Unlocking real-time speed for the quantum ecosystem with Backline from Xanadu and AMD

Xanadu and AMD have partnered to introduce Backline, an open platform for compilation and low-latency execution that dynamically connects quantum workloads to the right classical engine. Designed to power Xanadu’s photonic hardware, Backline is available today in PennyLane, allowing anyone to build and deploy to quantum and classical hardware.

By Josh Izaac

Today, no quantum technology exists in isolation. Whether the goal is engineering high-performance quantum supercomputers, developing ultra-precise diagnostic sensors, or establishing unhackable secure networks, a singular reality remains: a quantum computer is never purely quantum.

To make these systems work, tight classical integration is required — and Xanadu’s photonic quantum computing architecture represents one of the most demanding cases of all hardware platforms. Because light moves at light speed, photonic devices run at extremely high clock rates, leaving virtually no margin for computational delays. Success across the entire ecosystem depends on high-speed classical infrastructure operating in lockstep behind the scenes.

Today, we are delivering exactly that. Meet Backline.

Co-designed by Xanadu and AMD, Backline is an open platform that dynamically connects quantum programs to the right classical engine. By solving these intense bottlenecks, the broader quantum ecosystem can leverage this same open platform to overcome their own execution barriers, regardless of the underlying qubit modality.

• Ultra-low latency: Achieves end-to-end classical-quantum loop times under 3 microseconds, delivering ultra-fast data links to support quantum error correction, real-time network signal processing, and high-speed sensing.

• Scale from R&D to production: Begin prototyping immediately with CPUs. Progressively include consumer-grade and enterprise GPUs, FPGAs, and ASICs — all from the same software environment.

• Infrastructure agnostic: An open platform for the entire quantum ecosystem. Connects AMD adaptive SOCs and FPGAs, RDMA NICs, AMD Instinct™ GPUs, and AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ Processor & EPYC™ Server CPUs with quantum hardware.

• Python-first: Use Python to build quantum applications for production-grade execution across quantum and classical hardware.

Integrated within the open-source PennyLane platform, and supporting a broad swath of AMD hardware, Backline provides a universal platform so that anyone can build and deploy to quantum and classical hardware. By transforming complex hardware orchestration into a streamlined, Python-first workflow, it ensures that every innovator — from research labs to enterprise engineering teams — can design, test, and deploy production-grade quantum technologies.

To learn more about Backline, read our whitepaper or our technical paper. Then, check out our tutorial to get started using Backline today.

Additional resources

• Whitepaper: Unlocking real-time speed for the entire quantum ecosystem with PennyLane and Backline

• Press Release: Xanadu and AMD launch Backline to streamline CPU, GPU, FPGA integration for quantum technology

• AMD Blog: Unlocking real-time speed for the quantum ecosystem with PennyLane, Backline, and AMD

• PennyLane Blog: From Python to hardware: real-time classical co-processing with PennyLane, Backline, and AMD