Cambridge Quantum Computing (CQC) launched the world’s first cloud-based Quantum Random Number Generation (QRNG) Service with integrated verification for the user, an important stepping stone on the road to Quantum Advantage. Randomness is an essential and ubiquitous raw material in almost all digital interactions and is used in cybersecurity to encrypt data and communications and perform simulation analysis across many industries, including finance.
The application developed by CQC generates true maximal randomness, or entropy, on an IBM Quantum computer that is device independent and that can be verified and thus certified as truly quantum – and therefore truly random – for the first time.
As part of a joint effort with IBM, the beta QRNG Service will initially be available to members of the IBM Q Network, a community of more than 100 Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, startups and national research labs working with IBM to advance quantum computing. J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, MUFG, Mizuho, Wells Fargo and Barclays are part of the IBM Q Network.
“This is an exciting step toward making quantum computers practical and useful, and we are looking forward to seeing what scientists and developers can create using this service,” said Anthony Annunziata, director of the IBM Q Network, in a statement.
Working with IBM, CQC attained two quantum computing milestones: one in computation and the other in the cloud delivery of a service that can lead to real-world applications. From classical and post-quantum cryptography to complex Monte Carlo simulations where vast amounts of entropy are required to eliminate hidden patterns, certifiable quantum randomness will provide a new opportunity for advantage in relevant enterprise and government applications.