Arthur McMiler 
- AMD plans an equity stake in PsiQuantum as joint work extends beyond FPGAs to GPUs, CPUs and software
- Drug discovery, which DOE lists under biological modeling, is the planned first commercial target
- The companies may add a joint presence at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park in Chicago
PsiQuantum and AMD will jointly engineer the classical computing backbone for utility-scale fault-tolerant quantum machines, under an expanded partnership that the companies announced Thursday. The companies said they will also build applications that combine quantum, high-performance and AI processing.
In addition, AMD intends to take an equity stake in the Palo Alto, California-based PsiQuantum.
The strategic agreement grows out of PsiQuantum’s earlier decision to use AMD Versal field-programmable gate arrays to develop its fault-tolerant platform. The partnership now adds AMD Instinct graphics processing units, EPYC central processing units and the ROCm software stack. The partners will pair that hardware with PsiQuantum’s silicon photonics technology and integrated system design.
The companies said they expect the combination of classical high-performance computing, AI and photonic quantum hardware to produce a hybrid computing fabric.
Mark Papermaster, AMD executive vice president and chief technology officer, said the company sees quantum computing as another field “where leadership in classical computing is essential to building systems at scale.”
How Is PsiQuantum Applying AMD Hardware to Quantum Error Correction?
Working with AMD, PsiQuantum researchers adapted PRISM, a machine learning decoder, to run with minimal delay on programmable hardware accelerators. The companies said the design combines speed and accuracy to support real-time error correction in large photonic quantum systems.
AMD processors also supply the classical foundation for a quantum error correction co-design platform that IBM, AMD and Oak Ridge National Laboratory‘s Quantum Science Center unveiled last week. That platform places IBM quantum hardware beside Umbra, an ORNL system built on Instinct MI355X GPUs and fifth-generation EPYC chips.
Why Are PsiQuantum and AMD Focusing First on Drug Discovery?
PsiQuantum said its proprietary computational chemistry methods already go beyond state-of-the-art calculations when run on AMD hardware. Pairing those workflows with large-scale simulation on AMD GPUs has produced early results in modeling covalent inhibitors. These molecules are relevant to the development of cancer drugs.
PsiQuantum plans to extend that work into integrated accelerated computing offerings for commercial customers, starting with pharmaceutical research. According to the company, the methods are intended to improve current GPU-based techniques and prepare industries for fault-tolerant machines.
CEO Victor Peng said quantum computing, operating alongside AI and high-performance computing, will address problems in healthcare, materials, energy and finance “that are out of reach today.”
How Does the Partnership Tie Into DOE’s Quantum Genesis Initiative?
The companies said their work aligns with the Department of Energy’s recently issued Quantum Genesis Priority Applications. That list identifies scientific problems that fault-tolerant quantum computers are expected to solve. Drug discovery falls under biological modeling, one of the emerging application areas DOE named.
DOE launched Quantum Genesis in June. Its goal is to deploy a scientifically relevant fault-tolerant quantum computing capability by 2028. In September, the department opened the Q Competition with up to $215 million in awards, including a $100 million pool for systems with at least 100 logical qubits. Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil has said DOE will remain technology-neutral across hardware approaches, and he cited drug development as a potential use.
Quantum Genesis is part of DOE’s broader AI-focused Genesis Mission. That effort recently issued $159 million in Phase II awards and selected SLAC to lead an autonomous laboratory testbed.
What Other Federal Quantum Work Involves PsiQuantum?
In September, Brookhaven National Laboratory said its researchers would use PsiQuantum’s Construct software platform to develop algorithms for early fault-tolerant systems under Quantum Genesis. PsiQuantum was also among the companies the Department of Commerce selected in May for more than $2 billion in CHIPS and Science Act quantum incentives.
What Role Could the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park Play?
PsiQuantum and AMD will also explore a joint presence at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park in Chicago, where PsiQuantum is the anchor tenant. The companies called the site the nation’s largest quantum computing project.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said the expanded relationship “has the potential to advance that work” at the park.
