A new software engine, EXESS, developed by QDX, dramatically accelerates quantum chemistry simulations, potentially revolutionizing drug development and materials science. For years, accurately modeling complex chemical interactions has been computationally prohibitive—often slower than physically synthesizing and testing compounds. EXESS changes that by performing over a quintillion calculations per second, making previously impractical simulations routine.
The Bottleneck in Chemical Research
Quantum chemistry is crucial for understanding how molecules behave, especially in drug design (predicting how drugs bind to targets) and materials science (optimizing material properties). The core issue has been scalability. The computing power needed grows exponentially with the size of the molecule; a protein with thousands of atoms could require months of processing time using conventional methods. This bottleneck forced researchers to choose between theoretical predictions and real-world experiments, often favoring the latter despite its cost and inefficiency.
How EXESS Breaks the Barrier
EXESS doesn’t rely on quantum computers—it operates on standard hardware. Instead, QDX optimized the software itself across numerous components, resulting in a 3,000-4,000x speed increase over existing tools. The key is parallelization: breaking down large problems into smaller, concurrent calculations.
“Nine chefs can’t cook a recipe in one-ninth of the time.” — Loong Wang, CEO of QDX
To achieve this, the team employed techniques like molecular fragmentation, splitting complex molecules into manageable pieces, calculating them simultaneously, and then reassembling the results. This approach reduces what would take months down to roughly 12 minutes.
Applications and Accessibility
Currently, QDX is prioritizing drug discovery: optimizing drug-body interactions and understanding drug resistance mechanisms. However, EXESS is being made available for approved research projects, with a limited version also accessible to the public.
The company’s goal isn’t just to solve specific problems but to unlock broader scientific potential. They actively encourage researchers to explore applications beyond their immediate focus, hoping to uncover new uses for accelerated quantum chemistry.
The ability to perform complex molecular simulations quickly represents a major leap forward. By removing the computational barriers, EXESS promises to accelerate innovation in fields where precise molecular understanding is critical, potentially leading to faster development of new medicines and advanced materials.
