AMD is expanding its collaboration with PsiQuantum through a new investment in the quantum computing startup. Announced on 12 November, the partnership will see the two companies jointly engineer the computational infrastructure needed to operate large quantum systems. The investment amount remains undisclosed by both parties.
PsiQuantum currently leverages AMD's Versal FPGAs—reprogrammable chips designed for post-manufacture customization—in its fault-tolerant quantum computer development. The expanded agreement introduces AMD's Instinct GPUs, EPYC CPUs, and ROCm software stack to the collaboration. PsiQuantum contributes its silicon photonics technology, which harnesses light for computational purposes.
The joint effort will focus on designing the underlying systems architecture for quantum computers at scale. Both firms intend to create hybrid software that seamlessly integrates quantum, high-performance, and artificial intelligence computing capabilities. According to the companies, this integration should yield what they describe as the world's most capable hybrid computing platform.
Quantum computing will enable solving problems in healthcare, materials, energy, finance, and other domains that are out of reach today, working in concert with AI and high-performance computing
Victor Peng, PsiQuantum's chief executive
Error correction and drug discovery
Collaborating with AMD, PsiQuantum's team has optimized PRISM, a machine-learning decoder, to execute efficiently on programmable hardware. The decoder's function is to address errors instantaneously within large-scale photonic quantum computers. The companies have published a research paper documenting this development.
Drug discovery represents the initial application area for this partnership. PsiQuantum currently runs its chemistry algorithms on AMD's GPU infrastructure. According to the companies, this approach has already delivered significant findings in computational modeling of covalent inhibitors, a class of molecules with relevance to cancer therapeutics research.
The initiative aligns with priorities outlined in the US Department of Energy's Quantum Genesis program, which identifies scientific challenges suited for quantum computing solutions.
We see that same opportunity with quantum computing, where leadership in classical computing is essential to building systems at scale
Mark Papermaster, AMD's chief technology officer
A footprint in Chicago
PsiQuantum serves as the primary tenant at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park located in Chicago. The partnership may extend to collaborative efforts at this facility. Both companies plan to unveil additional details during the SC26 supercomputing conference, scheduled for 15 to 20 November in Chicago.
The partnership announcement comes amid significant developments for both organizations. In October, the Pentagon extended PsiQuantum a conditional $150m loan. That same month, AMD committed $1bn toward investment in Meta. Most recently, AMD reported record financial results for the quarter.
Source: The Next Web
