His interests span a wide range from business technology to finance to creative media, with a focus on new technology and emerging trends. Michael's work has been published in TechRadar, Tom's Guide, Business Insider, Fast Company, Salon, and Harvard Business Review. 

Latest in Pro
A stressed employee looking over some graphs
UK workers are spending more than one day per week tracking down information
A man working on his laptop.
Keep your company’s sensitive data safe with Dashlane— now 25% off Business and Business Plus plans for a limited time
A person holding out their hand with a digital AI symbol.
How AI can help the UK’s scale-ups realize the growth agenda
An American flag flying outside the US Capitol building against a blue sky
Sean Plankey selected as CISA director by President Trump
A young man working on laptop in office writing notes
Ending the fix/break cycle of End User Computing support
OpenAI
OpenAI wants to help your business build its next generation of AI agents
Latest in News
Garmin Instinct 3 next to the Apple Watch Ultra 2
New figures claim the smartwatch market just shrunk for the first time ever, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is to blame
Hitman: World of Assassination on PSVR 2.
Hitman: World of Assassination hits PSVR 2 soon, finally giving you a reason to dust off your headset
A stressed employee looking over some graphs
UK workers are spending more than one day per week tracking down information
Vision Pro Metallica
Apple Vision Pro goes off to never never land with Metallica concert footage
Mufasa is joined by another lion, a monkey and a bird in this promotional image
Mufasa: The Lion King prowls onto Disney+ as it finally gets a streaming release date
An American flag flying outside the US Capitol building against a blue sky
Sean Plankey selected as CISA director by President Trump