Build And Simulate Quantum Software Applications With Rigetti Forest 1.0
Rigetti Computing is a full-stack quantum computing company. They build hardware and software with fundamentally new integrated circuits that store and process quantum information.
Accordingly, this Silicon Valley company is providing solutions for existing problems that traditional computers can not solve. These problems include the ability to provide molecular simulation showing all interactions and to accurately predict next week’s weather.
Thus, Rigetti is using quantum mechanics for computation. Adding one quantum bit (qubit) can double the performance. Below is a table mapping the computation power of qubits with classical memories.
Rigetti Computing recently unveiled its Fab-1 facility. A facility which will enable its engineers to rapidly build new generations of quantum computing hardware based on quantum bits, or qubits. In fact, the facility can spit out entirely new designs for 3D-integrated quantum circuits within about two weeks—much faster than the months usually required for academic research teams to design and build new quantum computing chips. It’s not so much a quantum computing chip factory as it is a rapid prototyping facility for experimental designs.
Software is also included
It has also announced its Forest 1.0 service that enables developers to begin writing quantum software applications and simulating them on a 30-qubit quantum virtual machine. Forest 1.0 is based on Quil—a custom instruction language for hybrid quantum/classical computing—and open-source python tools intended for building and running Quil programs.
“Developing quantum computing software is one of the most fascinating and challenging emerging fields of engineering. Today, that field is at the foundational stage, where learning and discovery are at a premium. Our full-stack strategy allows us to run faster, more tightly coupled iteration cycles between hardware, software, and applications.” – Chad Rigetti, Founder & CEO
More details about this API are available on Forest 1.0 official page and this blog. Also watch this workshop video by Rigetti: