Nvidia hasn’t developed its own quantum computer, but CEO Jensen Huang is betting the company will play a key role in the technology’s future. In his keynote address at Nvidia’s Global Technology Conference (GTC) in Washington, D.C. , on Tuesday, Huang announced NVQLink , an interconnect technology that connects quantum processors to the AI supercomputers they need to function effectively.
He said: “NVQLink is the key to connecting quantum and classical supercomputers.” Quantum processors represent a completely new way of computing, using the principles of quantum physics to solve problems that current classical computers cannot solve.
Their applications are vast, from scientific discovery to finance. However, to deliver meaningful results for businesses and researchers, they must be integrated with high-performance classical computers, which perform calculations they cannot complete and correct natural errors in their responses, a process known as error correction.
Tim Costa, general manager of Industrial and Quantum Engineering at NVIDIA, said there is general industry consensus on the need for this hybrid infrastructure involving quantum processors (QPUs) and AI chips like NVIDIA GPUs, in part because performing comprehensive error correction requires AI.
Costa said that some companies have already attempted to integrate quantum processors with AI supercomputers, but these technologies have failed to deliver the speed and scalability needed for rapid and scalable error correction. NVIDIA claims its new interconnect technology is the first solution to deliver the speed and scalability needed to realize the true promise of large-scale quantum computing.
To this end, NVIDIA is collaborating with over a dozen different quantum companies, including IonQ, Quantumuum, and Infleqtion, as well as several national laboratories, including Sandia National Laboratories, Oak Ridge National Laboratory , and Fermi Laboratory . This interconnect technology is based on an open architecture and is suitable for different quantum modes , including trapped ions, superconductors, and photons. Costa said this openness is crucial, meaning national laboratories will now be able to develop supercomputers to utilize quantum capabilities as soon as they become available.
Costa said that in the future , “every supercomputer will use quantum processors to expand the range of problems it can process, and every quantum processor will rely on supercomputers to function properly.” When will we see quantum technologies generate significant commercial value? Nvidia’s Costa said any answer he could give would be wrong.
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