IonQ, a global provider of integrated quantum solutions across computing, networking, sensing, and security, has announced that it will deploy its Superion 256 system at the NVIDIA Accelerated Quantum Research Center (NVAQC). It will be the first on-premise quantum computing deployment at the facility, and the installation is scheduled for next year.
In a press release, IonQ said that the joint research program will focus on hybrid software development and large-scale system prototyping, generating open results and a guide for future AI use cases and quantum-GPU co-design.
It further said that as part of the partnership, the Superion 256 system installed at the NVAQC will be directly linked with an NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 system via NVIDIA NVQLink, with workloads orchestrated by the open NVIDIA CUDA-Q platform. The NVAQC is designed to address the fundamental challenges of scaling quantum processors into a new class of accelerated quantum supercomputers. Connecting IonQ’s full-stack quantum systems directly with NVIDIA AI infrastructure aims to help drive the new breakthroughs needed to turn qubits into useful, large-scale quantum supercomputers capable of solving the world’s hardest problems.
“Our Superion quantum computing platform is robust and research-center ready,” said Niccolo de Masi, Chairman and CEO, IonQ. “Our roadmap to 10,000 qubits and full fault tolerance is accelerating through vertical integration of our SkyWater CMOS foundry. We are excited by the possibilities our groundbreaking partnership with Nvidia will yield.”
Earlier this month, the companies published joint research with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee. It introduced a framework combining generative AI with distributed quantum algorithms to solve complex combinatorial optimization challenges. That research ran on the NVIDIA CUDA-Q platform.
“Every supercomputer will become a quantum supercomputer,” said Timothy Costa, VP & GM, Quantum, Nvidia. “As the first quantum processor to sit alongside the NVAQC’s GB200 NVL72 system, IonQ’s Superion 256 will help make breakthroughs allowing the global ecosystem to integrate QPUs with AI infrastructure, build using open models and open-source software, and advance toward scientifically useful quantum supercomputers.”
Alongside quantum-GPU integration, joint research is expected to target quantum algorithms portfolio optimization and risk modeling in financial services; materials science; and computational chemistry for drug discovery. These types of complex use cases will benefit from research conducted using the Superion 256 system.