QAOA is a variational quantum algorithm for solving combinatorial optimization problems on quantum computers. It works by using a classical optimizer in conjunction with a quantum computer to prepare quantum states that are close to the ground state of a Hamiltonian encoding the problem of interest. As it often requires many circuits to optimize the preparation of these states, ҹɫֱ²¥'s scientists work on both improvements and alternative methods to QAOA in pursuit of a scaling advantage for combinatorial optimization.