Connecting the “who’s who” in quantum computing software to their end-users

Quantum computing is becoming a reality and, with recent accomplishments, software for this promising technology is becoming key for successful utilization. Numerous players introduce new software solutions frequently. For the second time, in October 2024, the Munich Quantum Software Forum brought the “who’s who” in quantum computing software together for a two-days exchange meeting. This page provides a summary of the event.

For a summary of the 2023-edition of the MQSF, please check out the following pages:

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Talks, Software Pitches, and Quick Opinions

To foster interaction and exchange, the event was planned and executed as a physical event. But due to the huge interest (and the fact that, due to space restrictions, we couldn’t provide everyone with a guaranteed spot), we also tried to record all presentations. While the quality might not always be perfect (and there have been some hiccups), this allows those who couldn’t attend to check out the given presentations (and, of course, all attendees to re-watch them). In addition to the videos, we also provide the presentation slides as well as a tag cloud created right after the talks by the audience. To access all that, click on one of the following links or scroll down.

» Bettina Heim: Quantum Application Development for Multi-Processor Systems using CUDA-Q

» Josh Izaac: Escaping Python (via Python!) for Optimum Performance with PennyLane and Catalyst

» Andre Luckow: Quantum Computing in the Automotive Industry: Exploring Applications and Benchmarks

» Yehuda Naveh: Creativity and Automation in Quantum Algorithms

» Blake Johnson: Assessing the Performance of Quantum SDKs

» Lukas Burgholzer: Munich Quantum Software: From Basic Research to Practice

» Andre Carvalho: Make Quantum Computing Useful with Performance-Enhancing Infrastructure Software

» Max Häberlein: IQM Resonance and the Role of Cloud in the Quantum Market

» Adrian Vetter: Taming Atoms with Code: Software Challenges in Building Neutral Atom Quantum Computers

» Fabio Baruffa: Intel® Quantum SDK: A Complete Quantum Computing Stack in Simulation

» Aleks Kissinger: Picturing Quantum Software

» Max Halbich and Pallavi Bhardwaj: Quantum for Enterprise Adoption

» Austin Fowler: Programming a Quantum Computer using SketchUp

» Software Pitch Presentations

» Quick Opinions Exchange Sessions

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Opening

The event was opened by Robert Wille.

Biography:
Robert Wille is a Full and Distinguished Professor at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, and Chief Scientific Officer at the Software Competence Center Hagenberg, Austria (a technology transfer company with 100 employees). His passion for Computer Science took him into the lecture halls of various universities. In the research lab, he is reaching out to explore how future computers may work and shall be designed. This frequently let him cross disciplines and engage in topics including Electrical Engineering, Physics, Biology, and more.

Slides:
Click here to download (2.9 MB)

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Bettina Heim

Title:
Quantum Application Development for Multi-Processor Systems using CUDA-Q

Abstract:
Impactful quantum applications are hybrid in nature, meaning they take advantage of both classical and quantum resources for computing. While the integration of quantum processors (QPUs) into HPC systems gives rise to unique opportunities for accelerating subroutines that would be prohibitive to execute on classical processors, it also poses unique challenges for coordination between different processors. Integration efforts today are still in their infancy, and further research is needed to explore how to build and leverage heterogeneous quantum-classical systems to their fullest extent. While QPUs continue to grow in size and capabilities, it is important to co-develop the classical hardware and software needed for the efficient compilation and execution of hybrid applications. CUDA-Q is an open-source platform for quantum computing that offers a unified programming model designed for CPUs, GPUs, and QPUs to work together effectively in a high-performance system. In this talk, I will introduce the CUDA-Q-toolchain and how to take advantage of GPUs for accelerating the development and execution of quantum applications today. I will discuss current integration strategies before outlining some of the necessary steps to allow for more tightly coupled interactions between classical and quantum resources in future large-scale systems.

Biography:
Bettina Heim is a systems software engineering manager at NVIDIA where she leads the CUDA Quantum Engineering team. Throughout her career, she has initiated and advanced industry efforts to develop standards and toolchains for a range of quantum architectures. After her Ph.D. in quantum physics at ETH Zurich, she joined Microsoft where she led the compiler and runtime development within Azure Quantum.

Slides:
Click here to download (1.8 MB)

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Josh Izaac

Title:
Escaping Python (via Python!) for Optimum Performance with PennyLane and Catalyst

Abstract:
Up until now, most quantum programming frameworks have been written in Python, and serialize solely the quantum part of the workflow to simplistic string-based representations that are sent to cloud-connected quantum hardware (while the classical part executes locally!). But this ignores the history of classical programming infrastructure and the fact that no algorithm is purely quantum — there is bound to be expensive and interwoven classical processing, and we need to take this into account. In this talk, I’ll chat about how we are addressing this with PennyLane via Catalyst, a framework for quantum just-in-time compilation (QJIT). Using QJIT, full quantum-classical programs written in Python are automatically captured and compiled using standard compiler technologies such as MLIR and LLVM — leading to not only performance improvements, but increasingly richer ways we can interface with quantum computers.

Biography:
Josh is a (former) computational quantum physicist, (retired) quantum software developer, and ex-illustrator working to build accessible, open-source quantum software at Xanadu. These days, he mainly focuses on the roadmap and strategy for PennyLane and Catalyst.

Slides:
Click here to download (5.9 MB)

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Andre Luckow

Title:
Quantum Computing in the Automotive Industry: Exploring Applications and Benchmarks

Abstract:
Quantum Computing (QC) offers numerous opportunities to address complex, compute- intensive challenges within the automotive industry. This talk explores industry-specific challenges in optimization, machine learning, and simulation, evaluating how quantum algorithms may provide innovative solutions. Additionally, we discuss the important role of application-level benchmarks in evaluating the performance and practicality of these quantum algorithms.

Biography:
Andre Luckow is head of innovations and emerging technologies at the BMW Group IT in Munich, Germany. He is leading the global IT Tech Office Network with locations in the US, China, Singapore and Germany. Previously, he was a researcher and manager at the BMW Group’s IT Research Center in Greenville, SC, US. His work lies at the intersection of emerging technologies, such as high performance, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and automotive applications.

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Yehuda Naveh

Title:
Creativity and Automation in Quantum Algorithms

Abstract:
The separation between creative work and automation in designing new quantum algorithms is far from being established. I will address this point by introducing the concept and technicalities of automatic synthesis of quantum programs from their functional models. I will show the strength of this approach in creating optimized quantum programs of sizable complexity. The approach establishes a firm line between the tasks requiring human knowledge and creativity and those requiring mere automation. It follows robust methods commonly used in the electronic design industry, thus building upon the experience gained by this industry in sixty years of immense research - and bringing this practice into quantum computing. I will demonstrate the strength of this approach on several state-of-the-art industrial applications.

Biography:
Dr. Yehuda Naveh is CTO at Classiq. Yehuda gained his Ph.D. in theoretical quantum physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, followed by research careers at Stony Brook University and IBM Research, before co-founding Classiq to address the software gap in quantum computing.

Slides:
Click here to download (22.6 MB)

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Blake Johnson

Title:
Assessing the Performance of Quantum SDKs

Abstract:
There has been significant activity in the quantum community to develop benchmarks and metrics to characterize quantum computing systems at the hardware level (e.g. gate fidelity, quantum volume, CLOPS) and, more recently, at the application level. However, there is relatively less understanding of the ways in which quantum software development kits (SDKs) contribute to the performance of an application or algorithm workflow which spans classical- to-quantum problem mapping, circuit optimization, execution, and post-processing. In this talk, I will introduce a new open-source benchmarking suite called Benchpress that aims to cover circuit and operator construction, circuit manipulation, circuit synthesis, and circuit optimization. I will show results of characterizing a number of quantum SDKs. Finally, I will discuss ongoing efforts at IBM to improve the performance of the Qiskit SDK.

Biography:
Blake Johnson is a Distinguished Engineer and Quantum Capabilities Architect at IBM. His team is responsible for the Qiskit SDK and the low-level software components involved in execution of a quantum program, including application of advanced error suppression and mitigation techniques to enhance the quality of the result.

Slides:
Click here to download (12.3 MB)

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Lukas Burgholzer

Title:
Munich Quantum Software: From Basic Research to Practice

Abstract:
While quantum computers have long been a theoretical concept and a field of basic research, recent advancements have brought us closer to realizing their potential with increasingly powerful hardware. However, the software side remains largely in the realm of basic research, hardly transcending into practical application. How can we accelerate this transition? How do we integrate the various components into a cohesive, end-to-end software stack? And crucially, how do we ensure the software we develop is genuinely useful? In my talk, I will tackle these critical questions, showcasing the strategies and solutions we, as the team behind the Munich Quantum Toolkit, have been developing to bridge the gap between theory and practical application.

Biography:
Lukas Burgholzer, a postdoc at the Technical University of Munich’s Chair for Design Automation, is the chief developer of the Munich Quantum Toolkit (MQT), a collection of design automation tools and software for quantum computing, and technical lead of the Munich Quantum Software Stack (MQSS), the endeavor of the Munich Quantum Valley—a research initiative comprising more than 400 researchers—to build a full-stack quantum computing ecosystem. His work underscores the power of design automation in shaping tomorrow’s technology and in how we design, develop, and interact with the computers of the future.

Slides:
Click here to download (7.3 MB)

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Andre Carvalho

Title:
Make Quantum Computing Useful with Performance-Enhancing Infrastructure Software

Abstract:
Excitement about the promise of quantum computers is tempered by the reality that the hardware remains exceptionally fragile and error-prone, forming a bottleneck in the development of novel applications. In this talk, we show how quantum control delivered by software could accelerate the adoption of quantum technologies by improving the performance of commercial quantum computers. We will illustrate how our automated performance management software solution improves the execution of a suite of algorithms, including hybrid algorithms with direct application to high-value logistic optimization problems.

Biography:
Andre Carvalho is the Head of Quantum Control Solutions at Q-CTRL, where he leads all aspects of customer-related projects. With a PhD in physics and almost 20 years working as a researcher, Andre has vast international experience and is widely recognized for his contributions to the field of quantum control. At Q-CTRL, he is bringing together expertise from physicists and engineers to develop control solutions for quantum technology problems across multiple platforms.

Slides:
Click here to download (7.5 MB)

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Max Häberlein

Title:
IQM Resonance and the Role of Cloud in the Quantum Market

Abstract:
As quantum technology rapidly evolves, the infrastructure supporting it must keep pace to unlock its full potential. In this talk, we will introduce IQM’s cloud platform, IQM Resonance, launched in April 2024. This platform utilizes an innovative booking model that minimizes idle time for quantum hardware, enabling more affordable pricing and efficient resource allocation.

Biography:
Max Haeberlein studied physics at the TU Munich and afterwards worked on building early quantum computers at Walther-Meissner-Institute. Later, he spent almost a decade at Intel, developing AI and cloud until he joined IQM as a product manager.

Slides:
Click here to download (2.2 MB)

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Adrian Vetter

Title:
Taming Atoms with Code: Software Challenges in Building Neutral Atom Quantum Computers

Abstract:
Building a neutral atom quantum computer is a challenging problem in itself. The hardware must meet numerous requirements, pushing the boundaries of physics and engineering. However, the less visible part – the software running the quantum computer – also faces significant challenges. It must tackle complex problems to ensure successful quantum computation with the trapped neutral atoms under strict constraints. In this talk, we will begin with a brief introduction to neutral atom quantum computing, followed by an exploration of the most compelling software challenges within the software stack.

Biography:
Adrian Vetter, Head of Software at planqc, leads the development of the software stack for planqc’s neutral atom quantum computer. With extensive experience in software engineering across various domains and a passion for emerging technologies – ranging from machine learning to distributed ledger systems – he is dedicated to building robust solutions for the future of quantum computing.

Slides:
Click here to download (3.2 MB)

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Fabio Baruffa

Title:
Intel® Quantum SDK: A Complete Quantum Computing Stack in Simulation

Abstract:
The Intel Quantum SDK is a comprehensive platform that enables developers to craft applications on a full-stack system integrated with an LLVM-based industry standard compiler, which offers user-friendly C++ extensions for the construction and optimization of quantum circuits. This SDK provides dynamic quantum instructions to perform the execution of hybrid quantum-classical applications. In the latest release, we introduce a tensor network simulator and a Clifford simulator, broadening its applicability in quantum algorithm development. Additionally, a custom backend wrapper has been unveiled, allowing users to link their distinct quantum backend with the SDK. The compiler optimization passes have been made open source, granting all users the capability to design and contribute their own optimization processes. The Intel Quantum SDK, a comprehensive full-stack quantum computing software in simulation, serves as an invaluable resource for researchers pushing the boundaries of quantum computing. In this talk, the attendees will be walked through the process of writing quantum applications and how to simulate a hybrid quantum-classical use case.

Biography:
Fabio is responsible for designing large-scale customer solutions in the high-performance computing area and accelerating quantum computing adoption using the cloud infrastructure. Fabio has more than 12 years of experience in the HPC industry and academia, working as an application engineer and HPC specialist in the largest supercomputing centers in Europe, mainly the Leibniz Supercomputing Center and the Max-Plank Computing and Data Facility in Germany, as well as Cineca in Italy. Fabio holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Regensburg for research in spintronics devices and quantum computing.

Slides:
Click here to download (2 MB)

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Aleks Kissinger

Title:
Picturing Quantum Software

Abstract:
The ZX calculus is an extension to quantum circuit language which is much more flexible and comes with a simple, complete set of equational rules. In this talk, I will give an overview of how ZX has been used to represent and reason about quantum computations and survey some recent applications in quantum circuit optimisation, classical simulation, and fault- tolerant quantum computation.

Biography:
Kissinger is an Associate Professor of Quantum Computing at the University of Oxford, and the joint head of the Quantum Group in Computer Science. His research focuses on quantum foundations, classical simulation of quantum computations, and quantum compiling, often making use of graphical structures such as string diagrams, tensor networks, and the ZX calculus. He co-authored Picturing Quantum Processes, a.k.a. “The Dodo Book”, which teaches quantum theory from first principles using diagrams.

Slides:
Click here

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Max Halbich and Pallavi Bhardwaj

Title:
Quantum for Enterprise Adoption

Abstract:
SAP’s view on enterprise adoption of quantum computing and its approach to industry- relevant use-cases. We highlight key challenges and SAP’s strategic initiatives towards overcoming these obstacles, followed by a deep dive into tabular data generation, demonstrating how an E2E implementation in a business application could look like, with a focus on the software stack.

Biography:
Max is an experienced product manager with 7+ years of experience within the enterprise application space. He spent his professional career at SAP in various product management roles in the areas of ERP, Sourcing & Procurement, Process Automation, and Quantum Technologies and has strong expertise in the implementation of innovative technologies within enterprise solutions. Pallavi is an experienced QML/ML researcher. She is the lead for quantum machine learning projects at SAP and has been working with SAP for the past 7+ years, working on various machine learning projects.

Slides:
Click here to download (2.6 MB)

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Austin Fowler

Title:
Programming a Quantum Computer using SketchUp

Abstract:
Many papers discussing geometrically constrained quantum computation (eg: superconducting qubits) represent computations using 3D structures. A slice of the structure represents what the 2D computer is doing at that instant of time. Such diagrams are typically created in SketchUp, a simple 3D modeling tool. Many of these structures have never been simulated due to the difficulty of coding up the corresponding low-level circuits, meaning an accurate quantitative assessment of performance is absent. We are working on tools to address this, enabling researchers to work purely in 3D with the aim of devising compact computations and then feed this work into our toolchain to get simulation results.

Biography:
Dr. Austin Fowler received a PhD in quantum computing, specializing in quantum error correction (QEC) in 2005. For the last 10 years he has worked for Google in their QEC team. His main focus these days is supporting open-source community building tools to enable the quantitative study of spacetime compact fault-tolerant quantum computation.

Slides:
Click here to download (2.3 MB)

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Software Pitches

In addition to the presentations above, 23 further software tools and initiatives were presented at the forum. This was mainly done through poster presentations. In addition to that, each tool/initiative was also introduced through a brief pitch presentation whose recording is available on the right. Overall, the following pitches were made (click on the title to access the corresponding presentation slides):

• Daniel Borcherding (QUDORA): QUDORA Cloud - Hybrid quantum-classical computations with QIR and Python

• Laurent Prost (Alice&Bob): Felis - play with cat qubits

• Vanya Eccles (Quantinuum): Quatinuum NEXUS

• João Moutinho (Pasqal): Qadence: a differentiable interface for digital-analog programs

• Raphael Seidel (Fraunhofer FOKUS): Qrisp: The next generation of quantum algorithm development

• Stefan Hillmich (Software Competence Center Hagenberg (SCCH)): Quantum Algorithm Engineering – Transforming Applications into Quantum Circuits

• Erick Ochoa (Xanadu): MLIR for quantum compilation

• Joschka Roffe (University of Edinburgh): LDPCv2 – An Open Source Python Package for Decoding Classical and Quantum codes

• Vito Palmisano (Cineca): QMatchaTea: Accelerating Quantum Circuit Emulations with Tensor Networks on HPC Systems

• Willem de Kok (TNO): qgym: A Gym for Training and Benchmarking RL-based Quantum Compilation

• Marius Schöndorf (Eviden): Qaptiva – The quantum software and emulation platform by Eviden

• Oliver Brown (EPCC): CQ – Standard API for interfacing with QC

• Michael Lachner (Aqarios): Aqarios Luna: Bridging the Gap from Business to Quantum

• Thierry Martinez (Inria): Graphix: compilation and simulation for measurement-based quantum computation

• Marco Lewis (Newcastle University): SilVer (Silq Verification)

• Armin Vollmer (ADDITIVE): Wolfram Quantum Computing Framework

• Asmar Muqeet (Simula Research Laboratory): QUIET: A Post-Processing Tool for Quantum Noise Error Mitigation

• Carsten Blank (data cybernetics): Q-Alchemy: Copying Data into Quantum

• Florian Knäble (Fraunhofer IAO): AutoQML – A Framework for Automated Quantum Machine Learning

• Mykola Maksymenko (Haiqu): Rivet: an open-source toolkit for quantum computing workflows optimisation

• Erik Schultheis (German Aerospace Center (DLR)): ExcitationSolve: A gradient-free optimization algorithm for variational quantum eigensolvers

• Laurynas Vanagas (Qunasys): From Quri Parts to Software Development for FTQC Algorithm and Architecture Research

• Roeland ter Hoeven (ParityQC): ParityOS: an operating system for quantum computers

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Quick Opinions

Besides the talks and software pitches from above, three different research topics were discussed in the “Quick Opinions” sessions by experts in the respective fields.

Title: Developing Software Stacks across all disciplines: How to avoid a new “Tower of Babel“ Quantum computing software is supposed to evolve into complex stacks that connect quantum computing platforms to their end users. To make that work, one "only" needs experts from the various applications domains, computer scientists, and software engineers, as well as experimental quantum physicists, plus maybe some theorists who provide the theoretical groundwork. What could possibly go wrong? Seriously, how do we manage such a melting pot of interdisciplinary cultures, languages, and mentalities? Is there a lingua franca for quantum computing software? And, if yes, can someone please provide a dictionary?
Title: OpenQASM, QIR, MLIR, and others: What's the future of quantum programming? There is not the single software tool solving everything. To realize complex software stacks, individual tools need to "talk" to each other. But how? OpenQASM 3, QIR, and various MLIR approaches are currently being explored, but what's the difference between them? Does it already make sense to think about standardization, and if yes, what are the common foundations that we all can agree upon? Finally: Everyone loves Python, but the need for performance has driven developers to move to compiled languages such as C++ or Rust. Are those here to stay, or will Python remain more than a high-level entry point and/or interface?
Title: The Quest for Fault Tolerance: Should we give up right away? Everyone knows or believes large-scale quantum computing applications must be fault- tolerant and will require quantum error correction. And the theory seems to be there. However, turning that into software triggers colossal challenges. Given that fault-tolerant preparation of the initial state (an "empty" circuit) already requires dozens of qubits and hundreds of gates, how we are ever supposed to realize a circuit that actually performs a useful computation? Is there any hope or prospect to get there? And, if yes, what is the starting point to not get overwhelmed?

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Contact

Prof. Dr. Robert Wille
Technical University of Munich &
Software Competence Center Hagenberg GmbH
E-Mail: robert.wille@tum.de
LinkedIn: @robertwille
Twitter: @rbrtwll

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Acknowledgements

The Munich Quantum Software Forum was organized by the Technical University of Munich and supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 101001318), the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and Arts through the Distinguished Professorship Program, as well as the Munich Quantum Valley, which is supported by the Bavarian state government with funds from the Hightech Agenda Bayern Plus.