France's CEA, Alice & Bob partner on quantum-supercomputing software

By Leo Marchandon

Sept ‌17 (Reuters) - Quantum ​computing ​startup Alice & Bob and France's state Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) announced a ‌collaboration on Thursday to develop software ⁠for using quantum computers alongside classical supercomputers, initially ‌to explore applications in ‌materials physics.

They will seek to improve the Qaptiva software developed by state-owned supercomputer maker ​Bull to compete with Nvidia's CUDA-Q, in an effort to prevent the ⁠software bottleneck that CUDA has created in AI, executives at both ​entities told Reuters.

CEA, a research centre with an annual budget of nearly €6 ​billion ($6.9 billion) notably overseeing ‌France's nuclear deterrent, said the programme aimed to boost the domestic ⁠quantum industry by becoming an early customer for French startups and granting them access to ⁠its computing facilities.

The aim is to link conventional ​supercomputers and quantum processors, assigning the quantum machine only the parts of a problem for which it ‌may eventually offer an advantage.

CEA has already installed quantum computers from French ‌companies Quandela and Pasqal alongside its classical ⁠supercomputer and will ‌add Alice & Bob's ​in 2027.

($1 = 0.8714 euros)

(Reporting by Leo Marchandon in Gdansk, editing by Milla ‌Nissi-Prussak)

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