Quantum computers simulate 12,000-atom proteins using 94 qubits in milestone

Researchers from Cleveland Clinic, RIKEN, and IBM completed the largest quantum-classical chemistry simulation to date.

Using up to 94 qubits plus classical supercomputers, they modeled two protein-ligand systems in water with as many as 12,635 atoms and about 30,000 orbitals.

The work far exceeds the scale of earlier quantum chemistry demonstrations, though it still does not outperform the best classical methods.

The milestone suggests quantum hardware is becoming useful for realistic chemistry problems, with potential impact on drug discovery and materials design.