The end-goal is to make quantum understandable and approachable to a broad audience so they can extract value faster without having to understand the complex quantum market or the physics behind the technology.
“For decades, SAS has helped organizations across a host of industries find better answers faster and improve business decisions through data and AI. With the emergence of quantum technologies, companies can analyze more data than ever and achieve amazingly fast answers to very complex questions involving myriad variables,” said Bill Wisotsky, Principal Quantum Architect at SAS.
“Our goal is to make quantum research simple and intuitive for our customers and help them apply it to their business.”
Collaborations with top companies
SAS is already tackling real-world problems by applying hybrid architectures, which include both quantum and traditional (a.k.a. classical) computing. And SAS is working with top companies to explore breakthrough solutions to business challenges.
A major consumer goods company is working with SAS on a proof of concept related to hybrid quantum-classical optimization, using quantum annealing and SAS classical optimization solvers. It is one of several organizations with whom SAS is collaborating to apply data and AI to complex and compute-intensive business challenges. Quantum AI and advanced models can take advantage of the significant speed increase and expressibility of quantum computers.
SAS researchers are focused on key industries that will benefit from the speed and scale of quantum AI, including life sciences for enhanced drug discovery, financial services for better risk management, and manufacturing for improved materials and optimized processes.
SAS is also collaborating with leading companies in quantum computing such as D-Wave Quantum, IBM and QuEra Computing.
SAS is experimenting with the use of quantum AI components in some of its latest technologies. For example, it has conducted an experiment interfacing with quantum annealing technology through SAS Viya Workbench, a self-service, on-demand compute environment for conducting data preparation and exploratory data analysis and developing AI models.
In the future, SAS plans to add ways for developers to experiment with quantum AI in tools like SAS Viya Workbench, part of SAS’ flagship data and AI platform.
