A full-stack software environment for superconducting qubits

As in many other industrial computing sectors, there is an increasing trend for users to care when tasks are run, with a focus on accuracy and execution time, but no burden relating to how the task is performed. As Quantum computing is increasingly exploited for industrial problems, users who care how tasks are executed, stage by stage, will become increasingly niche. As a full hardware stack QCaaS provider, a key piece of our offering is to make the quantum hardware and instructions accessible. The QCaaS abstraction provides an exciting model for our purposes, with the potential to scale and improve services continuously with little or no interruption to clients. 

While we endeavour to have a high-level service working on quantum programs, accessible APIs and secure and redundant operations, this is not the whole picture. Beneath the surface, we have a modular design of systems, test infrastructure, and tooling. The software stack itself is multidisciplinary, and building this out is a core part of our business. Our outer layers require workflow submission and management and are predominately cloud-based. Our software pipeline centres around compilers, built to make the best use of our in-house controls systems and quantum hardware. Software development is not just a consideration for program execution, it is also key to our R&D process.

The execution of user programs is not the only area where software development is key, and this talk will explore the interesting and challenging field of software development for the construction and operation of a quantum computer.