Talk of a few years is good for the entire quantum sector.
According to rumors [Yahoo forum], Microsoft’s solution would have 8 physical qubits, and they would not be enough for one error-corrected logical qubit. For comparison, IonQ’s Forte machine has 36 and the Tempo machine coming this year (?) will have 64 logical qubits. What is essential, of course, is how fast and easy it is for different technologies to scale the number of qubits (and how error correction works), but at least for now, Microsoft is behind in the quantum race.
If I understood correctly, PsiQuantum, in collaboration with Global Foundries, aims to build circuits based on photonic qubit technology in traditional chip manufacturing facilities.
"Our technology is manufactured in a high-volume semiconductor fab that normally produces chips for cell phones and laptops, and now yields the world’s highest-performance photonic qubits. "
This is a difficult area for me, but still very interesting.
The tweet below discusses, among other things, how major corporations are shaping the future of quantum computing.
Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip improves quantum stability, Google aims to solve error correction challenges, and IBM is commercializing its quantum expertise. Amazon offers businesses access to various quantum platforms via AWS Braket, and Nvidia combines quantum and traditional computing.
The main message of the tweet seems to be that tech giants are not waiting for a quantum revolution; instead, they are building it and will control the future market.
They published this result as a preprint a year ago, and apparently it has now made it to a scientific journal. Since then, two research groups have shown that the same can be achieved with classical algorithms. Of course, this doesn’t diminish the achievement itself, but the claim of “quantum supremacy” is once again premature.
D-Wave reported its Q4 results, where revenue and EPS decreased from the previous year. Orders grew significantly and the company has a strong cash position.
D-Wave’s stock price rose over one hundred percent last week, with a 46 percent increase on Friday alone. It is concretely starting to stand out from other quantum firms. It uses annealing technology, which clearly differs from the universal quantum gate computing technology used by many competitors. Annealing technology is already yielding concrete results, while gate computing technology is at least ten years behind.
A few-minute video that explains why D-Wave is currently years ahead of other quantum firms. D-Wave’s machines are indeed so-called annealing computers, which aim to solve problems with as little energy as possible. D-Wave’s Advantage machine solved a complex problem in 20 minutes, consuming only 12 kilowatts of energy. A supercomputer’s CPU unit would have had to use more electricity to solve the same problem than the entire world’s electricity consumption (in 2022, it was over 24,000 terawatt-hours - one terawatt is a billion kilowatts). And it would have taken a hell of a lot more time than 20 minutes.
The article below discusses Alphabet and quantum computing, so I thought I’d share it here too, as I posted it in the Alphabet thread. Google’s lead quantum computing expert Julian Kelly estimates that its technology is about five years away from a real breakthrough.
In other words, quantum computers could soon solve problems that traditional computers cannot. The company’s recent progress in “error correction” has increased confidence in the development of “usefully” functioning quantum computers.
The leather jacket man speaks like Hyzon’s opponent back in the day:
The chipmaker’s summit came after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in January cast doubt on whether useful quantum computers would hit the market in the next 15 years. Those comments caused the share prices of several public quantum companies to fall.
Google, Microsoft and IBM are investing heavily in quantum computers, which are expected to revolutionize “computing”.
Unlike traditional bits, a quantum bit can offer, for example, faster and more complex computations. Quantum technology has promising applications from medicine to logistics. Companies such as D-Wave have already commercialized so-called annealing technology, while gate-based solutions are still developing.
Quantum computing is expected to accelerate drug development and enable better optimization in the financial and transportation sectors.
Key Points
Unlike classical computing, which processes information through bits that can exist in either zeros or ones, quantum computing is an evolving field where quantum bits (or qubits) can occupy both zero and one in a single unit.
Big tech companies like Google and IBM, as well as smaller organizations like D-Wave Quantum and TreQ, generally agree on quantum’s most mature, promising industry applications, which range from medical insights to last-mile delivery optimization.
Partially familiar territory. The article below describes how Alphabet employees in California are developing cutting-edge quantum computers, which are believed to revolutionize the future of technology.
Google has introduced a new Willow chip, which solves computational problems significantly faster than traditional computers. In the future, quantum technology can support the development of artificial intelligence, especially in situations where AI models begin to encounter “data scarcity.” Quantum machines could create new data for training AI, and Google also believes it is about five years away from practical quantum applications.
Below is a link to an article sponsored by Nokia. The article also contains a few good links, including Nokia’s own quantum pages and a report from the USA’s National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee titled “Quantum Networking: Findings and Recommendations for Growing American Leadership”.
Why Nokia? Nokia owns Bell Labs, one of the most important research units of the 20th century for technological development, having developed, for example, the transistor in 1947. As an IT infrastructure company, Nokia knows that it must stay ahead of the curve in quantum technology to remain competitive. Bell Labs thus continues its history now under Nokia’s wings.
D-Wave achieved an excellent result. But I can’t say what solutions were used to achieve that result. Every quantum company is still quite unique. It will take a while before one starts to understand these companies. Next, I would be looking into IonQ’s results, published last night, which also came with some M&A activity…more on that later
For those investing in quantum computing, I can only recommend this new Finnish-language work for summer reading:
Especially chapter four’s various qubit technologies should be understood very precisely by everyone investing in individual companies. As the book states, it is still completely open which technology will ultimately win, and individual companies are largely bets on the breakthrough of individual technologies. The book covers ion traps, neutral atoms, photonic qubits, and superconducting technologies. Their advantages and disadvantages are discussed (e.g., in terms of scalability, required breakthroughs, etc.).
Otherwise, the book is an excellent overview of the basics of quantum physics, the history of quantum computing, its applications, and also the software side.
Edit: it can also be found as an audiobook / e-book on several services - at least it is definitely available on Storytel.
Good observation and necessary cleanup. I like the significant weighting in IONQ. Boeing could indeed be dropped, just like their planes keep falling.
Those Mag7 companies could also be dropped, because their weighting is already so large in regular indices. Preferably something smaller instead.. It feels like quite a few thematic ETFs include MS, Amazon, etc. because they are involved in so many with large investments.
