Cambridge Quantum Computing (CQC) announced the discovery of a new algorithm that accelerates quantum Monte Carlo integration, which the company says shortens the time to quantum advantage and confirms the critical importance of quantum computing to the finance industry in particular.
Monte Carlo integration is the process of numerically estimating the mean of a probability distribution by averaging samples and is used in financial risk analysis, among other business and scientific applications. It is a critical aspect of the computational machinery underpinning the modern world, and often requires many hours of continuous computation by today’s systems to complete.
“This new algorithm is a historic advance which expands quantum Monte Carlo integration and will have applications both during and beyond the NISQ era,” said CQC’s senior research xcientist Steven Herbert, in a statement. “We are now capable of achieving what was previously only a theoretical quantum speedup. That’s something that none of the existing quantum Monte Carlo integration (QMCI) algorithms can do without substantial overhead that renders current methods unusable.”
Ilyas Khan, CEO of Cambridge Quantum Computing, said in a statement: “This is an impressive breakthrough by the scientists at CQC that will be of tremendous value to the financial sector as well as many other industries.”