Nvidia introduces NVQLink: an architecture designed to integrate classic supercomputers and quantum processors. Nvidia hopes to seamlessly convert its GPU expertise into a seat at the quantum table.
Nvidia is presenting NVQLink at the semi-annual GTC conference in Washington. This is a new system architecture that directly connects GPUs to quantum processors. The technology should make it possible to build hybrid supercomputers that combine the computing power of both systems.
Quantum computers work with qubits, which are sensitive to errors and therefore require precise error correction and calibration. These control algorithms can run on classic supercomputers that are connected to the quantum hardware with low latency and high bandwidth. NVQLink provides that required connection.
CUDA-Q
According to Nvidia, NVQLink is an open platform that connects various quantum technologies to existing GPU supercomputers. The system uses the existing CUDA-Q software environment, allowing researchers to build hybrid applications that combine CPUs, GPUs, and quantum processors.
Nvidia was initially skeptical about the future of quantum computers, but the company changed its tune in March of this year. At that time, Nvidia announced its own research center to work on a link between quantum systems and its own GPUs. The CUDA-Q development environment has also been in the works for some time.
Ecosystem
Nvidia has meanwhile achieved a stock market value of more than five trillion dollars. Whether that value is inflated or not, Nvidia’s dominance in the GPU accelerator market is paying off. CEO Jensen Huang is well aware that the powerful accelerators are only part of the explanation for the success. Today, competitors such as AMD are also building capable chips.
However, Nvidia has the ecosystem under control with the CUDA software stack, which is considered the standard for developers. The company is now throwing its weight behind the development of quantum systems, hoping to once again play a defining role from the start.
The development of NVQLink took place in close collaboration with, among others, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermilab, MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In total, nine US national laboratories are participating, together with seventeen quantum hardware builders and five suppliers of operating systems for quantum computers. This immediately gives the solution a relatively broad base of support.