Learned software now operates quantum hardware, says FirstQFM

For thirty years, the promise of quantum computing has centered on exponentially faster factorization and search, a framing that FirstQFM’s Adam Wesołowski argues is now hindering progress. The Stockholm-based company, founded in 2025, is developing AI foundation models to optimize quantum hardware and redefine what is possible. “Can a system that contains a quantum computer beat the best system that does not?” Wesołowski asks, proposing a new benchmark focused on overall machine capabilities, including energy use, cost and solution quality, rather than solely computational speed. AI foundation models are now integral to maintaining stable operation of near-term quantum hardware, predicting calibration drifts and suggesting corrective pulse sequences before errors accumulate. FirstQFM, a Stockholm-based company, develops these models, analyzing qubit behavior in real-time using telemetry from superconducting and photonic systems. This constant machine learning intervention addresses…