A schematic diagram of the chip used in the superconducting quantum computer prototype Zuchongzhi 3.0. XINHUAHEFEI — Chinese scientists have unveiled a superconducting quantum computer prototype called Zuchongzhi 3.0, marking a major breakthrough in the country's quantum computing research.Developed by a team of Chinese quantum physicists that includes Pan Jianwei, Zhu Xiaobo and Peng Chengzhi, Zuchongzhi 3.0 features 105 readable qubits and 182 couplers.It can process quantum random circuit sampling tasks at speeds a quadrillion times faster than the world's most powerful supercomputer, and 1 million times faster than results achieved by Google that were published in the journal Nature in October 2024, according to the team.The achievement also set a record in quantum computational advantage within superconducting systems. Quantum computational advantage, also known as quantum supremacy, refers to the point at which quantum computers outperform the most advanced classic supercomputers in specific tasks.The milestone validates the feasibility of quantum computing and reflects China's research strength in the field.China and the United States are the two leading countries in quantum computing research, with each achieving groundbreaking advancements.In 2019, Google's Sycamore quantum processor became the first to demonstrate quantum supremacy. In 2020, Chinese researchers developed Jiuzhang, achieving a similar milestone using a different quantum technology.In 2021, China introduced Zuchongzhi 2.1, a 66-qubit programmable superconducting quantum system, making it the first country to demonstrate quantum computational advantage in two mainstream technical approaches.According to the research team, Zuchongzhi 3.0 significantly improves on its predecessor in key performance metrics, achieving what they call a globally leading level of quantum computational power.The study was published in the journal Physical Review Letters. Peer reviewers described the research as "benchmarking a new superconducting quantum computer, which shows state-of-the-art performance" and "a significant upgrade from the previous 66-qubit device".The global scientific community has outlined a three-step roadmap for developing experimental quantum computing.The first step is achieving quantum supremacy. The second involves developing quantum simulators with hundreds of controllable qubits to tackle real-world problems beyond the reach of supercomputers. And the third focuses on improving qubit control precision, integration scale and error correction to create programmable, general-purpose quantum computers.The researchers behind Zuchongzhi 3.0 are exploring various related fields, including quantum error correction, quantum entanglement, quantum simulation and quantum chemistry.Zhu said the team is currently conducting surface code error correction research with a code distance of seven. After further progress, they plan to extend it to nine and 11, laying the groundwork for large-scale qubit integration and control.

A visitor takes photos of an Origin Wukong superconducting quantum computer model at the 2024 World Manufacturing Convention in Hefei, East China's Anhui province, Sept 20, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]A team of scientists and engineers in Hefei, Anhui province, recently used a quantum computer to fine-tune a billion-parameter AI model-marking a world-first achievement in AI and quantum computing integration, according to an announcement from the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center on Monday.Fine-tuning involves training general large models (such as DeepSeek) on domain-specific data to optimize them for specialized applications—ranging from medical diagnosis to financial risk assessment. Traditional methods, like low-rank fine-tuning, often face performance bottlenecks and limited generalization capabilities.Quantum computing, however, employs superposition and entanglement to explore vast parameter combinations simultaneously, according to Origin Quantum, the Hefei-based company behind this advancement. In other words, it is able to test many possible solutions at once to fine-tune AI models faster and more accurately.Origin Quantum claimed that experimental results showed an 8.4 percent improvement in training effectiveness with a 76 percent reduction in the number of parameters.The feat was accomplished using Origin Wukong, China's third-generation domestically developed superconducting quantum computer. The project was a collaboration between Origin Quantum, the Institute of Artificial Intelligence of the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center and other partner institutions.This breakthrough demonstrates quantum computing's feasibility for achieving lightweight large models (LLMs) and opens pathways to alleviate concerns over the "computing power anxiety" associated with large models, the company said.Efficiently training and running large-scale AI models requires massive computing resources. As AI models grow in complexity and size, they need more computing power, memory and processing capabilities to function effectively."Our method is like equipping a classical large model with a 'quantum engine', enabling them to work together," said Dou Menghan, vice-president of Origin Quantum.His team harnessed quantum computing to achieve intelligent fine-tuning, converting model weights into a hybrid of quantum neural networks and classical tensor networks.Chen Zhaoyun, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Artificial Intelligence, said the breakthrough marks the first real-world large model task on quantum computing, demonstrating that existing hardware can preliminarily support large model fine-tuning.Origin Wukong is powered by the Wukong chip, making it China's most advanced programmable and deliverable superconducting quantum computer. It can process hundreds of parallel quantum tasks for any given data set.The Wukong chip comprises 72 computational qubits and 126 coupler qubits. Its name comes from the mythical Chinese character Sun Wukong, aka the Monkey King, who could assume 72 different forms. In this context, the name symbolizes the power and versatility of quantum computing.A qubit (quantum bit) is the fundamental unit of quantum information, functioning similarly to a classical binary bit but capable of existing in multiple states simultaneously.Since its launch last year, Origin Wukong has completed approximately 350,000 quantum computing tasks for users from 139 countries, covering diverse industries such as fluid dynamics, finance and biomedicine, according to Origin Quantum.These tasks include the world's largest-scale quantum computing fluid dynamics simulation and integrating with the financial quantum cloud experimental platform to explore more efficient problem-solving solutions in the financial domain.