CEA and Alice & Bob to Build Quantum Software Rival to Nvidia's CUDA-Q

France's Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and quantum startup Alice & Bob announced on Thursday that they will jointly develop software to connect quantum processors with conventional supercomputers, positioning the effort as a counterweight to Nvidia's CUDA-Q platform.

The two partners will work on improving Qaptiva, a software stack developed by the state-owned supercomputer manufacturer Bull, with the goal of creating an alternative to Nvidia's quantum development platform. Executives at both organisations said such alternatives are needed to prevent the software bottleneck that has formed around CUDA in artificial intelligence.

Alice & Bob described software as the layer that makes quantum computing practically usable, adding that a wider field of options would accelerate progress across the sector.

The CEA, a research centre with an annual budget of close to €6 billion ($6.9 billion) that also oversees France's nuclear deterrent, said the programme is intended to strengthen the domestic quantum industry. Under the plan, the agency will act as an early customer for French startups and give them access to its computing facilities.

The technical objective is to combine classical supercomputers with quantum processors, delegating to the quantum machine only those portions of a problem where it may eventually hold an advantage. The CEA has already installed quantum computers from French firms Quandela and Pasqal alongside its classical supercomputer, and expects to add Alice & Bob's system in 2027.