Rigetti Announces New Cloud Services Platform, New Partnerships, and a $1 Million Quantum Advanta...

In a continued evolution of their quantum computing platform, Rigetti has announced a new version which they call Quantum Computing Services (QCS).  One of the goals of QCS is to capitalize on the hybrid classical-quantum algorithms that will be important for the NISQ class of machines.  These algorithms, like VQE and QAOA, rely on performing calculations iteratively between the classical and quantum portions of the algorithm and then handing off the intermediate results to the other side. QCS enhances this approach by providing each user with their own Quantum Machine Image that will be capable of running the classical portion on the integrated QCS system at Rigetti.  Previously, a user would need to run the classical portion on their own local system and then transfer the intermediate results over the internet to the quantum system on the cloud and vice-versa.  This will significantly improve the time to achieve a final result since it eliminates the internet transfer delays.