Update: Inside Classiq’s New Platform

A July 27, 2022 article titled “Guest Writing: Inside the Classiq Synthesis Engine” highlighted key features of the Classiq platform, but less than a year later the article needed a significant update. This article starts with a brief recap of how the Classiq platform came to be then and then moves on to the platform’s new features.

July 27, 2022
The Classiq platform is promoted as a means to quickly and easily synthesize large quantum circuits. By “large,” they don’t mean a few dozen qubits. That means hundreds or even thousands of qubits. Importantly, it’s something you can easily test and verify with access to the platform.

The Classiq platform is also promoted as a focus on optimizing the functional level. In other words, you can focus on what you want to do, and you can largely ignore how you’re going to do it.

The Classiq platform is hardware aware, synthesizing circuits based on qubit count, qubit connectivity, and more. You can limit the circuit width to the largest quantum computer available to you, or you can limit the circuit depth to minimize noise. You can change the backend — you can even change providers — and re-synthesize custom circuits for selected hardware. If no valid circuit exists, the platform will notify you. Importantly, you don’t have to change your algorithm. Similar to Java’s old “write once, run anywhere” slogan, you can define the functionality you want once, then run it on any compatible hardware.

April 19, 2023
First of all, everything you’ve just read is still true. Now, onto the changes.

While the Python SDK is still around, VS Code’s implementation has been deprecated and moved to an online environment. This new platform is more of a no-code application than a development environment. You don’t need to write a single line of code to experiment with Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE), financial risk analysis, Grover algorithms, and state preparation. More options are reportedly coming.

This new platform is holistic. Step 1 is synthesis: define the desired functionality with text boxes, dropdowns and arrows. And then step 2 is execution: choose a compatible backend from IBM Quantum, Azure Quantum, or AWS Bracket to run it. Technically, there are two additional screens, one for viewing circuits and one for viewing measurement results, but both are analytical. The original Classiq platform focused on Step 1 and made Step 2 possible, but the new platform has improved execution to align with synthesis, making execution feel easier than ever.

This new platform has an academic license. Sign up with an academic email address and not only can you use the Classiq platform for free, you can also use the Azure Quantum backend for free. By the way, this is not limited to simulators. The new Classiq platform, for academic accounts, has unlimited and free use of real ion traps and superconducting quantum computers.

Since July 27, 2002, Classiq has partnered with Q-CTRL. Despite having to leave the platform, it’s worth noting that you can export QASM to run your circuits with Fire Opal. Fire Opal provides unparalleled error suppression, error correction, and error mitigation, but only on select IBM Quantum backends at this time.

Conclusion
Since the July 27 article, the Classiq platform has developed into a true platform. You can use a real quantum computer without writing a single line of code. And, if you’re in Academia, you can do it for free.