2022年9月13日

Yuval沼泽完整的供应商是量子计算提供计算硬件和软件的公司。使用一个集成提供的潜在优势,在某种程度上,证明一些合并和收购,比如Quantinuum(结合霍尼韦尔的硬件和CQC的软件)和Pasqal(与Qu&Co合并的硬件供应商,一家软件公司)。完整的方法的支持者认为,硬件和软件之间的紧密集成团队可以导致更好的量子软件。例如,内部软件团队能够充分利用独特的硬件能力如Quantinuum的在线测量或ColdQuanta盖茨的全球阶段。硬件团队可能更开放讨论已知问题和硬件的局限性,共同设计方法来绕过他们。此外,俘虏软件团队可能协助指定新一代硬件平台的要求自软件团队知道他们需要的功能。在这些讨论苹果不可避免地提到。不是因为苹果制造量子计算机-他们不但是因为软件/硬件的紧密集成产生了优越的用户体验为用户的iPhone,苹果,和其他苹果产品。一些分析人士,另一方面,可以考虑一个完整的公司缺乏关注。它可能很难完全基金硬件和软件程序。 Software innovations could come from dozens of vendors outside the full-stack company, and tying the software to the hardware might discourage these outside vendors from collaborating with the company. And when the subject of Apple comes up, these same analysts would be glad to point out that it took Apple 30 years to reach this point and that, unlike some of the current quantum technologies, there was never a concern that silicon-based CPUs just won’t work. Shareholders and analysts aside, what should customers prefer? For customers that need an immediate solution and are willing to live with the severe limitations of today’s computers, a full-stack solution may be attractive. It’s a single point of contact, with little or no need for integration testing. But in my opinion, there are stronger arguments for “best of breed” components that do not necessarily come from the same vendor. Why is that the case? It is entirely unclear today which technology, not to mention which vendor, will win the quantum race. Will it be superconducting qubits? Trapped ions? Optical qubits? The “best” quantum computer changes every other month, and a model that is best for one application might not be best for another. In my experience, customers are interested in “hardware portability,” in the ability to quickly move software from one platform to another. Customers prefer to benchmark their solutions on different hardware platforms, looking at the ability to fit the problem onto each platform, the accuracy of the result, and other parameters. Furthermore, one could make the case that – even today – there are too many hardware companies and that some of them will not be around in a few years, whether because they could not secure enough funding, because they were bought out, or because they bet on the wrong technology. Choosing a full-stack solution from a full-stack vendor may be the easy choice, but I believe that hedging the bet might be a better strategy in many situations. Yuval Boger is a quantum computing executive. Known as the original “Qubit Guy,” he most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer for Classiq. September 12, 2022