Phase Two Advancement: QuEra Computing's three projects progress to Phase Two of Wellcome Leap’s Quantum for Bio Challenge.
Healthcare and Biology Focus: Projects demonstrate QuEra’s role in developing quantum computing applications for healthcare and biology.
Integration with Classical Computing: Phase Two involves large-scale simulations using classical high-performance computing.
Quera Computing, a leader in neutral-atom quantum computing technology, has announced that all three of its research projects have progressed to Phase Two of Wellcome Leap’s Quantum for Bio Challenge. These projects, securing three of the eight coveted spots in the prestigious program, underscore QuEra’s pivotal role in developing quantum computing applications within complex scientific fields, including healthcare and biology.
Wellcome Leap’s Supported Challenge Program in Quantum for Bio aims to identify, develop, and demonstrate biology and healthcare applications that can benefit from the quantum computers expected to emerge in the next three to five years. The program offers up to $40 million in research funding to multidisciplinary, multiorganizational teams, and up to $10 million in challenge prizes for successful proof-of-concept demonstrations on quantum devices with a clear path to scaling to large quantum computers.
"As we move into Phase Two, we are thrilled to continue contributing our neutral-atom quantum computing expertise to these transformative healthcare and biology projects,"
— Nathan Gemelke, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Strategist, QuEra Computing
In Phase One, the focus was on quantum algorithm development. QuEra’s projects were evaluated based on technical progress and deliverables by the Wellcome Leap Quantum for Bio Program Director and an expert internal technical team. Out of the original twelve teams, eight advanced to Phase Two, demonstrating significant advancements for human health within the allocated resources.
Phase Two will concentrate on large-scale simulations of the developed algorithms using classical high-performance computing (HPC). To complete this phase, teams must perform a classical HPC simulation of their quantum algorithm for 30 to 40 qubits and compare the results to those obtained by standard classical methods for the respective application. Additionally, teams must engage quantum hardware expertise to progress to Phase Three.
QuEra’s neutral-atom quantum computers combine system size, coherence, and advanced processing modes, offering a promising path to large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computing. Since November 2022, QuEra’s first-generation neutral-atom quantum computers have been publicly accessible via a large public cloud service, and they remain the only neutral-atom platform available for public use. QuEra leads the neutral-atom market by offering dynamic qubit manipulation (qubit shuttling) for flexible and efficient quantum computations. Operating at room temperature, QuEra’s computers are designed to integrate seamlessly with classical computing infrastructure.
The three projects supported by QuEra include:
- Quantum Computing for Covalent Inhibitors in Drug Discovery – Led by The University of Nottingham, with partners Phasecraft and QuEra Computing. This project leverages quantum computing and classical simulation methods to advance drug discovery for myotonic dystrophy, a genetic condition causing progressive muscle weakness and wasting.
- Accelerating Drug Discovery Using Programmable Quantum Simulation – Led by Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and QuEra. The project aims to develop scalable quantum simulation algorithms to accelerate computer-aided drug discovery, focusing on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ligand-protein binding affinity.
- Quanta-Bind: Demystifying Proteins – Led by qBraid, with partners MIT, University of Chicago, North Carolina A&T, Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne NL), and QuEra. This project explores quantum computing for analyzing biological processes, focusing on metal interactions with proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, integrating quantum chemistry with quantum computing to provide insights for human health.
