Microsoft recently announced a new Azure cloud service offering called Azure Quantum. Azure Quantum is a set of quantum services, quantum hardware and servers, SQK, and pre-built quantum solutions. All runs and managed in Azure. Azure Quantum allows software developers to configure quantum computers in Azure cloud and start building quantum apps. Partnerships with quantum hardware providers Honeywell, IonQ, or QCI will enable developers to use existing Microsoft products — like Visual Studio or the Quantum Development Kit — along with quantum computers.
The key features of Azure Quantum include:
- Microsoft’s Quantum Development Kit (QDK) – set of tools, services, and language that allows developers to start building quantum software
- Q#, a programming language for expressing quantum algorithms, which integrates well with Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code
- Scaling, security and support inherited from Microsoft Azure platform
- Prebuild algorithms
- Quantum simulators and resource estimation tools
- Honeywell, IonQ and QCI hardware that implements a quantum processor
- 1QBit software that connects the OpenQEMIST (Quantum-Enabled Molecular ab Initio Simulation Toolkit) platform to the QDK
Microsoft has also announced a new Azure stack for quantum computing. Azure Quantum stack is a full-stack, open cloud ecosystem that empowers quantum solution developers, integrators, and solution providers with tools, languages, and solutions for their quantum needs. Azure Quantum stack is a set of quantum hardware and servers, quantum software and solutions.