1000x Faster and Cheaper than Classical – with Richard Givhan of Haiqu | Ep. 131

Is quantum computing trapped behind a hardware bottleneck? In this episode, host Konstantinos Karagiannis sits down with Richard Givhan, the CEO of Haiqu, who challenges this long-standing narrative. While the industry has historically focused on building perfect, fault-tolerant systems, Givhan argues that this theoretical cynicism has caused the software layer to be deeply undervalued. Haiqu is disrupting this perspective by championing a wave of empirical optimism, proving that enterprise R&D teams can extract massive value, run frontier-scale simulations and achieve scientific milestones right now using near-term, noisy and partially corrected hardware.

The conversation dives deep into Haiqu’s breakthrough orchestration and compression techniques, demonstrating how they achieved a jaw-dropping 1,000x reduction in both time and cost. Specifically, they compressed a $30,000, nine-hour classical simulation down to just $25 and 30 seconds. Givhan also unveils the future of the quantum workflow: Haiqu’s agentic Quantum OS. By integrating specialized AI research agents to automate literature reviews, handle classical baselining and collaboratively design advanced circuits, Haiqu is dramatically accelerating the R&D loop from six-month trial phases down to a matter of days. Finally, Givhan shares his perspective on the true arrival of commercial quantum advantage, noting that we will know it is truly here when competitive industries, like finance, suddenly go completely silent about their quantum capabilities.

For more information on Haiqu, visit https://haiqu.ai/.

Visit Protiviti at https://www.protiviti.com/US-en/technology-consulting/quantum-computing-services to learn more about how Protiviti is helping organizations get post-quantum ready.

Follow host Konstantinos Karagiannis on all socials: @KonstantHacker
Questions and comments are welcome!

Theme song by David Schwartz, copyright 2021.

The views expressed by the participants of this program are their own and do not represent the views of, nor are they endorsed by, Protiviti Inc., The Post-Quantum World, or their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, shareholders, or subsidiaries. None of the content should be considered investment advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or as an endorsement of any company, security, fund, or other securities or non-securities offering. Thanks for listening to this podcast. Protiviti Inc. is an equal opportunity employer, including minorities, females, people with disabilities, and veterans.