# Is data-efficient learning feasible with quantum models?

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.19437 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.19437/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 30 of its 46 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 26 Aug 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 30)

- [Neural Tangent Kernel: Convergence and Generalization in Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1806.07572/) (2018)
- [Barren plateaus in quantum neural network training landscapes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1803.11173/) (2018)
- [The power of quantum neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.00027/) (2020)
- [Power of data in quantum machine learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.01938/) (2020)
- [The effect of data encoding on the expressive power of variational quantum machine learning models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2008.08605/) (2020)
- [Regularisation of Neural Networks by Enforcing Lipschitz Continuity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.04368/) (2018)
- [A rigorous and robust quantum speed-up in supervised machine learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.02174/) (2020)
- [Generalization in quantum machine learning from few training data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.05292/) (2021)
- [Supervised quantum machine learning models are kernel methods](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.11020/) (2021)
- [Lipschitz-Margin Training: Scalable Certification of Perturbation Invariance for Deep Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.04034/) (2018)
- [Connecting ansatz expressibility to gradient magnitudes and barren plateaus](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.02138/) (2021)
- [Spectral Bias and Task-Model Alignment Explain Generalization in Kernel Regression and Infinitely Wide Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.13198/) (2020)
- [Quantum machine learning beyond kernel methods](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.13162/) (2021)
- [The Inductive Bias of Quantum Kernels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.03747/) (2021)
- [Exponential concentration in quantum kernel methods](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.11060/) (2022)
- [Learning Smooth Neural Functions via Lipschitz Regularization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.08345/) (2022)
- [Training Quantum Embedding Kernels on Near-Term Quantum Computers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.02276/) (2021)
- [Exploiting symmetry in variational quantum machine learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.06217/) (2022)
- [Understanding quantum machine learning also requires rethinking generalization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.13461/) (2023)
- [A case for new neural network smoothness constraints](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.07969/) (2020)
- [Classical surrogates for quantum learning models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.11740/) (2022)
- [Quantum Convolutional Neural Networks are Effectively Classically Simulable](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.12739/) (2024)
- [Bandwidth Enables Generalization in Quantum Kernel Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.06686/) (2022)
- [Importance of Kernel Bandwidth in Quantum Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.05451/) (2021)
- [Deeper or Wider: A Perspective from Optimal Generalization Error with Sobolev Loss](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.00152/) (2024)
- [A Hyperparameter Study for Quantum Kernel Methods](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.11891/) (2023)
- [Predominant Aspects on Security for Quantum Machine Learning: Literature Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.07774/) (2024)
- [On the similarity of bandwidth-tuned quantum kernels and classical kernels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.05602/) (2025)
- [Generalization Bounds in Hybrid Quantum-Classical Machine Learning Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.08456/) (2025)
- [Sobolev neural network with residual weighting as a surrogate in linear and non-linear mechanics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.16466/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The importance of analyzing nontrivial datasets when testing quantum machine learning (QML) models is becoming increasingly prominent in literature, yet a cohesive framework for understanding dataset characteristics remains elusive. In this work, we introduce a data-generation tool that allows to construct semi-artificial classical datasets tailored to quantum kernel methods (QKMs). Using this tool, we show that on fully classical datasets, QKMs can require fewer training examples than classical kernels to reach comparable error, providing clear empirical evidence that data-efficient learning with quantum models is possible on classical data. The main motivation behind this tool is to enable the community to perform controlled studies to figure out which dataset characteristics are particularly fitting for quantum models by tuning the data-generation procedure. Additionally, our study brings a spectral-bias-based generalization metric from classical kernel methods into the QML domain and show that the performance predicted by this metric aligns closely with empirical results, thereby closing an important gap between theory and practice in QML generalization. Our tool paves the way for a systematic exploration of dataset complexities. This could potentially contribute to a deeper understanding of the generalization benefits of QKM models (extendable to a broader family of QML models) and shifts the search for quantum advantage from ad hoc benchmark hunting to principled dataset design.