Posted On: Jun 2, 2022
Amazon Braket, the quantum computing service from AWS, adds support for Borealis, a new photonic quantum processing unit (QPU) from Xanadu. The Borealis device is the first publicly available quantum computer that is claimed to have achieved quantum advantage: the technical milestone when a quantum computer outperforms the world’s fastest supercomputers on a well-defined task, in a peer-reviewed study published in the journal of Nature. Until now, none of the devices that have been claimed to demonstrate quantum advantage have been accessible to the public, but for the first time, customers can test a quantum advantage claim for themselves on Amazon Braket while also exploring potential applications for this technology.
One of the limiting factors slowing down research in quantum computing today is access to diverse quantum hardware. With this launch, Amazon Braket expands the hardware available on the service to include a photonic quantum computer, in addition to the existing superconducting, ion trap, and quantum annealing-based quantum hardware. The Borealis device is designed to support continuous-variable (CV) quantum computing, a paradigm of quantum computing that uses continuous quantum states known as qumodes, instead of discrete two-level systems (often called qubits). The 216-qumode Borealis device is not a universal quantum computer, capable of arbitrary computations, but rather implements a specific protocol known as Gaussian Boson Sampling (GBS). With this launch, researchers anywhere can access and experiment with a state-of-the-art CV device with the same familiar pay-as-you-go pricing model as other devices on Amazon Braket.
You can access the Xanadu device from the US East (N. Virginia) region. Academic researchers interested in testing the quantum advantage claim or exploring applications of GBS can apply for research credits through the AWS Cloud Credits for Research program. To get started with the new Xanadu processor, please see the following resources:
Amazon Braket documentation
Amazon Braket Console
Amazon Braket Pricing
Example notebook