qBraid, established by Kanav Setia and Jason Necaise '20, offers a platform that connects users to the latest quantum devices and applications.
An MIT-supported startup, qBraid, is providing a gateway to the quantum industry with a platform that gives users access to the leading quantum devices and software. Image Credit: Courtesy of qBraid
Quantum computers have the capacity to model novel molecules and weather patterns more accurately than any computer today. They may also one day speed artificial intelligence algorithms with a far reduced energy footprint.
However, getting started with quantum computing can be daunting, from securing access to specialized hardware to learning how to use the growing number of quantum software platforms available.
qBraid aims to simplify that process. Its cloud-based interface lets users connect with quantum devices and computing resources from leading companies like Nvidia, Microsoft, and IBM. With just a few clicks, users can start coding or run advanced software across multiple devices, all from one streamlined platform.
The mission is to take you from not knowing anything about quantum computing to running your first program on these amazing machines in less than 10 minutes. We’re a one-stop platform that gives access to everything the quantum ecosystem has to offer. Our goal is to enable anyone – whether they’re enterprise customers, academics, or individual users – to build and ultimately deploy applications.
Kanav Setia, Co-Founder, qBraid
Since its inception in June 2020, qBraid has assisted over 20,000 people from over 120 countries in deploying code on quantum devices. That traction is eventually driving innovation in a new industry that is likely to play an important role in our future.
This lowers the barrier to entry for a lot of newcomers. They can be up and running in a few minutes instead of a few weeks. That’s why we’ve gotten so much adoption around the world. We’re one of the most popular platforms for accessing quantum software and hardware.
Kanav Setia, Co-Founder, qBraid
A Quantum “Software Sandbox”
Setia met Necaise while they were interning at IBM. Necaise was an undergraduate at MIT studying physics at the time, while Setia attended Dartmouth College. The two loved working together, and Necaise stated that if Setia ever founded a firm, he would be interested in participating.
A few months later, Setia accepted his offer. Setia had attended one of the earliest applied quantum computing seminars at Dartmouth, but students had to struggle for weeks to install all of the required software applications before they could begin coding.
We hadn’t even gotten close to developing any useful algorithms. The idea for qBraid was, ‘Why don’t we build a software sandbox in the cloud and give people an easy programming setup out of the box?’ Connection with the hardware would already be done.
Kanav Setia, Co-Founder, qBraid, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund provided early support to the entrepreneurs, who also participated in the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship's delta v summer startup accelerator.
“Both programs provided us with very strong mentorship. They give you frameworks on what a startup should look like, and they bring in some of the smartest people in the world to mentor you – people you’d never have access to otherwise,” stated Setia.
Necaise departed the company in 2021. Setia, however, continued to have issues with quantum software outside of the classroom.
“This is a massive bottleneck. I’d worked on several quantum software programs that pushed out updates or changes, and suddenly all hell broke loose on my codebase. I’d spend two to four weeks jostling with these updates that had almost nothing to do with the quantum algorithms I was working on,” added Setia.
QBraid began as a platform with pre-installed applications, allowing developers to begin creating code instantly. The business also introduced support for version-controlled quantum software, allowing developers to create apps on top without concern for modifications. Over time, qBraid introduced links to quantum computers and tools, allowing quantum applications to operate on several devices.
“The pitch was you don’t need to manage a bunch of software or a whole bunch of cloud accounts. We’re a single platform: the quantum cloud,” noted Setia.
QBraid has introduced qBook, a learning portal that provides interactive quantum computing classes.
“If you see a piece of code you like, you just click play and the code runs. You can run a whole bunch of code, modify it on the fly, and you can understand how it works. It runs on laptops, iPads, and phones. A significant portion of our users are from developing countries, and they’re developing applications from their phones,” further added Setia.
Democratizing Quantum Computing
Today, qBraid has 20,000 users from over 400 universities and 100 companies worldwide. As qBraid's customer base grew, the business transitioned from putting quantum computers onto its platform from the outside to developing a quantum operating system, qBraid-OS, which is now utilized by four major quantum companies.
“We are productizing these quantum computers. Many quantum companies are realizing they want to focus their energy completely on the hardware, with us productizing their infrastructure. We’re like the operating system for quantum computers,” explained Setia
People use qBraid to create quantum applications in AI and machine learning, to identify novel molecules or drugs, and to develop applications in finance and cybersecurity. Setia claims that with each new use case, qBraid is democratizing quantum computing, resulting in the creation of a quantum workforce that will propel the industry forward.
“In 2018, an article in The New York Times said there were possibly less than 1,000 people in the world that could be called experts in quantum programming. A lot of people want to access these cutting-edge machines, but they don’t have the right software backgrounds. They are just getting started and want to play with algorithms. QBraid gives those people an easy programming setup out of the box,” concluded Setia.