IBM says key quantum computing algorithm can run on conventional AMD chips 

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SAN FRANCISCO :IBM said on Friday it is able to run a key quantum computing algorithm on commonly available chips from Advanced Micro Devices, in a step toward commercializing super-powerful computers.

The U.S. stalwart is racing to develop quantum computing against Microsoft and Alphabet's Google, which announced a breakthrough algorithm this week.

Quantum computers use what are known as qubits to tackle problems that would take conventional computers thousands of years to crack - problems such as how trillions of atoms react over time. However, qubits are prone to errors that can quickly overwhelm the useful computing work of a quantum chip.

In June, IBM said it had developed an algorithm to run alongside quantum chips that can address such errors. In a research paper seen by Reuters to be published Monday, IBM will show that it can run those algorithms in real time on a type of chip called a field programmable gate array manufactured by AMD.

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Jay Gambetta, the IBM vice president running the firm's quantum efforts, said the work showed that IBM's algorithm not only works in the real world, but can operate on a readily available AMD chip that is not "ridiculously expensive." 

"Implementing it, and showing that the implementation is actually 10 times faster than what is needed, is a big deal," Gambetta said in an interview.

IBM has a multi-year plan to build a quantum computer called Starling by 2029. Gambetta said the algorithm work disclosed Friday was completed a year ahead of schedule.

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