The French company Alice & Bob, a leader in fault-tolerant quantum computing, has published its first white paper alongside an ambitious five-year roadmap. This document details the key steps to achieve a universal and useful quantum computer based on its innovative “cat” qubit technology.
Alice & Bob’s approach dramatically reduces hardware and energy consumption requirements compared to other methods, which could accelerate the arrival of quantum advantage in industrial applications.
Five milestones on the path to universal quantum computing
The roadmap from Alice & Bob outlines five phases that will culminate in a quantum computer with 100 high-fidelity logical qubits by 2030:
✅ Milestone 1: Mastering the “cat” qubit
Achieved in 2024 with the Boson series, this milestone enabled the development of a stable and reproducible qubit capable of storing quantum information while resisting bit-flip errors.
✅ Milestone 2: Building a logical qubit
Currently in development with the Helium series, focused on creating the first error-corrected logical qubit, operating below the correction threshold.
✅ Milestone 3: Fault-tolerant quantum computing
With the Lithium series, the company plans to scale to multi-logical qubit systems and demonstrate the first error-corrected logic gate.
✅ Milestone 4: Universal quantum computing
The Beryllium series will introduce universal gates through real-time error correction and magic state factories, unlocking the ability to execute any quantum algorithm.
✅ Milestone 5: Useful quantum computing
The Graphene series, with 100 high-fidelity logical qubits, will enable achieving quantum advantage in industrial use cases, integrating into HPC (High-Performance Computing) infrastructures.
A key breakthrough for quantum computing
According to Raphael Lescanne, CTO and co-founder of Alice & Bob:
“Our roadmap marks a clear path to solve the biggest challenges in quantum computing. This white paper makes our technology accessible to engineers, business leaders, and industry enthusiasts alike.”
The document, titled “THINK INSIDE THE BOX: QUANTUM COMPUTING WITH CAT QUBITS”, explains how “cat” qubits allow for a more efficient computing model, with applications in simulation, machine learning, and materials science.
The main challenge in quantum computing is error correction, as quantum systems are inherently unstable. Typically, quantum error correction requires multiple additional qubits, which exponentially increases the necessary resources.
Alice & Bob proposes an innovative solution:
✔ “Cat” qubits with active protection against bit-flip errors, eliminating one of the main failures in quantum computing.
✔ More efficient error correction, transforming a two-dimensional problem into a one-dimensional problem, reducing complexity and resource needs.
✔ Logical qubits with 99.9999% fidelity (“6-nines”), requiring up to 200 times less hardware than other approaches.
According to Théau Peronnin, CEO of Alice & Bob:
“Quantum computing should be a tool to solve real problems. Our approach with ‘cat’ qubits makes this vision possible by the end of the decade.”
Availability and access to the document
The white paper and roadmap are available on the Alice & Bob website. Additionally, the document has been published in audiobook format, narrated by Christopher Bishop, on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
With this strategic plan, Alice & Bob reinforces its leadership in the global race for useful, scalable, and efficient quantum computing, with 2024 marking the beginning of a new technological era. 🚀
via: Alice & Bob