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The US’ quantum opportunity isn’t just in developing the first large-scale, usable quantum computer, but in building the supply chain behind it, according to Pete Shadbolt, co-founder and chief scientific officer at quantum company PsiQuantum.
“That’s a thrilling opportunity that comes with the novelty of the technology, but also I think it’s really important to treat it seriously,” Shadbolt said at Semafor World Economy on Monday.
Quantum computing has often been compared to AI. Both are moonshot technologies that scientists have been working on for decades. AI has for a large part been realized, and experts anticipate sophisticated quantum computers are a few years away.
However, components that power AI — from the China-based rare earth metals that go into chips to the manufacturing of those chips in Taiwan — rely on a global supply chain that the US is working to bring onshore. Meanwhile, quantum’s big “ChatGPT moment” is still years out, and the supply chain is still being built.
PsiQuantum is manufacturing chips at a GlobalFoundries facility in New York, manufacturing refrigeration tech called cryostats in Minnesota, and opening a computing facility in Chicago, he said.
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PsiQuantum is attempting to build a functional quantum computer that uses photons, or light particles, to process information. The company has raised $1.4 billion from investors including BlackRock, Nvidia, and Qatar Investment Authority.
Quantum computers have the potential to perform much more complex calculations than classical computers can, with applications in encryption, scientific research, and AI development.
Companies building the computers — including Google, IBM, and IonQ — are in a race to reach “quantum advantage,” when the computers can solve a problem that no classical computer can in any amount of time. They are also competing to achieve “fault tolerance,” which comes later and indicates when a quantum computer can operate reliably, even when there are errors.
The timelines for when this will happen are murky, with some companies already claiming they’ve reached quantum advantage, but experts expect the first large-scale quantum computer to reach fault tolerance around 2029.
PsiQuantum is building a photonics-based quantum computer in Brisbane, Australia, with plans to bring it online next year. It expects to launch a second computer in Chicago in 2028. It is one of few companies using photons to build a quantum computer, with others using electrons, superconducting circuits, and neutral atoms.