University of Kwazulu-Natal

Google Ibm New Age Of Quantum Computing Is About To Begin

Bonisiwe Shabane
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google ibm new age of quantum computing is about to begin

The race to build the first workable quantum computer has come alive, with industry leaders Google and IBM both claiming that they can produce full-scale systems within five years. Recent technical breakthroughs have revived confidence in what was once considered little more than fantasy. "It doesn't feel like a dream anymore," says Jay Gambetta, who is heading up IBM's VP of Quantum. "I really do feel like we've cracked the code and we'll be able to build this machine by the end of the decade." This renewed optimism amongst Big Tech's quantum computing teams comes in spite of the formidable challenges that lay ahead of them. To join the CNBC Technology Executive Council, go to cnbccouncils.com/tec

While there are still differing perspectives on how long it will be until certain types of quantum computing hit commercial viability, experts from big tech companies like Google and IBM as well as smaller... Yet, in a space teeming with unknowns, there's still a lot to learn about the potential fate of a world in quantum's hands. 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... These qubits can then basically communicate with each other to further increase the speed and complexity of information processing in a calculation. Within the field of quantum computing, there are two types of technologies. What most people refer to when they talk about it is universal gate-based models.

The second model is called annealing quantum. "It's a different technology," explained Mandy Birch, CEO and founder of TreQ, a quantum systems engineering company focused on manufacturing applications. Companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon and IBM are aggressively pursuing gate-model quantum computing, each with different qubit technologies and strategies. D-Wave is largely working with annealing technology, which primarily serves companies that want to optimize their operations. Annealing models still have a ways to go, but unlike gate models that researchers are still developing, annealing is able to deliver commercial value today. The decades-long quest to create a practical quantum computer is accelerating as major tech companies say they are closing in on designs that could scale from small lab experiments to full working systems within...

IBM laid out a detailed plan for a large-scale machine in June, filling in gaps from earlier concepts and declaring it was on track to build one by the end of the decade. “It doesn’t feel like a dream anymore,” Jay Gambetta, head of IBM’s quantum initiative, told Financial Times. “I really do feel like we’ve cracked the code and we’ll be able to build this machine by the end of the decade.” Google, which cleared one of the toughest technical obstacles late last year, says it is also confident it can produce an industrial-scale system within that time frame, while Amazon Web Services cautions that it... Half a century ago, a factory in Poughkeepsie, New York, cranked out computer hardware. The profits from mainframes financed pampered employees, scientific research and a dividend that made International Business Machines the most valuable company on the planet.

Now, a diminished IBM gets most of its revenue from soft things: computer programs and business services. But it’s at work on a new kind of machine that could return Poughkeepsie to its glory days. This is where it will assemble quantum computers, the magical devices designed to tackle mathematical challenges that would overwhelm an ordinary computer. If quantum delivers on its promises, engineers will use it to make giant strides in the design of drugs, vaccines, batteries and chemicals. Last year Boston Consulting Group predicted that come 2040, quantum hardware and software providers will be taking in $90 billion to $170 billion of annual revenue. IBM has been part of this rapidly evolving technology since the turn of the century.

Leading its effort: Jay Gambetta, a 46-year-old physicist from Australia who oversees 3,000 employees on six continents doing research. He will not stint quantum, since he has spent his entire career in that field. Gambetta joined IBM’s Watson Research Center, 39 miles south of the Poughkeepsie factory, in 2011 after postdoc years at Yale and then on the faculty at the University of Waterloo. He says, “While I like teaching, really I wanted to build.” Updated on: July 28, 2024 / 7:00 PM EDT / CBS News This is an updated version of a story first published on Dec.

3, 2023. The original video can be viewed here. Artificial intelligence is the magic of the moment but this is a story about what's next, something incomprehensible. This past December, IBM announced an advance in an entirely new kind of computing - one that may solve problems in minutes that would take today's supercomputers millions of years. That's the difference in quantum computing, a technology being developed at IBM, Google and others. It's named for quantum physics, which describes the forces of the subatomic realm.

And as we told you last winter, the science is deep and we can't scratch the surface, but we hope to explain just enough so that you won't be blindsided by a breakthrough that... The quantum computer pushes the limits of knowledge--new science, new engineering-- all leading to this processor that computes with the atomic forces that created the universe. Dario Gil: I think this moment, it feels to us like the pioneers of the 1940s and 50s that were building the first digital computers. The decades-long quest to create a practical quantum computer is accelerating as major tech companies say they are closing in on designs that could scale from small lab experiments to full working systems within... IBM laid out a detailed plan for a large-scale machine in June, filling in gaps from earlier concepts and declaring it was on track to build one by the end of the decade. “It doesn’t feel like a dream anymore,” Jay Gambetta, head of IBM’s quantum initiative, told Financial Times.

“I really do feel like we’ve cracked the code and we’ll be able to build this machine by the end of the decade.” Google, which cleared one of the toughest technical obstacles late last year, says it is also confident it can produce an industrial-scale system within that time frame, while Amazon Web Services cautions that it... YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, New York – November 12, 2025 – At the annual Quantum Developer Conference, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today unveiled fundamental progress on its path to delivering both quantum advantage by the end of... “There are many pillars to bringing truly useful quantum computing to the world,” said Jay Gambetta, Director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow. “We believe that IBM is the only company that is positioned to rapidly invent and scale quantum software, hardware, fabrication, and error correction to unlock transformative applications. We are thrilled to announce many of these milestones today.”

IBM Quantum Computers Built to Scale Advantage IBM is unveiling IBM Quantum Nighthawk, its most advanced quantum processor yet and designed with an architecture to complement high-performing quantum software to deliver quantum advantage next year: the point at which a quantum... IBM researcher holds IBM Quantum Nighthawk chip (Credit: IBM)

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