Rigetti Computing, a pioneer in full-stack quantum computing, announced today it is launching the world’s first multi-chip quantum processor. The processor incorporates a proprietary modular architecture that accelerates the path to commercialization and solves key scaling challenges toward fault-tolerant quantum computers. Rigetti expects to make an 80-qubit system powered by the breakthrough multi-chip technology available on its Quantum Cloud Services platform later this year.
“We’ve developed a fundamentally new approach to scaling quantum computers,” says Chad Rigetti, founder and CEO of Rigetti Computing. “Our proprietary innovations in chip design and manufacturing have unlocked what we believe is the fastest path to building the systems needed to run practical applications and error correction.”
Scaling quantum computers comes with inherent challenges. As chips increase in size, there is a higher likelihood of failure and lower manufacturing yield, making it increasingly difficult to produce high-quality devices. Rigetti has eliminated these roadblocks by developing the technology to connect multiple identical dies into a large-scale quantum processor. This modular approach exponentially reduces manufacturing complexity and allows for accelerated, predictable scaling.
“Scalability is a central objective across the entire quantum computing industry. Rigetti is the first to demonstrate an elegant, effective solution to this major technical challenge,” said Marko Lončar, a Harvard professor of electrical engineering working on quantum hardware, who is familiar with the company’s work.
The company’s multi-chip approach enables future systems to scale in multiplicative ways. Next-generation architectures currently in development at Rigetti include individual chips with more qubits, as well as advanced technologies to help connect more of these chips into larger processors. Rigetti manufactures all of its chips at its California-based captive quantum foundry.
“There is a race to get from the tens of qubits that devices have today, to the thousands of qubits that future systems will require to solve real-world problems,” says Amir Safavi-Naeini, assistant professor of applied physics at Stanford. “Rigetti’s modular approach demonstrates a very promising way of approaching these scales.”
