Sign in Subscribe
High technology industry

Quantum Computing Revolution: Start-Ups vs. Big Tech Giants

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The quantum computing revolution is accelerating, with start-ups like Oxford Ionics emerging as major players in the field. Founded in 2019 by Dr. Chris Ballance and Dr. Tom Harty, the company has already captured the attention of the UK government, with Lord Vallance of Balham praising their Quartet computer as a significant breakthrough. Despite the involvement of big tech giants like Google, IBM, and Microsoft, Ballance believes that start-ups will drive innovation in quantum computing. The UK government has committed £2.5 billion to the National Quantum Technologies Programme, aiming to become a global leader in quantum innovation by 2033.

Key Takeaways:

  • Oxford Ionics, a start-up founded in 2019, has developed a quantum computer called Quartet, which has won over advocates in the UK government, including Lord Vallance of Balham.
  • The company's technology uses electronic fields to manipulate electrons, reducing the number of specialist parts used in the computer.
  • Oxford Ionics has benefited from the UK's National Quantum Technologies Programme, a £1 billion government-backed initiative.
  • Ballance believes that the UK is now at a crossroads, needing "large supplies of capital and conviction" to scale up commercial organisations, and that countries like Germany and the US are "better at backing national champions".
  • Google's quantum chip, Willow, can perform a computation in under five minutes that would take one of today's fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years to do.
  • Microsoft's Majorana 1 chip is designed to scale to a million qubits on a single chip, potentially enabling real-life applications of quantum computing.
  • IBM's 156-qubit processor, Heron R2, can complete workloads that previously took over 120 hours in less than two and a half hours.
  • The challenges ahead in quantum computing include building and scaling better qubits, improving quantum error correction, developing new quantum algorithms, and applying them to the real world.

Statistics:

  • Google's Willow chip has 105 qubits.
  • The chip can perform error correction cycles per second at a rate of 909,000.
  • The processing time of Willow is under five minutes, compared to 10 septillion years for a traditional supercomputer.
  • Oxford Ionics has benefited from a £1 billion government-backed initiative, the National Quantum Technologies Programme.
  • The UK government has committed £2.5 billion to the National Quantum Technologies Programme, aiming to become a global leader in quantum innovation by 2033.
  • Google predicts that quantum computing technology could create $1.3 trillion in value by 2035.

Sources:

  • McKinsey - "The Future of Quantum Computing: Potential and Challenges"
  • The Times - "Google's quantum chip can solve problems impossible for current computers"
  • Google - "Google Unveils Quantum Chip, Willow"
  • Microsoft - "Microsoft Unveils Majorana 1 Chip"
  • IBM - "IBM Announces 156-Qubit Processor, Heron R2"
  • Oxford Ionics - "Oxford Ionics Benefits from National Quantum Technologies Programme"

Read more