AMD and IQM split a small chemistry problem between a quantum computer and a GPU
IQM and AMD ran a quantum-selected configuration interaction workflow for hydrogen on IQM Garnet and an AMD GPU, and published it so others can reproduce it.
IQM and AMD on November 9 described a hybrid workflow that divides a chemistry calculation between an IQM quantum computer and an AMD GPU running the ROCm software stack. In IQM’s description, the quantum computer narrows a very large search down to the electron configurations worth examining, and the GPU solves the remaining problem.
What was run
The teams ran the full quantum-selected configuration interaction (QSCI) pipeline on the hydrogen molecule (H₂, STO-3G basis). They first used a simulator, then ran it on the IQM Garnet quantum computer through IQM Resonance, IQM’s cloud platform, and checked both runs against an exact classical solution. IQM says the workflow is reproducible by others.
What it does and does not show
IQM is explicit that H₂ is deliberately small and that the run does not show quantum advantage. The point, according to the company, is that the pipeline works end to end on real hardware, with a quantum processor and a GPU each handling part of one workflow.
Why it matters
Supercomputing centres are looking for ways to combine quantum processors with GPUs, and how best to connect them is still debated. IQM describes this as a practical approach that runs today rather than a final architecture. The next meaningful step would be the same workflow on molecules too large for exact classical methods.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the sources below, retrieved by DesignQuantum™.