Alphabet’s shares rose by 6% on Tuesday following Google’s major breakthrough announcement on quantum computing. Alphabet shared its latest quantum computing chip, “Willow,” with the world, which, it claims, dramatically outperforms a predecessor device introduced in 2019 by key quantum computing benchmarks.
Quantum computers use qubits—quantum bits that can represent multiple values simultaneously, unlike the familiar transistors in the traditional computer. Google claims that the advancement in Willow is in its ability to address one of the biggest challenges of quantum computing: error correction. When quantum systems scale up, it is harder to minimize errors, and Willow’s technology offers a way to reduce errors faster, potentially accelerating the development of more powerful quantum computers.
The willow marks one of the critical landmarks along this broader quantum computing effort. These would be machines capable of addressing real-world problems, starting with a six-stage approach roadmap. Currently, at 100 qubits, it goes on to 1 million. According to Google, these will bring them closer toward actually doing practical, commercially relevant quantum algorithms in such things as drug discovery, fusion energy, and battery design.
It would still take years or maybe decades for the technology to grow and reach maturity. Yet, once fully developed, these quantum computers are projected to have tremendous applications in revolutionizing certain industries, such as permitting large-scale simulations and solution-finding to problems that the current classical computers cannot perform today.
The news of Willow was positively greeted by the tech world, with one notable figure after another joining the chorus, including but not limited to Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk and Sam Altman, chief executive officer at OpenAI. “Could build a quantum cluster in space someday using the SpaceX Starship,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, in response to a suggestion made by the latter on social media.
While Google is taking the lead in quantum computing, it is by no means alone in this race. Tech giants, among them Nvidia, Microsoft, and IBM, are quite heavily investing in this next big field of study. Academic institutions and startups are all toiling together to unlock this transformative potential of quantum technologies..
