Abstract: The invention is a quantum circuit that unambiguously discriminates between two unknown quantum states of qubits. The circuit receives the qubits in the unknown states as inputs, or programs, in first and second program registers. A data register also receive a third qubit prepared in one of the two states stored in the program registers. The circuit, with some probability of success, determines which unknown state of the qubit in the data register matches the state stored in the first or second program registers. The optimal circuit, i.e., one that maximizes the probability of success, is universal because it does not depend on the actual unknown states to be discriminated. The quantum circuit has industrial applicability to quantum information, and in particular to quantum computing.