The joint research team achieves a quantum computing milestone, realizing Certified Quantum Randomness and making previously theoretic experiments into meaningful, real-world uses for a quantum computer.

In a paper in Nature published on March 26, a team of researchers from JPMorganChase, Quantinuum, Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the University of Texas at Austin achieved a critical industry milestone by demonstrating a potential application of a quantum computer.

Randomness has many industrial uses, from solving complex mathematical problems to essential applications in areas such as cryptography, fairness and privacy. The group conducted the first successful demonstration of a novel quantum computing protocol to generate Certified Randomness. The researchers leveraged a task originally designed to demonstrate quantum advantage, called Random Circuit Sampling (RCS), to perform a certified-randomness-expansion protocol, which outputs more randomness than it takes as input. This task is unachievable by classical computation.

The 56-qubit Quantinuum System Model H2 trapped-ion quantum computer, with its high-fidelity and all-to-all qubit connectivity, was used for this study, demonstrating that a quantum computer can now achieve computational power beyond that offered by the most powerful classical supercomputers. Accessing H2 remotely over the internet, the team generated certifiably random bits.

The protocol consisted of two steps. First, the team generated challenge random circuits and sent them to the untrusted remote quantum computer, which was then asked to return the corresponding samples. The response time was so quick that the challenge circuits could not be simulated classically in the same amount of time. This was tested against the best currently known techniques for simulating random circuits on the world’s most powerful supercomputers. Second, the randomness was mathematically certified to be genuine using classical supercomputers. This demonstrated randomness could not be mimicked by classical methods. Using classical certification across multiple leadership-scale supercomputers with a combined sustained performance of 1.1 x 10¹⁸ floating point operations per second (1.1 ExaFLOPS), the team certified 71,313 bits of entropy.

“This work marks a major milestone in quantum computing, demonstrating a solution to a real-world challenge using a quantum computer beyond the capabilities of classical supercomputers today,” said Dr. Marco Pistoia, Head of Global Technology Applied Research and Distinguished Engineer, JPMorganChase. “This development of Certified Randomness not only shows advancements in quantum hardware, but will be vital to further research, statistical sampling, numerical simulations and cryptography.”

“Today, we celebrate a pivotal milestone that brings quantum computing firmly into the realm of practical, real-world applications,” said Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, President and CEO of Quantinuum. “Our application of Certified Quantum Randomness not only demonstrates the unmatched performance of our trapped-ion technology but sets a new standard for delivering robust quantum security and enabling advanced simulations across industries like finance, manufacturing, and beyond. At Quantinuum, we are driving pioneering breakthroughs to redefine industries and unlock the full potential of quantum computing.”

“When I first proposed my certified randomness protocol in 2018, I had no idea how long I’d need to wait to see an experimental demonstration of it,” said Prof. Scott Aaronson, Schlumberger Centennial Chair of Computer Science and Director of the Quantum Information Center at The University of Texas at Austin. “I’m thrilled that JPMorganChase and Quantinuum have now built upon the original protocol and realized it. This is a first step toward using quantum computers to generate certified random bits for actual cryptographic applications.”

“These results in quantum computing were enabled by the world-leading U.S. Department of Energy computing facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,” said Dr. Travis Humble, Director of the Quantum Computing User Program and Director of the Quantum Science Center, both at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “Such pioneering efforts push the frontiers of computing and provide valuable insights into the intersection of quantum computing and high-performance computing.”

Read the full research paper here and a blog post from JPMorganChase here.

About JPMorganChase

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $4.0 trillion in assets and $345 billion in stockholders’ equity as of December 31, 2024. With over 63,000 technologists globally and an annual tech spend of $17 billion, JPMorgan Chase is dedicated to improving the design, analytics, development, coding, testing and application programming that goes into creating high quality software and new products. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Visit http://www.jpmorganchase.com/tech for more information.

About Argonne National Laboratory

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology by conducting leading-edge basic and applied research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

About Quantinuum

Quantinuum is the world leader in quantum computing. The company’s quantum systems deliver the highest performance across all industry benchmarks. Quantinuum’s over 550 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, across the US, UK, Germany, and Japan, are driving the quantum computing revolution.

About Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOE’s Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.

About University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin, founded in 1883, ranks among the 40 best universities in the world. It supports more than 50,000 diverse students with top national programs across 18 colleges and schools. UT is consistently rated a top educational value, and Austin is ranked America’s one of the top cities in which to live.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250326565250/en/