Oct 25 (Lagos) - Google's CEO Sundar Pichai has announced that they have achieved a breakthrough in quantum computing. He wrote on X (former twitter) that "out willow chip has achieved the first ever verifiable quantum advantage" and that this was "13000X faster than the best classical algorithm on one of the world's fastest supercomputers".
Later Elon Musk replied him saying "congrats. Looks like quantum computing is becoming relevant".
This is the first time a quantum computer has performed a calculation that is faster than any supercomputer.
The result is verifiable meaning it can be repeated by other quantum computers.
This is a major breakthrough. Earlier this year Nvidia CEO Jensen remarked that we were still early in the quantum computing race. However it seems we are moving closer quickly.
Quantum computing stocks could become hot after a recent pullback after a very strong 6 month period.
Key Details of the Breakthrough
Chip Name: Willow (a 105-qubit superconducting quantum processor).
Algorithm: Quantum Echoes, which is used to model a complex physics experiment—specifically, calculating an out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC)—with applications in fields like Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and molecular modeling.
Performance Claim: The Willow chip ran the Quantum Echoes algorithm 13,000 times faster than the fastest classical supercomputers could run the best classical simulation algorithm for the same task. For example, a task that would take a supercomputer years was completed in hours on the quantum chip.
Significance: Google claims this marks the first demonstration of "verifiable quantum advantage" or a "practical quantum advantage," meaning the result is not only faster but also:
Verifiable: The outcome can be repeated and confirmed by other quantum computers or experiments.
Practical: It's applied to a real-world scientific problem (molecular structure analysis).
This advance is a major step toward developing quantum computers that can solve useful, complex problems currently intractable for classical computers, with potential applications in drug discovery, materials science, and more powerful AI models.