BBVA announced its completed a pilot test of distributed execution of quantum algorithms across multiple conventional servers in the AWS cloud. BBVA’s pilot, one of the first of its kind in the financial sector, provides the bank with a proprietary architecture to further explore the use of quantum computing in complex financial tasks.
To run its test, BBVA worked with the quantum computing team of the digital transformation company VASS and AWS, using Qiskit software to distribute the execution of quantum algorithms across multiple classical compute servers located in the AWS cloud, and created a platform to automate and streamline the distribution process.
With this distributed quantum simulation, BBVA was able to run quantum algorithms scaling up to a total computing power of 38 qubits, a scale that is difficult to reach with the use of a single classical computer. The higher the number of qubits, the more complex the problems the system can tackle.
The trial also served to demonstrate that classical computers can be used to test quantum algorithms at scale and in an ideal computing environment. Quantum computing is an emerging technology and today’s hardware is highly susceptible to noise. Running large-scale simulations allows BBVA to explore potential applications in a noise-free environment, with the potential to bring these applications to larger, more fault-tolerant quantum hardware as it matures.
“The results were exactly what we expect to obtain in a fault-tolerant quantum computer,” said Javier Recuenco Andrés, head of the Technical Architecture Innovation area at BBVA CIB in charge of the pilot project, in a statement. “With these trials, we have shown that at BBVA we can have a proprietary architecture for executing quantum algorithms, which would help further our exploration of their use in complex financial tasks.”
“At BBVA we explore the potential of quantum computing for two main reasons: to try to find better solutions to business problems and to strengthen the security of our communications and data to counteract the malicious use of quantum computing by third parties,” said Escolástico Sánchez, leader of the Quantum discipline at BBVA, in a statement. “The distributed quantum simulation pilot we have successfully completed is a further step in this exploration, which could enable different business units of the bank to leverage this technology.”