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Insider Brief
- An Alice & Bob and Hyperion Research report says HPC centers must prepare their software, workflows and expertise before fault-tolerant quantum computers arrive.
- The report recommends testing quantum-HPC-AI architectures, developing open software standards and jointly designing workflows across computing disciplines.
- Interviews with 15 HPC practitioners found that premature deployment of immature systems could undermine confidence in quantum computing.
PRESS RELEASE — Alice & Bob , a leader in fault-tolerant quantum computing, and Hyperion Research, the HPC industry’s leading analyst and market-intelligence firm, today released a new report on what it will take to enable HPC-Quantum-AI systems with insights from HPC practitioners.
As quantum hardware advances toward fault-tolerance, a key concern for HPC centers is ensuring that the software stack, hybrid workflows, and operational expertise will be ready when the hardware is. The new report “HPC-Quantum-AI: Shaping the Next Compute Era,” also found that many HPC practitioners worry that an immature stack, deployed too early, risks failures that erode the HPC community’s trust in quantum computing for years to come.
“What ultimately determines whether a quantum processor can deliver value in an HPC environment is its ability to execute applications. As quantum hardware has progressed at pace, the conversation in HPC is shifting from whether qubits will be delivered to how to get the most from them,” says Juliette Peyronnet, GM US, Alice & Bob.
The report is informed by interviews with fifteen directors, quantum program leads, and engineers at leading supercomputing institutions across Europe, APAC, and the United States, including: Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory/NERSC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, RIKEN, Munich Quantum Valley, and Pawsey Supercomputing Centre.
The report identifies three actions the quantum-HPC community should take now:
- Navigate the quantum-HPC-AI design space: How tightly quantum must couple to classical and AI compute is unproven and comes down to one variable: how much latency a workload can tolerate. The answer cannot be bought, only measured. Centers running testbeds today will be able to commit capital on evidence, not hypothesis.
- Unify the software stack: Quantum vendors and HPC centers should develop open standards on the layers that do not depend on qubit modality, such as device management and job submission, while compilers and programming models stay open to competition.
- Co-design workflows: Gains in fault-tolerant quantum computing will be best realized where HPC and AI experts and quantum vendors work on the same problem. The report cites an example of a quantum chemistry workflow targeting a 10,000-fold speed-up.
The report closes with the case for on-premise deployment, highlighting how integration expertise accrues in the centers that operate a quantum machine with full access. The first fault-tolerant machines, the report argues, will go to the centers already building that readiness.
This 2026 edition is the second report in a series titled: “Seizing Quantum’s Edge” which maps HPC-Quantum-AI integration. The 2025 edition made the case that HPC centers should prepare for early fault-tolerant quantum computing.
“The timing for this report is spot on. HPC end users everywhere are looking for guidance and insights for what it will take to integrate the computational power of quantum into the current and projected advanced computing ecosystem. This report covers the key issues required to successfully navigate that process by QC vendors and end users alike. The credibility of the report is bolstered by key insights gathered from an impressive base of HPC experts who are already looking to the future of quantum computing utility,” said Bob Sorensen, SVP of Research and Chief Analyst for Quantum Computing, Hyperion Research.
The report is available for download at: https://alice-bob.com/hpc-report/#HPC-Quantum-AI/.