The most interesting name in the field of quantum computing today is Google. Its time-crystal breakthrough last year was the culmination of a decades-long learning and research effort by the search engine-owning tech giant. And it has proven itself to be a frontrunner in the field of advanced quantum physics research.
Despite barely having a B2B presence in the quantum computing market, the Mountain View-based company has managed to project itself as one of the most important players in the field. this.
And Google’s position in this area when compared to some of its rivals might surprise you a bit. D-Wave – the Canadian quantum computing company – built quantum computers in the days when Google was in business. And both Microsoft and IBM were early focused on quantum computing ecosystems to generate revenue to offset their massive research expenditures.
But Google is much slower. Its quantum ambitions only date back to 2005-2006, when the company’s AI division began working on algorithms designed to run on D-Wave quantum computing chips.
Ultimately, the partnership worked, and in 2009, D-Wave and Google demonstrated quantum speed for an image classification algorithm.
Fast forward to 2022, Google built at least three quantum processors based on its own system, then demonstrated a new phase of matter (time crystals) and is said to have achieved. “quantum superiority”. This is not a bad achievement for a company that most people would not normally think of as related to the field of quantum physics.
In fact, if you look at the big picture, it’s clear that Google – or more precisely its parent company Alphabet – has set its sights on becoming the world’s leading quantum computing organization.
We’ve seen this kind of shift in focus before, when the company shifted from mobile to AI in 2016. And, arguably, Google found a way to take the top spot. among American AI companies since then.
Google has taken the same approach to building its quantum ambitions. And, based on recent developments, it looks like the company’s long-term plans are starting to come into play.
Google is also working with organizations from NASA to Stanford University to develop quantum computing systems of the future. Previous achievements in gate-based quantum systems and the aforementioned breakthrough in time crystals have cemented Google’s position as a solid player in the world of quantum physics.
But the problem is that it is very difficult to make money from this research. That’s why Microsoft recently partnered with Pasqal to perfect its cloud-based quantum access services, while continuing to work on distant qubit ideas.
And D-Wave has spent decades developing useful quantum computers capable of solving problems on the fly, before starting to seriously study future gate-based systems.
Even IBM, Google’s closest companion in research, has prioritized cloud access for enterprise customers over its own monumental research efforts.
As a result, Google is likely to offer the quantum model as a service in action like any other player in the field. And it could even lead the way in the race towards quantum advantage, by creating a quantum computer capable of surpassing every supercomputer on the planet.
In fact, Google Quantum AI, founded in partnership with NASA’s quantum labs, believes it will possess a portal-based quantum computer capable of taking quantum advantages within minutes. next decade.
IBM made achievements in the quantum field very early.
Of course its competitors – IBM, Microsoft and D-Wave – all make similar claims. And that makes it one of the most profitable races in the history of technology.
And as mentioned, IBM is off to a good start and Microsoft looks poised to dominate this market over the next few years. But Google also had some advantages of its own enough to mess things up in the rankings.
Parent company Alphabet recently grew its SandboxAQ division into its own company, now a sister company to Google. It’s unclear exactly what SandboxAQ intends to do now when it’s launched, but it’s positioned as a quantum and AI services company. We expect it to start serving corporate customers in partnership with Google in the near future.
And, in doing so, Google will bolster its short-term quantum efforts in much the same way that Microsoft recently did. The big difference here is that Alphabet controls both Google and SandboxAQ, while Microsoft could cut its partnership with Pasqal if the situation changes.
Microsoft also started monetizing its quantum research.
It will be interesting to see companies like Alphabet and Microsoft vying for future US government contracts for quantum services. As Microsoft tends to outperform Google in bidding, Google has close ties to NASA and is essentially involved in the government space program.
And finally, Google bets it all on its research teams, which cover a lot of platforms over the next ten years. If the company’s time crystals and other gate-based quantum computing research circuits fail to work, it could fall far behind the competition.
But, it’s always been a fact that everything we’ve seen in the last 5 years suggests the opposite is likely.
We can safely assume that while we haven’t yet seen the final breakthrough in Google’s quantum computing research, we are most likely living in the moments right before the slow and steady tortoise begins to take hold. Start creating your own platform to overtake the full speed rabbits.
Refer Thenextweb