Amazon Web Services (AWS) is teaming up with U.S. quantum computing startup QuEra Computing to commercialise fault-tolerant quantum computers. The companies plan to introduce a quantum system with error-correction functions to the AWS cloud within the next 2 years. They also plan to unveil a next-generation quantum computer supporting large-scale logical qubits by 2028.

SiliconANGLE reported on June 15 that AWS said it would provide next-generation quantum computing environments by 2028 so researchers can tackle complex scientific problems that are difficult to solve with existing systems.

A central focus of the collaboration is error-control technology, seen as the biggest obstacle to commercialising quantum computing. Qubits, the basic unit of a quantum computer, are highly sensitive to changes in the surrounding environment. Even slight vibrations or shifts in electromagnetic fields can disturb quantum states and cause calculation errors. For this reason, the industry has regarded securing fault-tolerant technology that can correct errors on its own as an essential condition for building practical quantum computers.

QuEra is a quantum computing company founded in 2018 by researchers from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Unlike IBM and Google, which develop superconducting circuit-based quantum computers, QuEra uses the neutral-atom approach.

The technology arranges and controls atoms in the Rydberg state using precision lasers. The laser acts like optical tweezers, maintaining and adjusting each atom’s quantum state. Through this, QuEra aims to secure stability and scalability even in an environment with thousands of qubits.

The collaboration is not the first between the two companies. In 2022, QuEra supplied its 256-qubit analog quantum computer, Aquila, to AWS Braket, AWS’s quantum computing service. AWS Braket is a managed service that supports the use of various quantum computers in a cloud environment. Users can use a hybrid computing environment that combines existing cloud resources with quantum systems.

The companies plan to focus next on developing a next-generation system called Libra. AWS explained that Libra would be a MegaQuOp-class system capable of performing more than 1 million quantum operations per second and supporting hundreds of error-corrected logical qubits. If the goal is realised, it is expected to provide performance beyond existing supercomputers in areas such as new materials development, quantum chemistry and high-energy physics.

QuEra said it has demonstrated over the past 2 years the technical feasibility of simultaneously controlling thousands of qubits in a single computing module. Mikhail Lukin (미하일 루킨), QuEra’s chief scientific officer, said, "The dream of realising a useful fault-tolerant quantum computer has for the first time become a realistic goal." He added, "Libra is being designed to perform quantum operations at an unprecedented scale and to open up new application areas."

AWS does not expect the quantum computing industry to converge on a single technology. It believes that, just as companies use different databases and computing instances depending on the type of work, quantum systems are also likely to adopt different structures by application area. Accordingly, AWS is also pursuing cat-qubit-based technology at the AWS Center for Quantum Computing, separately from QuEra’s neutral-atom approach.

Against this backdrop, the announcement shows AWS is strengthening a platform strategy that accommodates multiple architectures on the cloud, rather than betting on a single type of quantum hardware. The companies view the 2028 target as a starting point. They plan to further optimise Libra and expand its use into areas such as new drug design and financial services.