China's 176-qubit quantum computing platform goes online

HEFEI - A 176-qubit quantum computing platform named Zuchongzhi went online for global users Wednesday night, which is expected to push forward the development of quantum computing hardware and its ecosystem, according to the Center for Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Zhu Xiaobo, chief engineer of the project and professor at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), said that the research team improved the 66-qubit chip of Zuchonghi-2 by adding control interfaces of 110 coupled qubits, allowing users to manipulate 176 quantum bits.

Zuchongzhi 2 is a 66-qubit programmable quantum computing system made in 2021, which can perform large-scale random quantum circuits sampling about 10 million times faster than the fastest supercomputer at that time.

Meanwhile, the platform aims to reach the advanced global level in key design indicators, such as connectivity, fidelity, and interference time, added Zhu.

Peng Chengzhi, executive vice-director of the project and chairman of QuantumCTek Co Ltd, told reporters that the platform is open to global users, and the public can experience simple quantum computing programming and image experiments. Industry users can explore new applications by remote access to quantum computers.

Peng said the platform welcomes more and more users to use and experience quantum computing, which can drive forward the whole field.

Peng added that they plan to connect several high-performance quantum computers to the platform in the future to keep it backed up and updated at a world-class level.