Press Release

Paris, September 14, 2022 – Today, PASQAL, the leader in neutral atom quantum computing, and the Institut d’Optique, unveiled a new setup that enables the operation of 324-atom quantum processors. This achievement is validated by the scientific community in a paper published in Physical Review A and confirms that PASQAL is approaching the industrial scale expected by its customers [1].

By confirming its ability to scale up to 300 trapped atoms, PASQAL is in line with its roadmap to offer 1000 qubit quantum processors and the associated industrial quantum advantage by 2024. PASQAL thus confirms its ambition to combine a state-of-the-art quantum processor with algorithms designed to enhance its capabilities with the aim of delivering the best performance to its end users.

Since its creation in 2019, PASQAL has capitalized on decades of research in optics allowing it to be the first company to achieve this breakthrough. Published in Physical Review A, the paper “In-situ equalization of single-atom loading in large-scale optical tweezers arrays” outlines PASQAL’s approach to improving the systems underlying the control of its quantum processor atoms.

Neutral atoms have already shown their potential for applications, fostering scientific discoveries (Nature 2021 [2]; arxiv 2022 [3]). Due to their room temperature operation and natural properties, neutral atoms are known to be a technology with high scaling potential for quantum processors. However, to the company’s knowledge, this is the first realization that clearly demonstrates this potential, before any other.

PASQAL is therefore exploiting this technology for industrial applications. For example, the company has developed a Quantum Machine Learning algorithm applicable to smart grids. In the long run, it will allow to improve the efficiency of electricity distribution, avoiding at the same time the recourse to heavy hardware developments which would offer a less fast and uncertain gain.

“We are proud to demonstrate once again the extraordinary potential of neutral atoms quantum processors. The validation by our scientific peers certifies our roadmap towards a quantum processor delivering an industrial quantum advantage to our customers by 2024” said Georges-Olivier Reymond, President of PASQAL.

[1] https://journals.aps.org/pra/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevA.106.022611 & the arXiv version https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.06500

[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03585-1

[2] https://arxiv.org/search/quant-ph?searchtype=author&query=Henriet%2C+L

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