Category Archives: Quantum Computing
Quantum Computing Market Key Players, Product and Production Information analysis and forecast to 2026 – Running Africa
The business intelligence report on the Quantum Computing market contains in-depth information about factors influencing revenue generation such as prevailing and current industry trends, challenges faced by businesses, and opportunities available over 2021-2026.
Esteemed researchers cite that Quantum Computing market is projected to grow at a rate of XX% over the stipulated timeframe. By 20XX, it is projected to amass a valuation USD XX.
The research literature analyses the vertical thoroughly by fragmenting it into various segments, including product types, application range, and regions. It provides exhaustive information about revenue garnered, sales, and factors affecting the development of each sub-market. Moreover, it makes inclusion of vast information regarding leading companies, highlighting their weaknesses and strengths, so as to help stakeholders elevate their position in this domain.
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Main highlights of the market report:
Quantum Computing market segments covered in the report:
Regional bifurcation: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East & Africa, South East Asia
Product gamut: Hardware , Software and Cloud Service
Application spectrum: Medical , Chemistry , Transportation , Manufacturing and Others
Competitive dashboard: D-Wave Solutions , IBM , Google , Microsoft , Rigetti Computing , Intel , Origin Quantum Computing Technology , Anyon Systems Inc. , Cambridge Quantum Computing Limited , ColdQuanta , 1QBit , Xanadu Quantum Technologies , Honeywell , Zapata Computing , Fujitsu , QC Ware and Ion Q
Reasons for buying this report:
The key questions answered in this report:
Significant Point Mentioned in theResearch report:
Major highlights of the Table of Contentsof the Quantum Computing market Size study:
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Quantum Computing Market Key Players, Product and Production Information analysis and forecast to 2026 - Running Africa
Truman and Hruby 2022 fellows explore their p – EurekAlert
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Postdoctoral researchers who are designated Truman and Hruby fellows experience Sandia National Laboratories differently from their peers.
Appointees to the prestigious fellowships are given the latitude to pursue their own ideas, rather than being trained by fitting into the research plans of more experienced researchers. To give wings to this process, the four annual winners two for each category are 100 percent pre-funded for three years. This enables them, like bishops or knights in chess, to cut across financial barriers, walk into any group and participate in work by others that might help illuminate the research each has chosen to pursue.
The extraordinary appointments are named for former President Harry Truman and former Sandia President Jill Hruby, now the U.S. Department of Energy undersecretary for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Truman wrote to the president of Bell Labs that he had an opportunity, in managing Sandia in its very earliest days, to perform exceptional service in the national interest. The President Harry S. Truman Fellowship in National Security Science and Engineering could be said to assert Sandias intention to continue to fulfill Trumans hope.
The Jill Hruby Fellowship in National Security Science and Engineering offers the same pay, benefits and privileges as the Truman. It honors former Sandia President Jill Hruby, the first woman to direct a national laboratory. While all qualified applicants will be considered for this fellowship, and its purpose is to pursue independent research to develop advanced technologies to ensure global peace, another aim is to develop a cadre of women in the engineering and science fields who are interested in technical leadership careers in national security.
The selectees are:
Alicia Magann: The quantum information science toolkit
To help speed the emergence of quantum computers as important research tools, Alicia Magann is working to create a quantum information science toolkit. These modeling and simulation algorithms should enable quantum researchers to hit the ground running with meaningful science as quantum computing hardware improves, she says.
Alicia Magann will explore the possibilities of quantum control in the era of quantum computing during her Truman fellowship at Sandia National Laboratories. (Photo courtesy Alicia Magann) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.
Her focus will extend aspects of her doctoral research at Princeton University to help explore the possibilities of quantum control in the era of quantum computing.
At Sandia, she will be working with Sandias quantum computer science department to develop algorithms for quantum computers that can be used to study the control of molecular systems.
Im most interested in probing how interactions between light and matter can be harnessed towards new science and technology, Magann said. How well can we control the behavior of complicated quantum systems by shining laser light on them? What kinds of interesting dynamics can we create, and what laser resources do we need?
A big problem, she says, is that its so difficult to explore these questions in much detail on conventional computers. But quantum computers would give us a much more natural setting for doing this computational exploration.
Her mentor, Mohan Sarovar, is an ideal mentor because hes knowledgeable about quantum control and quantum computing the two fields Im connecting with my project.
During her doctoral research, Magann was a DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellow and also served as a graduate intern in Sandias extreme-scale data science and analytics department, where she heard by word of mouth about the Truman and Hruby fellowships. She applied for both and was thrilled to be interviewed and thrilled to be awarded the Truman.
Technical journals in which her work has been published include Quantum, Physical Review A, Physical Review Research, PRX Quantum, and IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology. One of her most recent 2021 publications is Digital Quantum Simulation of Molecular Dynamics & Control in Physical Review Research.
Gabriel Shipley: Mitigating instabilities at Sandias Z machine
When people mentioned the idea to Gabe Shipley about applying for a Truman fellowship, he scoffed. He hadnt gone to an Ivy League school. He hadnt studied with Nobel laureates. What he had done, by the time he received his doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of New Mexico in 2021, was work at Sandia for eight years as an undergraduate student intern from 2013 and a graduate student intern since 2015. He wasnt sure that counted.
Gabriel Shipley, who broadened the use of a small pulsed power machine called Mykonos in a past internship, plans to investigate the origins and evolution of 3D instabilities in pulsed-power-driven implosions at Sandia National Laboratories powerful Z machine during his Truman fellowship. (Photo courtesy of Gabe Shipley) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.
The candidates for the Truman are rock stars, Shipley told colleague Paul Schmit. When they graduate, theyre offered tenure track positions at universities.
Schmit, himself a former Truman selectee and in this case a walking embodiment of positive reinforcement, advised, Dont sell yourself short.
That was good advice. Shipley needed to keep in mind that as a student, he led 75 shots on Mykonos, a relatively small Sandia pulsed power machine, significantly broadening its use. I was the first person to execute targeted physics experiments on Mykonos, he said. He measured magnetic field production using miniature magnetic field probes and optically diagnosed dielectric breakdown in the target.
He used the results to convince management to let him lead seven shots on Sandias premier Z machine, an expression of confidence rarely bestowed upon a student. I got amazing support from colleagues, he said. These are the best people in the world.
Among them is theoretical physicist Steve Slutz, who theorized that a magnetized target, preheated by a laser beam, would intensify the effect of Zs electrical pulse to produce record numbers of fusion reactions. Shipley has worked to come up with physical solutions that would best embody that theory.
With Sandia physicist Thomas Awe, he developed methods that may allow researchers to scrap external structures called Helmholtz coils to provide magnetic fields and instead create them using only an invented architecture that takes advantage of Zs own electrical current.
His Truman focus investigating the origins and evolution of 3D instabilities in pulsed-power-driven implosions would ameliorate a major problem with Z pinches if what he finds proves useful. Instabilities have been recognized since at least the 1950s as weakening pinch effectiveness. They currently limit the extent of compression and confinement achievable in the fusion fuel. Mitigating their effect would be a major achievement for everyone at Z and a major improvement for every researcher using those facilities.
Shipley has authored articles in the journal Physics of Plasmas and provided invited talks at the Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics and the 9th Fundamental Science with Pulsed Power: Research Opportunities and User Meeting. His most recent publication in Physics of Plasmas, Design of Dynamic Screw Pinch Experiments for Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion, represents another attempt to increase Z machine output.
Sommer Johansen: Wheres the nitrogen?
Sommer Johansen received her doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of California, Davis, where her thesis involved going backward in time to explore the evolution of prebiotic molecules in the form of cyclic nitrogen compounds; her time machine consisted of combining laboratory spectroscopy and computational chemistry to learn how these molecules formed during the earliest stages of our solar system.
Sommer Johansen aims to improve models that demonstrate how burning bio-derived fuels affect the Earths planetary ecology and severe forest fires caused by climate change during her Hruby fellowship at Sandia National Laboratories. (Photo courtesy of Sommer Johansen) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.
Cyclic nitrogen-containing organic molecules are found on meteorites, but we have not directly detected them in space. So how were they formed and why havent we found where that happens? she asked.
That work, funded by a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship, formed the basis of publications in The Journal of Physical Chemistry and resulted in the inaugural Lewis E. Snyder Astrochemistry Award at the International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy. The work also was the subject of an invited talk she gave at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Stars & Planets Seminar in 2020.
At Sandia, she intends to come down to Earth, both literally and metaphorically, by experimenting at Sandias Combustion Research Facility in Livermore on projects of her own design.
She hopes to help improve comprehensive chemical kinetics models of the after-effects on Earths planetary ecology of burning bio-derived fuels and the increasingly severe forest fires caused by climate change.
Every time you burn something that was alive, nitrogen-containing species are released, she says. However, the chemical pathways of organic nitrogen-containing species are vastly under-represented in models of combustion and atmospheric chemistry, she says. We need highly accurate models to make accurate predictions. For example, right now it isnt clear how varying concentrations of different nitrogenated compounds within biofuels could affect efficiency and the emission of pollutants, she said.
Johansen will be working with the gas-phase chemical physics department, studying gas-phase nitrogen chemistry at Sandias Livermore site under the mentorship of Lenny Sheps and Judit Zdor. UC Davis is close to Livermore, and the Combustion Research Facility there was always in the back of my mind. I wanted to go there, use the best equipment in the world and work with some our fields smartest people.
She found particularly attractive that the Hruby fellowship not only encouraged winners to work on their own projects but also had a leadership and professional development component to help scientists become well-rounded. Johansen had already budgeted time outside lab work at UC Davis, where for five years she taught or helped assistants teach a workshop for incoming graduate students on the computer program Python. We had 30 people a year participating, until last year (when we went virtual) and had 150.
The program she initiated, she says, became a permanent fixture in my university.
Alex Downs: Long-lived wearable biosensors
As Alex Downs completed her doctorate at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in August 2021, she liked Sandia on LinkedIn. The Hruby postdoc listing happened to show up, she said, and it interested her. She wanted to create wearable biosensors for long duration, real-time molecular measurements of health markers that would be an ongoing measurement of a persons well-being. This would lessen the need to visit doctors offices and labs for evaluations that were not only expensive but might not register the full range of a persons illness.
Alex Downs hopes to create wearable biosensors that gather real-time molecular measurements from health markers and would lessen the need to visit doctors offices and labs for evaluations during her Hruby fellowship at Sandia National Laboratories. (Photo courtesy of Alex Downs) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.
Her thesis title was Electrochemical Methods for Improving Spatial Resolution, Temporal Resolution, and Signal Accuracy of Aptamer Biosensors.
She thought, Theres a huge opportunity here for freedom to explore my research interests. I can bring my expertise in electrochemistry and device fabrication and develop new skills working with microneedles and possibly other sensing platforms. That expertise is needed because a key problem with wearable biosensors is that in the body, they degrade. To address this, Downs wants to study the stability of different parts of the sensor interface when its exposed to bodily fluids, like blood.
I plan not only to make the sensors longer lasting by improved understanding of how the sensors are impacted by biofouling in media, I will also investigate replacing the monolayers used in the present sensor design with new, more fouling resistant monolayers, she said.
The recognition element for this type of biosensor are aptamers strands of DNA that bind specifically to a given target, such as a small molecule or protein. When you add a reporter to an aptamer sequence and put it down on a conductive surface, you can measure target binding to the sensor as a change in electrochemical signal, she said.
The work fits well with Sandias biological and chemical sensors team, and when Downs came to Sandia in October, she was welcomed with coffee and donuts from her mentor Ronen Polsky, an internationally recognized expert in wearable microneedle sensors. Polsky introduced her to other scientists, told her of related projects and discussed research ideas.
Right now, meeting with people all across the Labs has been helpful, she said. Later, I look forward to learning more about the Laboratory Directed Research and Development review process, going to Washington, D.C. and learning more about how science policy works. But right now, Im mainly focused on setting up a lab to do the initial experiments for developing microneedle aptamer-based sensors, Downs said.
Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energys National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense, energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California.
Sandia news media contact: Neal Singer, nsinger@sandia.gov, 505-977-7255
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Truman and Hruby 2022 fellows explore their p - EurekAlert
Taking quantum computing into real-world applications – University of Strathclyde
A new project which aims to take quantum computing from the lab to real-world applications has received 3 million of new funding.
The University of Strathclyde is a partner in the Empowering Practical Interfacing of Quantum Computing (EPIQC) project.
Over the next four years, quantum computing and information and communication technologies (ICT) researchers across the UK will work together to co-create new ways to bridge the gap between current quantum computers and ICT.
Unlike conventional digital computers, which encode information in the form of binary bits, quantum computers harness the phenomena of superposition and entanglement to encode information, unlocking the potential for much more advanced computing.
Currently, there is no overarching infrastructure to enable widespread interaction with quantum computers through information and communication technologies, as there is with digital computers. Without an established ICT structure, quantum computing cannot be extended to the devices, networking, and components that are commonplace in todays digital world.
EPIQC brings together researchers to work on the interface of quantum computing and ICT through the co-creation and networking activities. The collaborators will focus on three key areas of work to help overcome some of the barriers which are currently preventing the field of quantum computing from scaling up to practical applications through ICT: optical interconnects; wireless control and readout, and cryoelectronics.
The project is supported by funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UKRI (UK Research and Innovation). It is being led at the University of Glasgow.
Dr Alessandro Rossi, a Senior Lecturer inPhysics and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, is Strathclydes lead on the project. He said: We are at the dawn of a new technological era based on the exploitation of the laws of quantum physics. In order to bring this new technology to fruition, a number of engineering challenges lie ahead.
To this end, EPIQC will provide a unique opportunity to develop ICT technology tailored to quantum applications. Its interdisciplinarity will enable collaborations within a very diverse pool of scientists ranging from integrated circuit designers to quantum engineers, as well as material and optical physicists.
At Strathclyde, my team will be focusing on implementing wireless signal links between the quantum devices and the control electronics in a cryogenic environment. This is a formidable and crucial challenge to be tackled, in order to enable large quantum computing systems that could help solve practical real-life problems.
Other partners in the project are: the Universities of Birmingham, Lancaster and Southampton; University College London; Kings College London; the National Quantum Computing Centre; the Science and Technology Facilities Council; QuantIC; QCS Hub; IET Quantum Engineering Network; EPSRC eFutures Network and the National Physical Laboratory. EPIQCs industrial partners include: Oxford Instruments; Leonardo; NuQuantum; BT; SeeQC; Semiwise; Quantumbase; Nokia; Ericsson; Kelvin Nanotechnology, and SureCore.
Strathclyde is the only academic institution that has been a partner in all four EPSRC funded Quantum Technology Hubs in both phases of funding, in: Sensing and Timing; Quantum Enhanced Imaging; Quantum Computing and Simulation, and Quantum Communications Technologies.
A Quantum Technology Cluster is embedded in the Glasgow City Innovation District, an initiative driven by Strathclyde along with Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise, Entrepreneurial Scotland and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce. It is envisaged as a global place for quantum industrialisation, attracting companies to co-locate, accelerate growth, improve productivity and access world-class research technology and talent at Strathclyde.
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Taking quantum computing into real-world applications - University of Strathclyde
Microsoft reports a Majorana development in its quest to build quantum computers – GeekWire
Postdoctoral researcher Xiaojing Zhao works in Microsofts Quantum Materials Lab, where an important milestone towards creating a topological qubit and scalable quantum computer has been demonstrated. (Photo by John Brecher for Microsoft)
Microsoft says its researchers have found evidence of an exotic phenomenon thats key to its plans to build general-purpose quantum computers.
The phenomenon, known as a Majorana zero mode, is expected to smooth the path for topological quantum computing the technological approach thats favored by Microsofts Azure Quantum program.
Quantum computing is a weird enough concept by itself: In contrast with the rigid one-or-zero world of classical computing, quantum computing juggles quantum bits, or qubits, that can represent ones and zeroes simultaneously until the results are read out.
Scientists say the quantum approach can solve certain types of problems for example, network optimization or simulations of molecular interactions far more quickly than the classical approach. Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and other cloud-based services are already using hybrid systems to bring some of the benefits of the quantum approach to applications ranging from drug development to traffic management.
At the same time, Microsoft and other companies are trying to build the hardware and software for full-stack quantum computing systems that can take on a far wider range of applications. Microsoft has chosen a particularly exotic technological strategy, which involves inducing quantum states on topological superconducting wires. To keep those quantum states stable, the wires would host Majorana zero modes localized at each end.
Majorana zero modes have been a topic of theoretical interest since 1937, but for decades, they remained exclusively in the realm of theory. In 2018, a team of researchers reported that they had created the phenomenon, only to retract their claims three years later. Other claims have met with controversy as well, casting doubt on the prospects for topological quantum computing.
Last year, an analysis of data from Azure Quantums experimental quantum devices found signatures suggesting that Majorana zero modes were present at both ends of a precisely tuned nanowire. Other signatures in the electrical conductance data pointed to the opening and closing of whats known as a topological gap another telltale sign pointing to a successful detection.
It was suddenly wow, Roman Lutchkin, a Microsoft partner research manager with expertise in quantum simulation, said in a Microsoft report on the Majorana research. We looked at the data, and this was it.
Zulfi Alam, a corporate vice president who heads Microsofts quantum computing effort, said the hardware team has invited an external council of experts to review and validate the findings.
Even if the results are validated, it will take lots more research to create topological qubits and assemble a quantum computer thats ready for prime time. But at least Microsofts researchers will have added confidence that theyre on the right track.
Whats amazing is humans have been able to engineer a system to demonstrate one of the most exotic pieces of physics in the universe, said Microsoft engineer Krysta Svore, who leads the companys quantum software development program. And we expect to capitalize on this to do the almost unthinkable to push toward a fault-tolerant quantum machine that will enable computation on an entirely new level thats closer to the way nature operates.
Researchers discussed their findings this month during a meeting organized by Microsofts Station Q in Santa Barbara, Calif. For further details, check out the latest installment of Microsofts Innovation Stories and todays posting on the Microsoft Research Blog.
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Microsoft reports a Majorana development in its quest to build quantum computers - GeekWire
The Explosive Quantum Computing Stock That Could Save the World – InvestorPlace
Im a history junkie. So, in this special Sunday issue of Hypergrowth Investing, let me start by sharing an interesting story from history that I bet a lot of you have never heard before but which, interestingly enough, could be the key to enabling you to make money in this tough market.
Back in October of 1927, the worlds leading scientists descended upon Brussels for the fifth Solvay Conference an exclusive, invite-only conference dedicated to discussing and solving the outstanding preeminent open problems in physics and chemistry.
In attendance were scientists that, today, we praise as the brightest minds in the history of humankind.
Albert Einstein was there so was Erwin Schrodinger, who devised the famous Schrodingers cat experiment and Werner Heisenberg, the man behind the world-changing Heisenberg uncertainty principle and Louis de Broglie. Max Born. Neils Bohr. Max Planck.
The list goes on and on. Of the 29 scientists who met in Brussels in October 1927, 17 of them went on to win a Nobel Prize.
These are the minds that collectively created the scientific foundation upon which the modern world is built.
And yet, when they all descended upon Brussels nearly 94 years ago, they got stumped by one concept one concept that for nearly a century has remained the elusive key to unlocking the full potential of humankind.
And now, for the first time ever, that concept which stumped even Einstein is turning into a disruptive reality, via a breakthrough technology that will change the world as we know it, and potentially even save it from a global war.
So what exactly were Einstein, Schrodinger, Heisenberg, and the rest of those Nobel Laureates talking about in Brussels back in 1927?
Quantum mechanics.
Now, to be clear, quantum mechanics is a big, complex topic that would require 500 pages to fully understand, but heres my best job at making a Cliffs Notes version in 500 words instead
For centuries, scientists have developed, tested, and validated the laws of the physical world which are known as classical mechanics. These laws scientifically explain how things work. Why they work. Where they come from. So on and so forth.
But the discovery of the electron in 1897 by J.J. Thomson unveiled a new, subatomic world of super-small things that didnt obey the laws of classical mechanics at all. Instead, they obeyed their own set of rules, which have since become known as quantum mechanics.
The rules of quantum mechanics differ from the rules of classical mechanics in two very-weird, almost-magical ways.
First, in classical mechanics, objects are in one place, at one time. You are either at the store, or at home.
But, in quantum mechanics, subatomic particles can theoretically exist in multiple places at once before they are observed. A single subatomic particle can exist in point A and point B at the same time, until we observe it, at which point it only exists at either point A or point B.
So, the true location of a subatomic particle is some combination of all its possible locations.
This is called quantum superposition.
Second, in classical mechanics, objects can only work with things that are also real. You cant use your imaginary friend to help move the couch. You need your real friend to help you.
But, in quantum mechanics, all of those probabilistic states of subatomic particles are not independent. Theyre entangled. That is, if we know something about the probabilistic positioning of one subatomic particle, then we know something about the probabilistic positioning of another subatomic particle meaning that these already super-complex particles can actually work together to create a super-complex ecosystem.
This is called quantum entanglement.
So, in short, subatomic particles can theoretically have multiple probabilistic states at once, and all those probabilistic states can work together again, all at once to accomplish some task.
And that, in a nutshell, is the scientific breakthrough that stumped Einstein back in the early 1900s.
It goes against everything classical mechanics had taught us about the world. It goes against common sense. But its true. Its real. And, now, for the first time ever, we are leaning how to harness this unique phenomenon to change everything about everything
Mark my words. Everything will change over the next few years because of quantum mechanics and some investors are going to make a lot of money.
The study of quantum theory has made huge advancements over the past century, especially so over the past decade, wherein scientists at leading technology companies have started to figure out how to harness the magical powers of quantum mechanics to make a new generation of super quantum computers that are infinitely faster and more powerful than even todays fastest supercomputers.
Again, the physics behind quantum computers is highly complex, but heres my Cliffs Notes version
Todays computers are built on top of the laws of classical mechanics. That is, they store information on what are called bits which can store data binarily as either 1 or 0.
But what if you could harness the power of quantum mechanics to turn those classical bits into quantum bits or qubits that can leverage superpositioning to be both 1 and 0 data stores at the same time?
Even further, what if you could take those quantum bits and leverage entanglement to get all of the multi-state bits to work together to solve computationally taxing problems?
You would theoretically create a machine with so much computational power that it would make even todays most advanced supercomputers look like they are from the Stone Age.
Thats exactly what is happening today.
Google has built a quantum computer that is about 158 million times faster than the worlds fastest supercomputer.
Thats not hyperbole. Thats a real number.
Imagine the possibilities if we could broadly create a new set of quantum computers 158 million times faster than even todays fastest computers
Wed finally have the level of AI that you see in movies. Thats because the biggest limitation to AI today is the robustness of machine learning algorithms, which are constrained by supercomputing capacity. Expand that capacity, and you get infinitely improved machine learning algos, and infinitely smarter AI.
We could eradicate disease. We already have tools like gene editing, but the effectiveness of gene editing relies of the robustness of the underlying computing capacity to identify, target, insert, cut, and repair genes. Insert quantum computing capacity, and all that happens without an error in seconds allowing for us to truly fix anything about anyone.
We could finally have that million-mile EV. We can only improve batteries if we can test them, and we can only test them in the real-world so much. Therefore, the key to unlocking a million-mile battery is through cellular simulation, and the quickness and effectiveness of cellular simulation rests upon the robustness of the underlying computing capacity. Make that capacity 158 million times bigger, and cellular simulation will happen 158 million times faster.
The economic opportunities here are truly endless.
But so are the risks
Did you know that most of todays cybersecurity systems are built on top of maths-based cryptography? That is, they protect data through encryption that can only be cracked through solving a super-complex math problem. Today, that works, because classical computers cannot solve those super-complex math problems very quickly.
But quantum computers that are 158 million times faster than todays classical computers will be able to solve those math problems in the blink of an eye. Therefore, quantum computers threaten to obsolete maths-based cryptography as we know it, and will compromise the bulk of the worlds modern cybersecurity systems.
Insiders call this the Quantum Threat. Its a huge deal. When the Quantum Threat arrives, no digital data will be safe.
Back in 2019, computer scientists believed the Quantum Threat to be a distant threat something that may happen by 2035. However, since then, rapid advancements in quantum computing capability have considerably moved up that timeline. Today, many experts believe the Quantum Threat will arrive in the 2025 to 2030 window.
That means the world needs to start investing in quantum-proof encryption today and thats why, from an investment perspective, we believe quantum encryption stocks will be among the markets biggest winners in the 2020s.
The global information security market is tracking towards $300 BILLION. That entire market will have to inevitably shift towards quantum encryption by 2030. Therefore, were talking the creation of a $300 billion market to save the planet from a security meltdown.
And, at the epicenter of this multi-hundred-billion-dollar, planet-saving megatrend, is one tiny startup that is pioneering the single most robust quantum encryption technology platform that world has ever seen
This company is working with the U.S. government, the UK government, and various other defense and intelligence agencies to finalize its breakthrough technology platform. The firm plans to launch the quantum encryption system, globally, in 2023.
If the tech works at scale, this tiny stock which is trading for less than $20 will roar higher by more than 10X by 2025.
And guess what? We just bought this stock in our flagship investment research product, Innovation Investor.
Trust me. This is a stock pick you are not going to want to miss it may be the single most promising investment opportunity Ive come across over the past few years.
And, with a war raging on in Europe for the first time since World War II, the economic and political importance of this stock has never been bigger.
To gain access to that stock pick and a full portfolio of other potential 10X tech stock picks for the 2020s click here.
On the date of publication, Luke Lango did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article
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The Explosive Quantum Computing Stock That Could Save the World - InvestorPlace
PsiQuantums Partnership with GlobalFoundries Named to Fast Companys Worlds Most Innovative Companies List – Yahoo Finance
Manufacturing breakthrough will lead to quantum chips with the precision required to build the worlds first useful quantum computer
PALO ALTO, Calif., March 15, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PsiQuantum's partnership with GlobalFoundries (GF) has been included in Fast Companys prestigious annual list of the Worlds Most Innovative Companies. PsiQuantum is using GFs advanced semiconductor manufacturing facilities to build the worlds first useful quantum computer, and the Fast Company award recognizes this unprecedented collaboration.
This years list honors businesses that are making the biggest impact on their industries and culture as a whole. These companies are creating the future today with some of the most inspiring accomplishments of the 21st century. In addition to the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies, 528 organizations are recognized across 52 categories.
Quantum computing is anticipated to unlock the solutions to otherwise impossible problems and enable extraordinary advances across a broad range of applications including climate, healthcare, life sciences, energy and beyond. Whether its improving carbon capture catalysts, optimizing the energy grid, or modelling the chemistries of lifesaving drugs or new battery materials, quantum computers are key to solving many of the worlds most demanding challenges that will forever be beyond the capabilities of any conventional computer.
World-changing applications require a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer built in a scalable and proven manufacturing environment. Silicon photonics and semiconductor chip manufacturing offer the scalability and manufacturability needed to deliver a commercially useful quantum computer on any sensible time or money scale.
PsiQuantum is building the worlds first commercially useful, fault-tolerant quantum computer based on breakthroughs in silicon photonics and quantum architecture. Its team of world-renowned quantum computing experts has developed unique technology in which single photons (particles of light) are manipulated using complex photonic circuits, patterned onto a silicon chip using standard semiconductor manufacturing techniques.
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PsiQuantum and GF demonstrated a world-first ability to manufacture core quantum components, such as single-photon sources and single-photon detectors, with precision and in volume, representing a significant milestone in PsiQuantums roadmap to deliver a large-scale quantum computer. Fast Company recognized the collaboration between PsiQuantum and GF as one of the 10 most innovative joint ventures of 2022, an award category defined by Fast Company as "the best business pairings, whether one-off collaborations or new companies".
"A commercially useful quantum computer has to be large, fault-tolerant, manufacturable, and scalable," said Fariba Danesh, chief operating officer at PsiQuantum. "We have identified a clear path for building a large-scale quantum computer, leveraging our unique technology in silicon photonics and quantum system architecture, and the scalable and proven manufacturing processes of our semiconductor partner GF."
"We are proud that our partnership with PsiQuantum has been recognized as one of the most innovative business pairings of 2022," said Amir Faintuch, senior vice president and general manager of Computing and Wired Infrastructure at GF. "Our partnership is a powerful combination of PsiQuantums photonic quantum computing expertise and GFs silicon photonics manufacturing capability that will transform industries and technology applications across climate, energy, healthcare, materials science, and government."
Fast Companys editors and writers sought out the most groundbreaking businesses across the globe and industries. They also judged nominations received through their application process. The Worlds Most Innovative Companies is Fast Companys signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated editorial efforts of the year. It provides both a snapshot and a road map for the future of innovation across the most dynamic sectors of the economy.
"The worlds most innovative companies play an essential role in addressing the most pressing issues facing society, whether theyre fighting climate change by spurring decarbonization efforts, ameliorating the strain on supply chains, or helping us reconnect with one another over shared passions," said Fast Company Deputy Editor David Lidsky.
For the second year in a row, coinciding with the issue launch, Fast Company will host its Most Innovative Companies Summit on April 26 27. The virtual, multi-day summit celebrates the Most Innovative Companies in business and provides an early look at major business trends and an inside look at what it takes to innovate in 2022. Fast Companys Most Innovative Companies issue (March/April 2022) is available online here, as well as in app form via iTunes and on newsstands beginning March 15. The hashtag is #FCMostInnovative.
About PsiQuantum
Powered by breakthroughs in silicon photonics and quantum architecture, PsiQuantum is building the first commercially useful quantum computer to solve some of the worlds most important challenges. PsiQuantum believes silicon photonics is the only way to achieve the necessary scale required to deliver a fault-tolerant, general-purpose quantum computer. With quantum chips now being manufactured in a world-leading semiconductor fab, PsiQuantum is uniquely positioned to deliver quantum capabilities that will drive advances in climate, healthcare, finance, energy, agriculture, transportation, communications, and beyond. To learn more, visit http://www.psiquantum.com.
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About Fast Company
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What Are the Best Quantum Computing Stocks to Buy? – Investment U
Weve reached a point where 1980s-90s sci-fi buzzwords are turning into reality. A few examples are nanotechnology, the metaverseand quantum computing. In the past few years, all three of these concepts have turned into full-fledged industries. In particular, quantum computing could be incredibly valuable over the coming decade. Quantum computing essentially makes computing-intensive processes easier. In todays world, there are dozens of industries that require lots of computing power. For example, AI, self-driving cars and Bitcoin mining. Pending a slight breakthrough, quantum computing could quickly emerge as a key technology for the next decade. Due to this, getting into the best quantum computing stocks today could easily set your portfolio up for a successful future.
With that said, lets take a look at the best quantum computing stocks to buy.
Most of the worlds major tech companies have a hand in quantum computing. Accordingly, some of the worlds largest companies are also the best quantum computing stocks.
Companies like Google and Microsoft spend billions on R&D each year. Oftentimes, these companies are not even sure where their research will lead. Their plan is simply to push the boundaries of tech/science. For example, Google launched the Moonshot Factory to tackle the worlds biggest problems. The Moonshot Factory essentially just throws money at researchers in an attempt to develop cutting-edge technology. And, if there was ever a cutting-edge technology, its quantum computing.
Lets take a look at familiar tech names that are exploring quantum computing.
International Business Machines is one of the world leaders in quantum computing. It offers a full-stack approach to quantum computing. This means that it solutions for both quantum computing systems as well as quantum software tools. In total, IBMs network has 20+ quantum systems. This makes it the most powerful fleet of quantum computers in the world.
In general, investors view IBM as a value/dividend stock. This means that its stock price probably wont 10X over the next 5 years. However, it has an established business model and has an attractive dividend yield of 5.25%. Even as IBM pushes the boundaries of quantum computing, its stock probably wont increase very much. However, investors can trust that their money is relatively safe and that they will earn a return through dividend payments.
IBM reported 2021 annual revenue of $57.35 billion and a net income of $5.74 billion.
Alphabet, Googles parent company, is another one of the best quantum computing stocks to consider. Google processes about 8.5 billion searches every single day. It works on everything from artificial intelligence to self-driving cars to smart assistants. If any company can push the boundaries of quantum computing, its Google.
Google currently offers a quantum computing service that researchers can use freely. The only requirement is that these researchers must publicly share their results in algorithms, applications, tools, and processor characterizations. This is part of Googles philosophy to organize and share the worlds knowledge.
Investing in Google is very rarely a bad idea. In 2021, the search giant reported annual revenue of $257.64 billion and a net income of $76.03 billion. Google makes most of its money from search and controls 90% of the search market. Despite this dominance, Googles annual revenue has still grown by double digits for the past five years. This gives the company plenty of cash to toss at ambitious projects, like quantum computing.
Over the past five years, Microsoft has turned into a serial compounder. Its business (and stock price) seems to just keep growing and growing. As I write this, its stock has returned over 300% since 2017. This is tied with Apple for the best return of the FAANG stocks. Its true that there are definitely smaller companies that have higher stock returns. However, when you invest in Microsoft you are investing in a proven, diversified business model. You can trust that your money is relatively safe while still appreciating 60% per year (historically). If you are looking for one of the best quantum computing stocks, Microsoft is an excellent choice.
Microsoft offers a full-stack quantum computing ecosystem. This ecosystem includes software, applications, devices, and controls. It is also built on top of Microsofts Azure cloud computing software. Azure is the second-largest cloud computing software, right behind Amazon Web Services.
In 2021, Microsoft reported $168 billion in annual revenue. It also reported a total net income of $61 billion.
Quantum computing is still in its infancy. Due to this, its safer to invest in a company that has a diversified business such as IBM, Alphabet, and Microsoft. These companies give you exposure to quantum computing but are still relatively safe investments. The downside is that they dont really have the potential for massive growth. Their high-growth days are behind them.
Luckily, there is a trio of newer companies whose entire business is quantum computing. These companies income relies solely on quantum computing. Due to this, investing in them comes with more risk. The upside is that the potential payoffs are much higher.
However, keep in mind that these companies are very newly public. This means there is less financial data available. With less data, its harder for investors to value the stock properly. This could lead to volatility in the short term. It could take a few quarters, or even years, for these three companies to gain positive momentum.
Here are a few pure play quantum computing companies to consider.
IONQ is a quantum computing company focused on software to optimize quantum circuits. It is one of three quantum computing stocks to go public via SPAC in 2021.
One major advantage that IONQ has is that its systems are the only hardware available on all major cloud platforms. This makes it easier for researchers to collaborate and transition between systems. This could be a big selling point for attracting new researchers and customers.
D-Wave is another company that went public via SPAC in 2021. Despite being newly public, the company is far from young. It was founded in 1999. D-Wave is best known for its quantum annealing technology. However, it recently expanded into gate-based, universal quantum computing. The company believes that this style of computing has more potential for specific applications. Among these specific applications are fault detection, traffic congestion, and supply chain management.
In this sense, D-Wave is going after a more niche segment of quantum computing. Having a more specialized use could allow this company to gain momentum more quickly.
Rigetti Computing develops quantum integrated circuits as well as a quantum cloud platform. It went public in 2021 via SPAC. According to the companys website, it is on a mission to build the worlds most powerful computers to solve humanitys most pressing problems. Statements like this scream high risk, high reward to investors.
In 2021, Rigetti reported total revenue of $8.2 million and a gross profit of $6.2 million. This is YOY growth of 48% and 62% respectively for the young company.
I hope that youve found this article valuable for learning about the best quantum computing stocks to invest in! Please note that Im not a financial advisor and am just offering my own research and commentary. Please base all investment decisions on your own due diligence.
A University of Miami grad, Teddy studied marketing and finance while also playing four years on the football team. Hes always had a passion for business and used his experience from a few personal projects to become one of the top-rated business writers on Fiverr.com. When hes not hammering words onto paper, you can find him hammering notes on the piano or traveling to some place random.
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What Are the Best Quantum Computing Stocks to Buy? - Investment U
Pasqal and ARAMCO developing quantum computing applications for the energy industry – WorldOil
3/9/2022
Pasqal, a developer of neutral atom-based quantum technology, and ARAMCO announced the signing of an MoU to collaborate on quantum computing capabilities and applications in the energy sector. Objectives include accelerating the design and development of quantum based machine learning models as well as identifying and advancing other use cases for the technology across the Saudi Aramco value chain. To that end, both companies plan to explore ways for collaborating and cultivating the quantum information sciences ecosystem in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Quantum computing can be used to address a wide range of upstream, midstream and downstream challenges in the oil and gas industry including network optimization and management, reaction network generation and refinery linear programming. The collaboration will explore potential applications for quantum computing and artificial intelligence in these areas as well.
As part of the project, Pasqal will provide both its quantum expertise and platform to develop new use cases. The companies will also explore the applicability and benefit of augmenting Aramcos training programs with Pasqals quantum technologies as part of these joint efforts.
For its part, ARAMCO is focused on pioneering the use of quantum computing in the energy sector, positioning itself as an early beneficiary of quantum advantage over classical computers. Pasqal aims to establish operations in the Middle East and grow its business both in Saudi Arabia and across the region.
This is a very promising initiative for Pasqal and a perfect opportunity for us to show not only the energy sector, but the entire world, what our technology can do, said Georges-Olivier Reymond, CEO of Pasqal. It further confirms that our neutral atom technology is one of the most promising in the world.
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Pasqal and ARAMCO developing quantum computing applications for the energy industry - WorldOil
Cooling quantum computers: a challenge that will shape the industry – Tech Monitor
Last month quantum computing start-up Quantum Motion opened what it says is the UKs largest independent quantum laboratory. The Islington lab, which represents a multi-million-pound investment for the University College London (UCL) spin-out, is home to specialist equipment for its scientists and engineers to use. This includes dilution refrigerators, which allow quantum technology to be developed at a temperature close to absolute zero, or -278 degrees Celsius, some 100 times colder than outer space.The dilution refrigerator at Quantum Motions London lab. Cooling is key to effective quantum processing. (Photo courtesy of Quantum Motion)
Islington is officially now the coolest part of London, quipped James Palles-Dimmock, the companys chief operating officer, at the time. Were working with technology that is colder than deep space and pushing the boundaries of our knowledge to turn quantum theory into reality.
Keeping quantum chips cold is key to ensuring they work accurately and fulfil their promise to outperform classical computers for certain tasks. But as the technology matures and develops, doing this in a sustainable and scalable fashion may prove a challenge. With several types of qubit technology the building blocks on which quantum computers operate in development, the one which solves the cooling puzzle most effectively may gain a significant advantage in the race for commercialisation.
Qubits are the way information is represented in quantum form within a quantum computer. So where a classical computer, which runs on bits, represents data as a one or a zero, quantum data can simultaneously be a one and a zero. In theory, this means a quantum computer can process information much faster and more efficiently than a classical machine.
The technology remains at an early stage, and in November IBM announced it had developed what it claims is the most powerful processor yet, the 127-qubit Eagle. According to Big Blues quantum roadmap, it expects to reach quantum advantage the point where quantum machines outperform traditional computers on certain tasks within two years.
To achieve accurate processing, quantum computers need to operate at extremely low temperatures. This is because the heat generated by the surrounding equipment can interfere with the qubits, says Harrison Ball, quantum engineer at UK quantum computer developer Universal Quantum.
When we talk about the temperature of a material, what were really referring to is the motion of the constituent particles, the atoms, says Ball. The colder the temperature, the less motion of those atoms, which means there are contributing less variation in their environment.
The obsession of quantum engineers and physicists over the last few years has been attempting to make the most pristine qubits possible.Harrison Ball, Universal Quantum
The obsession of quantum engineers and physicists over the last few years has been attempting to make the most pristine qubits possible, and the way in which you do that is try and produce an environment for the qubit where it interacts with absolutely nothing. Thats why, broadly speaking, colder is better.
Universal Quantum is developing its quantum machine using trapped ions, or individually charged atoms, as its qubits. This is one of a number of methods for generating and controlling qubits which are in development, and John Morton, professor of nanoelectronics at UCL and co-founder of Quantum Motion, says each of them has its own reasons for needing to operate at a low temperature. Superconducting quantum computers have dominated early deployments.
"The superconducting qubit approach that Google and IBM are following needs low temperatures so they don't accidentally create cubit errors," Professor Morton says. "Ion traps use low temperatures because they need to create an incredibly good vacuum in which to operate. In the photonics approach, photons travel around quite happily at room temperature, but if you want to detect the types of photons that are being used you often need superconducting detectors, which work better at extremely low temperatures."
While the enormous carbon footprint of classical computing, particularly when it comes to the emissions of the rapidly increasing number of cloud data centres around the world, is well known, quantum computing promises a more sustainable alternative, despite the ultra-low temperatures that are required.
Professor Morton explains that the new Quantum Motion lab is housed in a standard commercial unit. "Our power requirement is not very different to that of a typical office," he says.
While energy requirements will increase as quantum machines become more powerful, they are still likely to remain more efficient than their classical counterparts. "In general we anticipate workloads where well have quantum advantage to be more efficient than the classical route," says Jean-Francois Bobier, partner and director at Boston Consulting Group.
The key factor in this is speed. "Cooling down one of these fridges to a fraction of a degree above absolute zero takes about 10-15 kilowatts," says Professor Morton. "But with that quantum chip, you can do things that would take vast computing resources to achieve. These machines are not designed to replace a desktop computer, which can use less than a kilowatt of energy a day. They are a replacement for something that consumes much more."
Google demonstrated this in 2019 with Sycamore, its 53-qubit supercomputer, which it benchmarked against IBM's Summit, which at the time was the world's most powerful classical supercomputer. Sycamore was able to complete a random number problem in three minutes 20 seconds. Summit took two and a half days to solve the same problem. This increased speed meant the power consumed by Sycamore to achieve this milestone was orders of magnitude lower 30 kilowatts compared to the 25 megawatts required by Summit.
Though the nascent quantum computing industry is focused on the 'fidelity' (meaning quality and reliability) of qubits, Bobier says this does not need to be at the expense of energy efficiency. "Given all the advantages of quantum computing, exact computation is the priority over energy efficiency right now fidelity is the key bottleneck," he says. "We might possibly find a new way to control qubits that is both exact and consumes a lot of energy, but right now we dont see that, even with superconducting qubits which require dilution fridges. The ratio relative to the calculation speed-up should remain massively in favour of quantum computing."
But quantum computing's cooling requirements bring with them practical challenges.
IBM's roadmap anticipates that it will release a 433 qubit quantum chip this year, with a 1,000 qubit version to follow.This number will need to grow exponentially to realise the full benefits of quantum computing, Professor Morton says.
"The 100 qubit chip IBM released recently is about 2.5cm square," he says. "So if you ask yourself what that chip will look like if you have one million qubits, which is likely to be the amount you need to establish a fault-tolerant architecture, then you're looking at chip which is 2.5m square. The kind of cooling technology required to go to that sort of size hasn't been worked out, and certainly, if you're working in superconducting qubits one of the things you'll need to think about is how to scale the cooling system. It's definitely one of the challenges."
IBM's solution to this is to build its own enormous fridge. The company is currently constructing what it says will be the world's largest dilution refrigerator. Code-named Goldeneye, it will have a licence to chill a quantum computer of up to one million qubits, and measure some 3m tall by 1.8m wide. The project was announced in 2020 and construction is due to be completed next year. Once operational it will take between 5-14 days to reach the temperature required for a large quantum computer to operate.
Such a sizeable investment may not be practical for companies without IBM's resources, but other techniques are being investigated. Quantum computing start-up IonQ, for example, is building quantum computers on the Ion Trap architecture, and cools its qubits by using a laser to cool the individual atoms which are required to be in a quantum state, a process known as laser doppler cooling.
Professor Morton says that whoever comes up with the best cooling solution could have a significant advantage as commercial applications for quantum computers start to emerge. "At the moment there are three or four different architectures which are being most actively investigated," he says. "I think it's certainly possible that the practicalities of cooling may well influence which qubit technology ends up winning."Read more: Want more on technology leadership?
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Matthew Gooding is news editor for Tech Monitor.
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Cooling quantum computers: a challenge that will shape the industry - Tech Monitor
Quantum Computers: Why They Are Hard To Build And Worth The Effort – Swarajya
This is Part 2 of the two-part article on quantum computing. Read Part 1 here.
Quantum Cryptography And Post-Quantum Cryptography
Present-day systems are protected by Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) encryption, which is based on the fact that it is practically impossible for classical computers to factorise large integers.
Peter Shor surprised the world with his polynomial-time quantum algorithm, which made it theoretically possible for a quantum computer to factorise large positive integers, thereby putting present-day encryption, and hence computer and communications systems, at risk.
A quantum computer powerful enough to run the algorithm to factor large integers may be several decades away, but the effort to build the next generation of encryption schemes resistant to a breach using quantum computers is already ongoing.
There are two approaches. The first one, called post-quantum cryptography, is based on constructing classical cryptographic algorithms that are hard for a quantum computer to break.
The other approach quantum cryptography is to use the properties of quantum mechanics itself to secure data.
Quantum cryptography is defined as using quantum mechanical properties for cryptography tasks, such as quantum key distribution (QKD).
Keys are large binary strings of numbers used to provide security to most cryptographic protocols, like encryption and authentication. Though classical key distribution algorithms like Diffie-Helman provide the secure exchange of keys between two parties, they will be vulnerable in the future to quantum computers.
The first QKD scheme was proposed by Bennet and Brassard in 1984. It is called the BB84 protocol and is based on Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. The basic idea for this protocol is that Alice can send a secret key to Bob encoded in the polarisation of a string of photons. If an eavesdropper tries to intercept and read it, the state of the photons will change, revealing the presence of the eavesdropper.
Why Are Quantum Computers Hard To Build?
Qubits, unlike classical bits, need to interact strongly among themselves to form entangled states, which in turn form the basis for computation in quantum computers. But to achieve this experimentally is incredibly hard.
We don't want qubits to interact with the environment because it causes decoherence. Decoherence is the phenomenon due to which quantum effects are visible in the microscopic world, but not in the macroscopic world. The main difference between classical information and quantum information is that we cant observe a quantum state without damaging it in some uncontrolled way. We may not look at quantum computers all the time; nature continuously interferes with them. That's why the information the quantum computer is processing needs to be almost isolated from the outside world.
Why We Believe Quantum Computers Can Be Built
Since Richard Feynman's talk 40 years ago, we have come a long way, but the quantum computers present today are not very useful yet.
We are presently in the NISQ era of quantum computers. NISQ stands for 'Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum'. 'Intermediate scale' means that the qubit count is greater than 50 and it cannot be simulated using the most powerful classical supercomputers. 'Noisy' means that these devices are not yet error-corrected.
Through the discovery of polynomial-time factorisation and discrete logarithm algorithms by Shor, the interest in quantum computing skyrocketed, but scepticism regarding quantum computing remained, captured in the saying that it is the computer scientists dream [but] the experimenters nightmare".
Again, it was Shor who showed the way. He discovered quantum error-correcting codes and fault-tolerant methods for executing quantum computations reliably on noisy hardware.
In classical error correction, we measure bits to find out errors, but measuring a qubit will destroy the state of the qubit. Shor found a way to detect errors in the qubit without measuring the state of the qubit itself.
The discovery of error-correcting codes showed that we will be able to scale up quantum computers to the degree that they can solve practical problems, but we will need a lot more qubits and a lower inherent error rate before any such correction is useful.
Industry, Governments Are Interested
The promise of quantum computing has propelled major industry players like IBM, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Honeywell and Alibaba into pouring billions of dollars into quantum computing research.
Google plans to build a full-scale quantum computer by 2029, one that can be used for solving practical business problems. Companies like IBM have laid out technology development milestones to develop a scalable and fault-tolerant quantum computer.
Startups are not falling behind in investment. Several millions of dollars are invested into startups like Rigetti computing, IonQ, Xanadu and PsiQuantum to develop quantum computers.
Governments across the world are pumping billions of dollars into quantum computing research. In 2019, the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Energy (DOE) committed to spending $1.2 billion over a period of five years to support quantum computing research.
Similarly, China has included quantum technology as one the high-technology investment areas in its 14th five-year plan. India too has announced a National Mission on Quantum Technologies & Applications (NM-QTA).
While investment of billions of dollars into quantum computing will not immediately result in a practically usable quantum computer, the future promise of the power that quantum computing may deliver has set in motion a flurry of investments into the field.
Quantum Technology In India, In Brief
The Indian government in its 2020 budget announced the Rs 8,000 crore ($ 1.2 billion) NM-QTA. The mission aims to focus on fundamental science and technology development, and to help prepare the next generation of workforce, encourage entrepreneurship, and address issues concerning national priorities.
In India, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have made strides on the quantum communication front.
Not long ago, DRDO demonstrated QKD between Prayagraj and Vindhyachal in Uttar Pradesh over a 100 km fibre optic link.
ISRO, on the other hand, demonstrated quantum entanglement-based real-time QKD over a 300 m atmospheric channel. This is a step towards the development of the planned satellite-based quantum communication (SBQC).
Efforts at building a quantum computer in India presently seem to be limited to academic efforts.
The Future
Noise severely limits the scale of computations in NISQ-era devices. We expect to overcome this issue in the long run using quantum error correction and fault-tolerant quantum computing (FQTC), but the number of qubits required to run these error-correcting schemes is very high and depends on the algorithms we are trying to run and the quality of the hardware.
Present-day quantum computers are not capable enough to replace supercomputers, given the fact that the scaling of the number of qubits remains a challenge.
In 2019, Google demonstrated quantum supremacy using its 53-qubit quantum computer. It means that a programmable quantum device can solve a problem that no classical computer can solve in any physical time. This may give the idea that quantum computers have become more powerful than classical computers, but the problem that was solved in the quantum computer is random in nature and doesnt have any practical significance in real life.
The path to fault-tolerant and error-corrected quantum computers will remain difficult due to the fragile nature of qubits, but the possibilities quantum computers offer makes the pursuit worthwhile.
This concludes the two-part article on quantum computing. Read Part 1 if you haven't already.
This article has been published as part of Swasti 22, the Swarajya Science and Technology Initiative 2022. We are inviting submissions towards the initiative.
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Quantum Computers: Why They Are Hard To Build And Worth The Effort - Swarajya