D-Wave today announced the launch of Leap 2, the latest version of its quantum cloud service that gives developers real-time access to its hardware quantum systems.
As the company notes, Leap 2 was built with the feedback of thousands of developers in mind who used the previous generation of the service since it launched 18 months ago.
At the core of Leap 2 is D-Wave’s new hybrid solver that can handle complex problems with up to 10,000 variables. As a hybrid system, D-Wave uses both classical and quantum hardware to solve these problems.
D-Wave, of course, uses a very different kind of quantum hardware from other players in this market. With its focus on quantum annealing, the company is able to build machines with thousands of qubits without having to worry about noise issues, though this also somewhat restricts what kind of problems users can solve with these machines.
With Leap 2, D-Wave is also launching a new IDE for its hybrid system. With this, developers get a pre-configured tool for building the software to run on the platform, including the company’s latest Ocean SDK and tools.
“With Leap, we opened the door to real-time quantum access. With Leap 2, we’re giving developers and businesses the key to business applications. By delivering a hybrid offering, we’re removing many of the barriers related to complexity and problem size,” said Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave, in today’s announcement. “Developers and enterprise leaders need the tools and support to turn their ideas and innovations into quantum applications that have a real impact on their business. You can’t capture new revenue or solve the most difficult problems facing your industry if you don’t have the ability to quickly ideate, build, and deploy quantum applications. Leap 2 bridges that gap for the first time.”
For now, Leap 2 makes use of D-Wave’s 2000Q quantum computers. Once they become available, Leap 2 will also offer access to the company’s more powerful Advantage systems.