New Boston-Based Research Center to Advance Quantum Computing with AI
- By John K. Waters
- 03/21/25
NVIDIA is establishing a research hub dedicated to advancing quantum computing through artificial intelligence (AI) and accelerated computing technologies.
The Boston-based NVIDIA Accelerated Quantum Research Center (NVAQC) will integrate quantum hardware with AI supercomputers, a concept known as accelerated quantum supercomputing, to address some of the most pressing challenges in the field. These include mitigating qubit noise and developing practical applications for quantum processors.
"Quantum computing will augment AI supercomputers to tackle some of the world's most important problems, from drug discovery to materials development," NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said in a statement. "The NVIDIA Accelerated Quantum Research Center is where breakthroughs will be made to create large-scale, useful, accelerated quantum supercomputers."
The NVAQC will partner with leading quantum computing firms, including Quantinuum, Quantum Machines, and QuEra Computing. Researchers from institutions such as the Harvard Quantum Initiative in Science and Engineering (HQI) and the Engineering Quantum Systems Group (EQuS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will also collaborate at the center.
"The NVAQC is a very special addition to the unique Boston area quantum ecosystem, including world-leading university groups and startup companies," said Mikhail Lukin, Joshua and Beth Friedman University Professor at Harvard and a co-director of HQI, in a statement. "The accelerated quantum and classical computing technologies NVIDIA is bringing together has the potential to advance the research in areas ranging from quantum error correction to applications of quantum computing systems, accelerating quantum computing research and pulling useful quantum computing closer to reality."
MIT's EQuS group, a member of the MIT Center for Quantum Engineering, will use NVAQC resources to explore techniques such as quantum error correction, a key challenge in quantum computing.
"The NVIDIA Accelerated Quantum Research Center will provide EQuS group researchers with unprecedented access to the technologies and expertise needed to solve the challenges of useful quantum computing," said William Oliver, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and of physics, leader of the EQuS group and director of the MIT Center for Quantum Engineering. "We anticipate the future will also include other members of the Center for Quantum Engineering at MIT. Integrating the NVIDIA accelerated computing platform with qubits will help tackle core challenges like quantum error correction, hybrid application development and quantum device characterization."
The NVAQC will leverage NVIDIA's latest GB200 NVL72 rack-scale systems, designed to enable high-performance quantum simulations and optimize control algorithms crucial for quantum error correction. The facility will also use NVIDIA's CUDA-Q quantum development platform to integrate GPU and QPU hardware, facilitating the development of hybrid quantum computing applications.
Operations at the NVAQC are set to begin later this year.
About the Author
John K. Waters is the editor in chief of a number of Converge360.com sites, with a focus on high-end development, AI and future tech. He's been writing about cutting-edge technologies and culture of Silicon Valley for more than two decades, and he's written more than a dozen books. He also co-scripted the documentary film Silicon Valley: A 100 Year Renaissance, which aired on PBS. He can be reached at [email protected].