Schedule — Monday, June 22

Analog Quantum Computing in Practice: Graph Optimization for Telco and the Road to Digital Machines

Abstract: The telecommunications industry is increasingly confronted with optimization challenges of combinatorial nature that map naturally onto hard graph problems such as Maximum Independent Set and graph coloring. In this talk, we present LINKS Foundation's ongoing research into analog quantum computing as a practical framework for tackling such problems on near-term quantum hardware. We discuss how adiabatic and variational analog approaches, including Rydberg-atom platforms, can be leveraged to encode and approximately solve graph combinatorial instances relevant to telco use cases. Drawing on experimental and emulation results, we examine the current capabilities and limitations of analog quantum solvers, their integration within hybrid classical-quantum workflows, and the specific challenges that arise when scaling to industry-relevant problem sizes. The talk concludes with a forward-looking perspective on the evolution of neutral-atom hardware toward digital, gate-based architectures, and what this transition may mean for the future of quantum optimization.

Short bio: Giacomo Vitali is a PhD candidate at Politecnico di Torino in Quantum Computing, with a degree in Physics of Fundamental Interactions from the University of Pisa. Following a research appointment at Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, where he contributed to the LHCb experiment at CERN, he joined LINKS Foundation as a Senior Researcher in Computer Science. There, his work has spanned High-Performance Computing, including resource orchestration, and Quantum Computing. He currently leads the Quantum Computing research group at LINKS Foundation.