Anima Anandkumar’s work may not control the weather, but it can predict it. The Caltech professor helped pioneer AI-powered techniques to model physical processes with lightning-fast speed—in some cases, more than a million times faster than prior methods. Her algorithms have since been used to forecast weather phenomena thousands of times faster than traditional methods, design novel medical devices and components for quantum computers, optimize a key step in computer chip manufacturing, conduct sustainable nuclear fusion simulations to one day safely harness their energy source, and much more.
In March, Anandkumar joined the United Nations Secretary-General's Scientific Advisory Board, helping to shape the U.N.'s scientific agenda and advising its leaders on AI. Her focus is on bringing balance and scientific grounding to conversations on how AI can benefit people across the world, particularly in the Global South, at a time when misinformation around the technology is rife.
She points, for example, to concerns that data centers will be used only for surveillance. “Yes, that is one possible future,” she tells TIME. “But if democracy is alive, we want to ensure they're used for other applications, like weather, climate, scientific discovery.”
Aug 27, 2026 · via time.com
Infleqtion supports U.S. leadership in space-based quantum sensing through its role in the Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder Mission Led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory LOUISVILLE, Colo. | August 25, 2026 – Infleqtion (NYSE: INFQ), a global leader in quantum computing and quantum sensing powered by neutral-atom technology, today announced NASA has awarded the company a $20 million follow-on contract to continue development of the Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder (QGGPf), a mission led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) that is designed to fly the world’s first space-based quantum gravity sensor. The award brings NASA’s investment in the programto $40 million and advances the mission into its next phase of hardware development and testing. “This follow-on award reflects the progress our team has made and marks an important step toward the mission’s next phase,” said Matt Kinsella, Chief Executive Officer of Infleqtion. “The path from quantum science to a system that can fly in space takes years of engineering, testing, and collaboration. Every milestone brings quantum sensing closer to enabling entirely new ways to observe our planet from orbit.” “There is an enormous amount of potential for quantum technology use cases in space. We are no longer testing the quantum technology itself, but ways we can use it in the space environment,” said Dana Anderson, Chief Science Officer at Infleqtion. “As a NASA-led mission with key contributions from U.S. industry, QGGPf is demonstrating how quantum gravity sensing can operate in low Earth orbit and establishing the technical foundation for future generations of space-based instruments.” The QGGPf mission is designed to demonstrate quantum sensor technologies that could transform how Earth’s surface gravity is measured from space. As a technology pathfinder, the mission is expected to help inform the design of future science-grade instruments, representing a major step forward in U.S. leadership in
Aug 27, 2026 · via infleqtion.com
Q-CTRL Achieves World’s First GPS-Free Quantum Gravimetric Navigation Demonstration in Maritime Field Trial SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – August 27, 2026 – Q-CTRL, the global leader in quantum infrastructure software, today announced a major milestone in real-world quantum sensing deployments. In a world-first field demonstration, the company successfully navigated a maritime vessel without GPS using a new form of software-ruggedized quantum gravimeter. Through a series of trials in the Coral Sea off the East Coast of Australia, Q-CTRL performed autonomous gravity mapping and GPS-free quantum-gravimetric navigation, achieving the key metric of one nautical mile positioning accuracy. This demonstration of Q-CTRL’s new maritime quantum navigation system comes as the race intensifies to develop secure capabilities for missions where GPS is unavailable or compromised. This year, electronic warfare took center stage as conflict in the Strait of Hormuz became a flashpoint for deliberate GPS jamming and spoofing, causing major disruption to maritime operations across the entire region. In Q1 of 2026 alone, approximately 978,000 GPS jamming events were recorded globally, with 98% concentrated in the Middle East, affecting more than 1,100 vessels. Ironstone Opal by Q-CTRL is a new generation of quantum-assured navigation systems that delivers GPS-like positioning by “seeing” the Earth’s unique geophysical signatures. This advanced quantum sensing-powered technology is designed to operate in all domains—air, land, and sea—and serves as a robust backup for when GPS is unavailable or impaired. It functions day or night, in all visibility conditions, and does not rely on transmitting or receiving any external radio signals, making it immune to jamming and spoofing attacks. Today’s report demonstrates a new form of quantum “GravNav” which uses a quantum sensor to continuously “see” the tiny and otherwise invisible hills and valleys in Earth’s gravity, allowing the system to position against gravity maps. It builds on the company’s existing “MagNav”
Aug 27, 2026 · via q-ctrl.com
AI gold rush draws crypto firms away from Bitcoin Companies that once filled warehouses with computers to earn Bitcoin - a process known as mining - are now using that computing power for AI. Bitcoin mining companies invested large sums on giant banks of powerful computers as the price of Bitcoin rocketed in recent years. But those mining companies have faced falling rewards since the value of the cryptocurrency has slumped from its peak in October 2025. Now many are pivoting to AI and signing deals with companies such as Anthropic - who are spending billions of dollars on the infrastructure needed to keep up in the AI race. Like AI systems, Bitcoin relies on vast networks of powerful computers housed in data centres. Because Bitcoin operates without a central authority, these computers verify transactions and are rewarded with newly-created digital coins. But the rewards have reduced and the value of coins has dropped since last year. One bitcoin was worth about $124,000 (£91,000) at its peak in October 2025, but has since fallen sharply. More recently, it has rallied to around $80,000 - meaning it is up almost 30% so far in August. But, for companies that have already made the change, even that may not be enough to get them to return to the crypto industry, because the switch of use - once made - is expensive to undo. Industry analysts say Bitcoin mining companies have been pivoting to AI because they have years of experience in finding cheap electricity and efficiently running large data centres. TerraWulf, Ionic Digital, Core Scientific, Iris Energy, Bitdeer, Riot Platforms and Hut 8 are just some of the companies increasingly diverting investment and infrastructure from bitcoin mining towards AI. Riot Platforms signed a $9bn, 20-year compute deal with Anthropic earlier this month.
Aug 26, 2026 · via bbc.com
IonQ Appoints Dr. Eric Ball and Timothy Baxter to Board of Directors Board Additions Support Next Phases of IonQ Growth COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Aug. 25, 2026 — IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), the world’s leading full-stack quantum platform and foundry, today announced the appointment of two new board members: technology finance expert Dr. Eric Ball, and former SkyWater Technology Chairman and Samsung North America CEO Timothy Baxter. Each brings accretive experience to support IonQ’s next phases of expansion. “We’re making the leap to rapid scalability in quantum computing manufacturing, in parallel with integrating all components of our unique quantum platform,” said IonQ Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi. “Our responsibilities as the leading quantum merchant supplier are significant, as are the advances we expect to make in quantum computing due to our pioneering vertical integration. Eric and Tim bring complementary insights and firsthand expertise to our Board and leadership team.” Dr. Ball has nearly 40 years in senior financial roles at public companies, among them AT&T, Cisco, and Flextronics, including 10 years as Senior Vice President and Treasurer at Oracle. There, he arranged $52 billion of financing and served on the M&A teams for over 100 acquisitions. The author of two books, with a PhD in Management Economics, Dr. Ball has also taught economics at three universities and is a member of multiple corporate and non-profit boards. Timothy Baxter was Chairman of the SkyWater Technology Board of Directors until the company’s recently completed acquisition by IonQ. With over 40 years of experience leading major technology companies, including senior management roles at AT&T, Sony, and Samsung, where he rose to CEO of Samsung, North America. He helped launch numerous next generation technologies including 5G, HDTV and Blu-ray and currently serves on several private and publicly traded boards. About IonQ IonQ, Inc. [NYSE:
Aug 26, 2026 · via ionq.com
UCLA Computer Scientists Jason Cong and Jens Palsberg to Co-Lead 2 NSF Quantum Computing Institutes The combined $75 million in grants aims to overcome critical barriers between today’s quantum systems and practical computing Courtesy of the National Science Foundation The NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes are taking on some of the hardest scientific hurdles in the global race to create powerful quantum-based technologies. UCLA Samueli Newsroom Two computer scientists from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have been selected as co-principal investigators on separate quantum computing institutes funded by the National Science Foundation’s Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes (QLCI). The five-year grants of $37.5 million each will support two research institutes aimed at overcoming fundamental barriers in quantum information science and accelerating the development of quantum technologies for practical applications. The two institutes are part of eight QLCI awards totaling more than $290 million announced today by the NSF to propel U.S. quantum science in the global race to create powerful quantum technologies. The investment is an expansion of the QLCI program created in 2020 following the passage of the National Quantum Initiative Act in 2018. Newly Established NSF Institute for Fault-Tolerant Quantum Systems, Architectures and Applications The institute for Fault-Tolerant Quantum Systems, Architectures and Applications (FTQSAA) is one of three newly formed institutes in the program led by Harvard University, with UCLA Samueli and MIT serving as co-leads. The multi-institutional research team will focus on developing quantum systems that can reliably perform useful computations despite the errors and noise that disrupt quantum devices. The researchers will integrate fault-tolerant design across quantum hardware, software, algorithms and applications to maximize quantum systems’ ability to solve previously intractable problems in fields ranging from drug and materials discovery to particle physics and cosmology. Jason Cong, a distinguished professor of computer science at UCLA Samueli
Aug 25, 2026 · via samueli.ucla.edu
- Agentic AI is automating cyberattacks at machine speed and widening the cyber blast radius - Harvest-now-decrypt-later campaigns make quantum computing an immediate national security threat - Join the agentic AI and quantum risk panel at the 2026 Intel Summit on Sept. 24 The cyber landscape is being upended by emerging threats driven by advanced technologies. Agentic artificial intelligence tools are automating cyberattacks, accelerating the time it takes to infiltrate systems and exfiltrate data at scale. Quantum computing is about to further complicate cybersecurity as it threatens to break traditional cryptography that has protected networks and systems for decades. The intelligence community has identified AI and quantum computing as the two defining technological challenges to national security in its Annual Threat Assessment, or ATA. Issued in March, the report identifies the biggest threats facing the United States. At the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Intel Summit on Sept. 24, agentic AI and quantum computing will be evaluated as cybersecurity and national security threats. Technology experts from industry will join the Agentic AI and Quantum Risk: The Blast Radius Problem in Classified Environments panel to understand the evolving threat landscape and identify strategies to protect the nation’s critical systems and data from AI- and quantum-enabled cyberattacks. Register here! How Has Agentic AI Been Used in Cyberattacks? Cyber threat actors associated with China and North Korea have already been observed utilizing AI for reconnaissance and vulnerability exploitation. Anthropic’s November 2025 disclosure that Claude Code, its AI coding assistant, was manipulated by a Chinese state-sponsored group to infiltrate targets, including financial institutions and government agencies, demonstrates the severity of the AI-powered cyberthreat. First Documented AI-Enabled Zero-Day Exploit In May, researchers from Google Threat Intelligence Group identified a zero-day exploit that was developed using AI. According to the team, the cybercrime group intended to use
Aug 25, 2026 · via executivebiz.com
Oak Ridge National Laboratory workshop brings together researchers and developers to address the software challenges of integrating quantum computers with high-performance computing systems. Researchers at the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have formed six technical working groups to begin developing key components of an open, vendor-neutral software stack for hybrid quantum and high-performance computing. The groups were established during the second annual Open Quantum-HPC Software Ecosystem (OpenQSE) workshop, held on the final day of ORNL's 2026 Quantum Computing User Forum. The initiative is focused on developing the software infrastructure needed to integrate quantum processing units with classical HPC systems. From discussion to implementation The workshop marked a shift for OpenQSE from identifying the challenges of quantum-HPC integration towards developing specific technical deliverables. The six working groups will focus on compilers, resource interfaces, system architecture, software architecture, application runtimes and control electronics. Participants were tasked with identifying priorities, defining responsibilities and establishing milestones for development over the coming year. A central objective is to create common interfaces and specifications that allow quantum and classical resources to work together without tying applications to a particular quantum hardware provider or software platform. Hybrid quantum-classical computing is expected to remain an important model for scientific applications as quantum processors will be used for specialised workloads alongside conventional CPUs, GPUs and supercomputers. However, integrating these different computing resources presents significant software challenges. Quantum processors have distinct requirements for job scheduling, compilation, data movement, control and feedback, whereas HPC systems rely on mature software environments to manage large-scale workloads. OpenQSE is intended to address this fragmentation through an open, modular framework that allows different components of the quantum-HPC stack to interoperate. The longer-term goal is to make it easier for researchers and developers to build applications that can operate across diverse quantum
Aug 25, 2026 · via scientific-computing.com
In October 2019, I wrote a Forbes article describing how the United States and China were locked in “the world’s most important technology race.” At that time, the situation was relatively straightforward. China had just launched its national quantum strategy aimed at achieving technological self-sufficiency. President Xi Jinping had invested billions into a vast quantum computing initiative with the expectation of achieving significant breakthroughs by 2030. The U.S. had already signed the National Quantum Initiative Act that authorized $1.2 billion in spending over five years. At the time, I didn’t believe that the level of funding was sufficient to match the Chinese commitments. In 2019, the U.S. had a lead in quantum computing primarily as a result of heavy investments made by IBM, Google and Microsoft. (Note: My firm, Moor Insights & Strategy, provides advisory and related services to many tech companies — including, from this article, Google, IBM and Microsoft. We have previously had paid business relationships with Atom Computing, D-Wave, GlobalFoundries, IonQ, Quantinuum and Rigetti Computing.) At that time, the only technology lead China had over the United States was in quantum communications. Scott Aaronson, a top theoretical computer scientist at the University of Texas, said that China held an edge in quantum communications simply because they chose to invest heavily in that area while the U.S. had opted to maintain its strong lead in quantum computation. His reasoning made sense. Google had just claimed quantum supremacy by solving a problem in 200 seconds that would take a classical computer thousands of years to solve — a quantum computation feat that China was not likely to match anytime soon. My chief concern in 2019 was that additional federal funding was needed because the quantum race would unfold over decades, not months, and therefore required a long-term financial commitment.
Aug 25, 2026 · via forbes.com
Agencies should be doing the analogous work now, for their own missions, regardless of where the hardware ends up. Federal agencies are building real momentum in quantum computing, and the scope of that effort is genuinely thoughtful. The Air Force Research Laboratory and the Naval Research Laboratory recently signed a cooperative agreement in 2023 to exchange technical expertise and collaborate on quantum computing capabilities for the Defense Department, one of several such efforts exploring how quantum-accelerated modeling and simulation can support aerospace and defense missions. The White House’s June executive order directs the secretaries of Commerce, Defense and Energy, along with the NASA administrator, to develop five-year plans for deploying quantum-enabled sensors and networks. The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative has moved more than a dozen companies into staged evaluations of whether a genuinely useful quantum computer can exist by 2033. By nearly every measure, the government is treating quantum as a serious, long-term priority worth building on. The opportunity now is to make sure this momentum translates into mission capability, not just experimentation. The Government Accountability Office offered a constructive data point on this earlier this year. In a report examining roughly $200 million a year in federal quantum computing spending across multiple agencies, GAO pointed to a chance for the National Quantum Initiative’s implementing strategy to more clearly assign roles and responsibilities, build out performance measures, and knit individual agency plans into a coherent whole. In other words, agencies have already done the hard part, running rigorous experiments. The next step is building the connective tissue that turns those experiments into acquisition-ready programs. That’s a solvable problem, and agencies are well-positioned to solve it, especially if they start defining mission-specific problems now rather than waiting for a single hardware milestone to arrive. Join us Oct.
Aug 25, 2026 · via federalnewsnetwork.com
$37.5M NSF award aims to define new quantum frontiers, take technology from lab to field A scientific quest to build more accurate clocks, faster computers and new sensors to detect the faintest signs of disease and disaster is getting a $37.5 million financial boost. The U.S. National Science Foundation, through its Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes, is investing in the next phase of CU Boulder and its partners’ work to advance quantum science research and engineering. “We’re really world leaders in terms of building the best quantum technology tools and applying them to meaningful, impactful scientific problems,” said physicist Jun Ye, a JILA fellow leading the quantum research center based at CU Boulder. “There are still a lot of unknowns in the universe, and only by building some of the most sensitive instruments can we get some clue of what is behind them.” Those instruments include the next generation of atomic clocks, the world’s most stable laser and sensitive biomedical sensors that can detect disease more quickly in human breath. Ye leads the NSF Quantum Systems through Entangled Science and Engineering (NSF Q-SEnSE) center. It launched at CU Boulder in 2020 with a $25 million award from NSF and has grown to include 39 researchers from 16 institutions. “This is another example of the innovative, impactful research happening at CU Boulder, building on more than 60 years of JILA, NIST and quantum science breakthroughs,” said CU Boulder Chancellor Justin Schwartz. "This funding will accelerate the development of transformative technologies, support the growth of Colorado’s thriving quantum ecosystem and further strengthen Boulder’s position as a global hub for quantum innovation in which CU Boulder continues to play a key role.” Quantum research led by CU Boulder is already helping develop tools that can measure molecules, atoms and other tiny things much more
Aug 25, 2026 · via colorado.edu
RIT part of NSF-funded Quantum Leap Challenge Institute Professor Ben Zwickl is co-PI on $37.5 million grant Rochester Institute of Technology is building its eminence in quantum research as part of a $37.5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) award for large-scale interdisciplinary research projects known as Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes. The goal of the project, led by Yale University, is to advance the science and engineering of practical quantum error by creating a community of physicists, engineers, computer scientists, and chemists who contribute to the realization of large-scale, error-corrected quantum hardware. Called the NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Physics and Engineering of Practical Quantum Error Correction (NSF PRACTIQAL), the grant is one of eight awarded to large-scale interdisciplinary research centers. Along with RIT, co-PIs come from Virginia Tech and University of California San Diego. RIT’s involvement will focus on education and workforce development, led by Ben Zwickl, professor of physics. Zwickl and his team will manage center-wide professional development for undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and faculty; manage exchange programs within the center; and conduct education research and lead curriculum development related to the quantum error correction and the societal benefits of quantum technology. “I’m excited to work with such an outstanding team of scientists and engineers at Yale, Virginia Tech, and elsewhere,” said Zwickl. “Our work at RIT will help take their advanced ideas about quantum error correction and make them accessible for a wide range of learners. We also want to shift the dialog around quantum education to include the people and communities impacted by the practical quantum technologies envisioned by PRACTIQAL. The QLCI will support the expansion of our minor in quantum information science and technology to include a new hands-on interdisciplinary quantum technology laboratory course, as well as provide support for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers.”
Aug 25, 2026 · via rit.edu
Japan’s first operational full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer, which packs approximately 50 qubits at launch and could eventually reach 500, has just been switched on. Called Shunkai, the system was designed by a research team led by Kenji Ohmori, PhD, a chemist and a renowned Japanese professor at the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), part of Japan’s National Institutes of Natural Sciences. The machine officially went live on August 24. Shunkai is powered by a quantum processing unit (QPU) supplied by Colorado-based quantum technology company Infleqtion. The company was also the only foreign quantum partner selected by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) for its Quantum Moonshot program. The program is a Japanese government effort aimed at developing fault-tolerant universal quantum computers by the year 2050. “This milestone marks a pivotal moment for Japan’s quantum ambitions as well as Infleqtion’s role in advancing production-ready quantum platforms at scale,” Pranav Gokhale, Infleqtion CTO, pointed out. Japan’s quantum ambitions According to Infleqtion, Shunkai will initially run with 50 qubits before expanding to around 500 as development progresses. Neutral-atom quantum computers use individual atoms as qubits, the basic units of quantum information. They can run at room temperature without large refrigeration systems. Also, the atoms can be trapped and manipulated with precisely controlled laser light. This allows scientists to connect different qubits and also tailor their layout to specific algorithms. More from Innovation See All Because neutral atoms can be arranged in large arrays while maintaining precise control over their quantum states, the technology is considered a promising route toward much larger quantum computers. It could make it easier for engineers to build computers with more qubits while preserving quantum information. Infleqtion shared that its QPU helped the Japanese team move from research and development toward an operational full-stack computing platform. “Our quantum
Aug 25, 2026 · via interestingengineering.com
IBM announced it has successfully joined and cooled down two cryogenic modules into a single environment. The new architecture is designed to scale into the modular, shared, and ultra-cold system required to link hundreds of quantum chips into a more powerful quantum computer capable of solving large problems. Its deployment is a milestone on IBM's path to delivering IBM Quantum Starling in 2029, which is expected to be the world's first fault-tolerant quantum computer and will integrate advances across error correction, processor design, decoding, and systems engineering. Combined, the first two operational modules stand more than 8 feet tall and 8 feet wide, and initial tests demonstrated they can jointly cool down to 4 Kelvin (the temperature of liquid helium) in under 5 days, reaching a final temperature of below 15 millikelvin shortly after. Each module’s vacuum enclosure offers up to 12 times more wiring space than the most widely used IBM quantum systems, enabling more chip-to-chip connections both within and between modules. IBM’s new box-shaped design allows modules to connect in a tight row and use this larger space to directly link quantum processors with IBM’s “L-coupler” technology. L-couplers connect separate quantum chips together to share information, communicate, and operate as part of a larger quantum computer. By 2027, IBM’s quantum roadmap plans to use L-couplers to link multiple processors into a larger quantum computer with at least 1,000 programmable qubits, which are qubits that can be directly used to perform computations. Towards this goal, IBM will install IBM Quantum Nighthawk processors into the cryogenic modules later this year to expand operational performance testing. At the time Starling is delivered, IBM plans for each cryogenic module to house thousands of qubits. IBM’s plans for Starling were introduced last year with a new error correction code that dramatically reduces the
Aug 25, 2026 · via portalerp.com
August 25, 2026 | News & Notices CVC Fund âShimadzu Future Innovation Fundâ Invests in OptQC, a Developer of Optical Quantum Computers Expected to Advance Next-Generation R&D Infrastructure for Drug Discovery and Materials Development Shimadzu Corporation has invested in OptQC Inc. (OptQC), a startup originating from The University of Tokyo, through its Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) fund, âShimadzu Future Innovation Fundâ (Shimadzu FIF). OptQC is developing optical quantum computers. Shimadzu has a long history of developing analytical and measuring instruments, including spectrophotometers, as well as laser light sources. Shimadzu has also accumulated expertise in photonics technologies, as demonstrated by the launch of the world's first strontium optical lattice clock, "Aetherclock OC020," in March 2025. This marks Shimadzu's first investment in the quantum technology statup. Quantum computers are next-generation information processing technologies that utilize the principles of quantum mechanics. They are expected to solve complex computational problems that would take conventional supercomputers an enormous amount of time, with potential applications in drug discovery, materials development, semiconductor research, and other fields. Various approaches to quantum computing, including superconducting, trapped-ion systems, and optical systems, are currently under development. However, no standard technology has yet been established, and global competition to develop practical quantum computers is intensifying. The Japanese government is also promoting the advancement of quantum technologies as a strategic priority. OptQC is developing optical quantum computers. Its technology is based on an optical quantum computing approach established by Professor Akira Furusawa and his research team at the Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. A key feature of this approach is that the system does not need to become significantly larger as the number of qubits increases. In addition, unlike superconducting quantum computers, which require operation at extremely low temperatures, optical quantum computers can operate at room temperature and atmospheric pressure,
Aug 25, 2026 · via shimadzu.com
How Quantum Computing Could Improve Generative AI: What a New Drug-Discovery Study Reveals Article Highlights A newly published, peer-reviewed study in Scientific Reports offers some of the clearest evidence yet that annealing quantum computers could meaningfully improve the outputs of generative AI models. - Conducted in collaboration between D-Wave and Shionogi & Co., Ltd.: the researchers used a D-Wave annealing quantum computer to improve how an AI model designs new drug candidate molecules. - The quantum-assisted model generated molecules that were more chemically valid and more “drug-like” than those produced by an equivalent classical-only AI model. - The implications of this research for AI are not limited to drug discovery: based on the results, annealing quantum computing could act as a general-purpose stochastic generator inside generative AI, sampling more effectively from the “in-between” spaces that a model hasn’t directly seen in training. These results show promising evidence that annealing quantum computing can act as a practical enhancement to AI today. By Mohsen Rahmani, Matthew Woolway, Vladimir Vargas-Calderón, William Kim, Kevin Chern, and Mohammad Amin A newly published, peer-reviewed study in Scientific Reports offers some of the clearest evidence yet that annealing quantum computers could meaningfully improve the outputs of generative AI models. The research, titled “Molecular design beyond training data with novel extended objective functionals of generative AI models driven by quantum annealing computer,” was conducted in collaboration between D-Wave and Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (“Shionogi”) (formerly the pharmaceutical division of Japan Tobacco). Together, we used a D-Wave™ annealing quantum computer to improve how an AI model designs new drug candidate molecules. The result: molecules that were more chemically valid and more “drug-like” than those produced by an equivalent classical-only AI model. The molecules generated by the quantum-assisted model even exceeded the quality of the very data the model was
Aug 25, 2026 · via dwavequantum.com
MCS researchers receive INCITE awards to accelerate scientific discovery MCS Menu Researchers in the Mathematics and Computer Science division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory will participate in three mission-critical projects on DOE leadership-class computers. The projects — in computer science, Earth sciences and engineering — have been awarded supercomputing time through DOE’s Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE) program. Computer Science Jeffrey Larson will join researchers from JPMorgan Chase in a new project titled “Evaluating the Performance of the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm” (QAOA). The researchers will develop numerical techniques to predict the performance of QAOA for arbitrarily large problems beyond those feasible with classical simulations. The project has received 40,000 node-hours on Argonne’s Polaris system and 200,000 node-hours on Argonne’s Aurora supercomputer to test the novel techniques. Aurora and Polaris are housed at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, a DOE Office of Science user facility. “Our aim is to be able to make comparisons with classical solvers and clarify requirements for quantum advantage — where a quantum computer can execute a computational task faster and more accurately than leading-class supercomputers,” Larson said. Earth Sciences Azamat Mametjanov will participate with colleagues from four national laboratories in a new project titled “Energy Exascale Earth System Model.” The project, led by DOE’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, will evaluate the atmospheric model SCREAM using real-world simulations across the United States. The team has been awarded 1 million node-hours on Aurora at Argonne and 600,000 node hours on Frontier at DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “Our goal is to achieve an unprecedented 200-meter resolution,” the team project states. Engineering Paul Fischer and Misun Min will continue work with their colleagues on the project “Advancing Fusion and Fission Energy through Exascale,” led by Pennsylvania State University.
Aug 24, 2026 · via anl.gov
5TB cloud storage and no monthly fees — only $170 through Aug. 25 TL;DR: Internxt is a private, encrypted cloud storage with a 5TB lifetime subscription on sale for $170 through August 25. Renting cloud storage means paying every month just to keep your files safe. The longer you keep a subscription running, the worse of a deal it becomes. If you want a smarter option, Internxt is a new cloud storage platform offering 5TB of cloud storage for a one-time fee, and it’s even on sale. Get an Internxt 5TB lifetime subscription for $169.97 (reg. $1,900) while you can. Before a file leaves your computer, Internxt scrambles it, so you’re the only one who can read it. Even Internxt doesn’t know what you’re uploading. Google Drive and Dropbox don’t even do that. On the way up, your files are split into encrypted pieces, so anyone who grabs one only gets a useless chunk. Internxt also uses post-quantum encryption, so even if quantum computers ever become something people just have, your files should still be safe. There’s also AES-256 encryption to protect against modern threats. You can access your files from anywhere with apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, plus a web version. You can also connect as many devices as you want, and each file can be as large as 10GB Internxt’s code is public on GitHub. That means anyone can audit how it works and make sure it holds up to the hype. The service is GDPR compliant, and they’ve even been audited by Securitum. TechRadar gave it four out of five stars. You don’t have to pay for cloud storage every month. Until Aug. 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT, get a 5TB Internxt Cloud Storage Lifetime Subscription for $169.97. StackSocial prices subject to change. Topics
Aug 24, 2026 · via mashable.com
HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Bin Talal will chair the board of Pasqal Arabia, a new commercial venture established by Pasqal and Eleven Ventures to deploy multiple quantum computing systems within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and across the broader MENA region. The announcement coincides with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s State Visit to France, signaling a strengthening of cooperation in quantum computing and artificial intelligence. “We believe that quantum computing is at a similar stage to where artificial intelligence was a few years ago, poised for significant change,” said Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Bin Talal, aiming to position the Kingdom as a regional hub for the developing technology and advance its Vision 2030 ambitions. Pasqal and Eleven Ventures Scale Quantum Computing in Saudi Arabia This initiative intends to position Saudi Arabia as a regional hub for quantum technology, directly supporting the nation’s Vision 2030 goals for advancement in artificial intelligence and computing. The joint venture will build local talent and expertise to develop quantum computing within the Kingdom, rather than simply accessing it from abroad. “The Kingdom has moved faster than most markets to turn advanced computing into national capability,” said Dr. Wasiq Bokhari, Chief Executive Officer of Pasqal. “We believe this joint venture places Pasqal’s quantum systems inside the Kingdom, designed to scale with the region’s ambition.” The venture plans to deploy systems in the Kingdom in the coming years, offering commercial access to quantum infrastructure and addressing growing regional demand for high-performance computing. Pasqal, founded in 2019, currently employs approximately 300 people and serves over 25 clients and partners including Saudi Aramco and LG Electronics, the company says. This time, the Kingdom and the region are not observing from a distance, but are taking the lead, and Pasqal is a partner that shares that ambition. Together, the
Aug 24, 2026 · via quantumzeitgeist.com
Infleqtion’s quantum processing unit advances Japan’s first operational full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer, reinforcing momentum toward scalable quantum systems. LOUISVILLE, Colo. | August 24, 2026 | Infleqtion (NYSE: INFQ), a global leader in quantum computing and quantum sensing powered by neutral-atom technology, has helped Japan reach a major quantum milestone, supporting a research team led by Professor Kenji Ohmori at the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), part of the National Institutes of Natural Sciences, in launching the country’s first operational neutral-atom full-stack quantum computer. Infleqtion was also the only foreign quantum partner selected by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) for its Quantum Moonshot program. Infleqtion contributed its quantum processing unit to the program, in collaboration with the Ohmori group at IMS, as one of the principal investigators of the Moonshot project led by Professor Ohmori, supporting the transition from research and development to an operational full-stack quantum computing platform. The system, referred to as “Shunkai”, is initially expected to operate with approximately 50 qubits, with plans to scale to around 500 qubits as development progresses. “This milestone marks a pivotal moment for Japan’s quantum ambitions as well as Infleqtion’s role in advancing production-ready quantum platforms at scale,” said Pranav Gokhale, Chief Technology Officer at Infleqtion. “Bringing a full-stack quantum system into production operation is a meaningful step toward fault-tolerant quantum computing that also serves as strong validation of neutral-atom architecture. Our quantum processing unit delivers the programmability, scalability and fidelity control that next-generation systems demand.” As part of the next phase of the Ohmori Moonshot project that has just started in April 2026, the IMS team will focus on improving system integration, stability, and scalability, with the goal of realizing a high-performance neutral-atom fault-tolerant quantum computer with up to 10,000 physical qubits and quantum error detection and correction capabilities.
Aug 24, 2026 · via infleqtion.com