Spain launches its third quantum supercomputer to revolutionise AI and medicine

Spain revealed a third quantum supercomputer at the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC). The system was designed and built by Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech in Barcelona and funded by the European Commission and Spain’s Secretariat of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, totaling €9.8 million. The machine was unveiled on May 28 at BSC headquarters. Conventional computers use bits that represent only 0 or 1, while supercomputers use qubits that can represent both states at once, enabling solutions to problems that conventional computers struggle with. The new supercomputer is an analogue system intended to complement two earlier digital supercomputers. It will be integrated into the MareNostrum 5 system, which performs up to 314 quadrillion calculations per second by combining classical supercomputing, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence.

"Spain has finally revealed its third quantum supercomputer, a machine that is capable of developing far more complicated algorithms than conventional computers can. The supercomputer, located at the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, or BSC, was designed and built by Barcelona-based company Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech and funded by the European Commission and Spain's Secretariat of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, representing a total investment of €9.8 million. The computer was revealed on Thursday, May 28 at the BSC headquarters."

"What differentiates a supercomputer from a conventional computer is that the latter works with bits, which is short for "binary digits" and is the most basic unit of information in computer science. These bits can only represent the values 0 or 1. Supercomputers, on the other hand, use qubits, which can represent both states at once. This means that supercomputers can easily take on problems that a conventional computer can barely solve."

"The BSC's third supercomputer was built to speed up research and the development of artificial intelligence. Unlike the two previous supercomputers built at the centre, the third one is analogue, while the others are digital. The machine has been made to complement the systems that are already in place. It will be integrated into the MareNostrum 5 system, a large supercomputer already in place at the centre that is capable of performing up to 314 quadrillion calculations per second, combining classical supercomputing, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence."

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