Quantum computers are aimed to be the replacement, if not alternative, to the traditional and classic binary computing. But at this current moment, they're impractical and expensive.
What's more, those computers which exploit the logic-defying principles of quantum physics, need a whole lot of accommodations, before they can even work.
They're also less powerful than the usual computers, making them not reliable for usual computing other than research.
There are a number of companies, including IBM and Google, that work with AI and develop quantum computing systems. But none of them had really tested machine learning using quantum computing
Rigetti Computing, a quantum computer startup based in Berkeley, California, used one of its prototype quantum chips, which is a superconducting device cooled using liquid helium to a fraction of a degree from absolute zero. Using it, the company ran clustering algorithm, a machine-learning technique used to organize data into similar groups.
Will Zeng, head of software and applications at Rigetti, said that the work represents a key step toward building a quantum machine. "This is a new path toward practical applications for quantum computers," he said "Clustering is a really fundamental and foundational mathematical problem. No one has ever shown you can do this."
The company is also making the new quantum computer, which can handle 19 quantum bits, or qubits.
Both quantum computers and AI are sharing exponential growth. And with quantum computers using qubits having the potential to perform calculations far superior than traditional computers using bits, they could have a big impact AI.
Initially, Rigetti is an underdog if compared to IBM, Google, Intel, Microsoft, as well as some well-funded startups that are racing to build exotic machines. D-Wave has sold a chip with more than a thousand qubits to clients including Lockheed Martin. What's more, Rigetti’s initial research and algorithms aren’t of any practical use.
But it's regarded as an effort to develop practical quantum computers.
What the company is doing, is making sure that once quantum computers surpass the capabilities of supercomputers, humans will understand the methods to create instructions and understanding the amount of information the computers produce. And AI here can help.
Rigetti focuses on quantum computing. And with it using quantum computing on AI, the company is taking both fields into uncharted territory.
