Quantum Leap: 3 Key Developments Chart Path to Real-World Applications

Three major breakthroughs are shaking up the world of quantum computing to potentially enable real-world applications so advanced they could only run on quantum computers — in five years.

Last week, Amazon unveiled its first quantum computing chip, Ocelot, that uses scalable architecture to reduce the costs of implementing quantum error correction by up to 90%, the company claims in a blog post.

Ocelot’s architecture uses a “cat qubit,” named after Schrodinger’s cat thought experiment, which suppresses certain forms of errors and minimizes the resources required to correct these errors.

This advancement puts quantum computers one step closer to practical deployment for real-world applications, with costs falling to as little as 20% of current approaches, according to Amazon.

“Concretely, we believe this will accelerate our timeline to a practical quantum computer by up to five years,” said Oskar Painter, director of quantum hardware for Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In mid-February, Microsoft unveiled a new state of matter besides solid, liquid or gas, bringing additional excitement to quantum computing. The unearthing of the topological superconductor, or topoconductor, forms the core of its new Majorana 1 quantum chip, which it said is scalable to a million qubits and more stable.

In early February, Google Quantum AI lead Hartmut Neven said that he was “optimistic” that in five years there will be real-world applications that could only be powered by quantum computers. Typically, it would take several years to decades to do so.

Neven’s remarks followed Google’s debut of its Willow quantum chip last December that the company said could reduce errors “exponentially” as it scales up with more qubits. Willow can perform a standard benchmark computation in under five minutes that would take one of the fastest supercomputers today 10 septillion (1025) years, Google claimed.

What Is a Quantum Computer?

Quantum computers are computers so powerful they can pull off complex calculations and simulations that will take today’s supercomputers thousands, if not millions, of years to solve.

Quantum computers can exponentially speed up the processing of artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, which includes training of AI models and inferencing, which is when the trained models are deployed to analyze new data.

But what is a quantum computer and how is it capable of these feats?

Think of a quantum computer as a hyper-powerful computer as compared to traditional or “classical” computers — like comparing a bicycle to a rocket.

Since quantum computers can factor large numbers exponentially faster than classical machines, they can do things like revolutionize drug discovery by simulating molecular interactions with unprecedented accuracy, a task that would take classical supercomputers exponentially more time, per IBM.

They can make chemical processes more efficient and safer through simulating chemical reactions. For example, it could reduce the emissions from ammonia manufacturing, which now makes up 2% to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to Google.

Also per Google, quantum computers can lead to the development of higher-performing electrochemical batteries, which makes electric vehicles charge faster and drive farther — while on a grid with an always-on renewable power supply.

Quantum computing, Microsoft writes, also could help lead to the discovery of a new material that can “heal” itself — repairing cracks in bridges or airplane parts; it could develop a solution to break down all types of plastics; or create enzymes that sustain the growth of agriculture in harsh climates.

Quantum computers are based on quantum mechanics, which is a branch of physics that explains how tiny particles, like atoms and electronics, behave, as the U.S. Department of Energy explains. But unlike traditional physics, in quantum mechanics particles can exist in multiple states at once, be instantly connected over vast distances, and behave unpredictably until they are measured.

These strange properties are the foundation of quantum computing.

Bits vs Qubits

To understand the significance of quantum computing, it is helpful to first consider how classical computers work.

Traditional computers process information through a series of operations on binary bits of 1s and 0s. Whether running complex simulations, analyzing data or just surfing the internet, all computations are based on a sequence of 0s and 1s. But this computing system has its limits.

Quantum computing is much more powerful due to two properties. The first is superposition, in which qubits exist in a combination of both 0 and 1 simultaneously. Think of it as a spinning coin that can be either heads or tails until it lands. This ability lets quantum computers process many potential outcomes in parallel, making them much better problem-solvers.

The second is entanglement, in which two or more qubits become correlated so that the state of one is directly related to the state of the other, regardless of distance, per Argonne National Laboratory. This connection lets quantum computers perform complex calculations more efficiently than classical systems. Albert Einstein called this phenomenon “spooky action at a distance.”

Quantum’s Limits

However, quantum computers are not general-purpose machines that will replace classical computers, Gartner pointed out in a September article. Rather, they excel in specific tasks where classical computing struggles. Classical systems remain superior for everyday computing needs, from running business applications to streaming media. Quantum computers are best suited for solving highly complex, specialized problems that would otherwise take a classical system many years.

Another drawback is qubit stability. Because qubits are highly sensitive to their environment, they can lose their quantum state — what’s called decoherence — before computations can be completed. There are several ways to create qubits; Microsoft said it pursued topological qubits, which it believed would lead to more stable qubits and fewer errors.

Another obstacle is scalability. Current quantum processors contain only a few dozen qubits, large-scale quantum computing will require thousands, if not millions, of them. Microsoft said it has developed a quantum chip based on a topological superconductor core, that can scale to a million qubits.

While quantum computers are still years away from being widely available and practical, accelerated advancements in this field show its potential to becoming one of the most transformative technologies of the 21st century by opening the door to solving problems that were once thought impossible.