Quantum computers are known for their incredible speed and power—but until now, they’ve had one big problem: they could only run one task at a time.
Whether it’s a small experiment or a major research project, the entire machine has had to be reserved for just one user.
This has made quantum computing slow, expensive, and difficult to access, even for researchers.
That’s about to change.
A team of engineers from Columbia University has developed a new system called HyperQ that allows multiple people to use the same quantum computer at the same time.
The breakthrough works by creating virtual versions of quantum machines—called quantum virtual machines, or qVMs—that can run separately without interfering with each other.
“This is like bringing cloud computing to quantum machines,” said Professor Jason Nieh, who co-led the project.
“Now, instead of one person using a quantum computer while everyone else waits, multiple users can share it just like we do with regular cloud servers.”
Here’s how it works: HyperQ is a software layer that sits on top of the quantum hardware. It splits the machine into smaller sections, each of which can run its own program.
It also includes a smart scheduler that decides where to run each task, based on how much computing power it needs and which parts of the quantum chip are least noisy.
This careful planning allows different programs to run side-by-side without slowing each other down or causing errors.
The researchers tested HyperQ on IBM’s largest quantum computers using IBM’s cloud platform. It’s the first system to truly bring virtual machines to real quantum hardware, allowing many different tasks to run at once—even when users don’t know in advance which programs will be running together.
The results were impressive. HyperQ reduced the average wait time for users by up to 40 times. It also allowed ten times as many programs to be completed in the same amount of time, making far better use of the expensive hardware.
In some cases, it even made the programs more accurate by avoiding the noisiest areas of the chip.
The benefits go far beyond saving time. This system could help more scientists and companies access quantum computing power quickly and affordably. It could speed up progress in important fields like drug discovery, materials science, and clean energy.
HyperQ will be presented at a major conference in July and the team is already working on expanding it to work with all types of quantum machines—not just IBM’s.
This innovation marks a huge step toward making quantum computing practical, efficient, and accessible for everyone.
