Introducing the MQT Compiler Collection — A Classical-First Approach to Quantum Compilation
MQSC and TUM launch the MQT Compiler Collection — a compiler framework built on MLIR that takes a deliberate classical-first approach to quantum-classical compilation, designed to be powerful today and sustainable for the long run.
As quantum hardware matures, quantum algorithms are increasingly relying on structured control flow, classical logic, and tight HPC integration. Quantum-first compilation approaches have served the community well — but they are starting to show real limits when it comes to the complexity of modern quantum-classical workflows.
With the MQT Compiler Collection, MQSC takes a different approach: classical-first, and built on MLIR (Multi-Level Intermediate Representation) — infrastructure that builds on decades of classical compiler development. MLIR provides the flexibility and abstraction mechanisms needed to span the full compilation pipeline, from high-level quantum algorithms down to hardware-specific instructions, while enabling sophisticated cross-layer optimizations that go well beyond simple gate cancellation.
The result is a compiler infrastructure that integrates naturally with existing HPC and classical software ecosystems — and is built to grow with the quantum software stack rather than around it.
The MQT Compiler Collection is fully open source, with more features already in the pipeline. It was also presented at the Design, Automation and Test in Europe Conference (DATE) in a special session on MLIR for quantum computing.