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Quantum computing is a new generation of technology that involves a type of computer 158 million times faster than the most sophisticated supercomputer we have in the world today. It is a device so powerful that it could do in four minutes what it would take a traditional supercomputer 10,000 years to accomplish.

For decades, our computers have all been built around the same design. Whether it is the huge machines at NASA, or your laptop at home, they are all essentially just glorified calculators, but crucially they can only do one thing at a time.

The key to the way all computers work is that they process and store information made of binary digits called bits. These bits only have two possible values, a one or a zero. It is these numbers that create binary code, which a computer needs to read in order to carry out a specific task, according to the book Fundamentals of Computers.

Quantum theory is a branch of physics which deals in the tiny world of atoms and the smaller (subatomic) particles inside them, according to the journal Documenta Mathematica. When you delve into this minuscule world, the laws of physics are very different to what we see around us. For instance, quantum particles can exist in multiple states at the same time. This is known as superposition.

Instead of bits, quantum computers use something called quantum bits, 'qubits' for short. While a traditional bit can only be a one or a zero, a qubit can be a one, a zero or it can be both at the same time, according to a paper published from IEEE International Conference on Big Data.

This means that a quantum computer does not have to wait for one process to end before it can begin another, it can do them at the same time.

Imagine you had lots of doors which were all locked except for one, and you needed to find out which one was open. A traditional computer would keep trying each door, one after the other, until it found the one which was unlocked. It might take five minutes, it might take a million years, depending on how many doors there were. But a quantum computer could try all the doors at once. This is what makes them so much faster.

As well as superposition, quantum particles also exhibit another strange behaviour called entanglement which also makes this tech so potentially ground-breaking. When two quantum particles are entangled, they form a connection to each other no matter how far apart they are. When you alter one, the other responds the same way even if they're thousands of miles apart. Einstein called this particle property "spooky action at a distance", according to the journal Nature.

As well as speed, another advantage quantum computers have over traditional computers is size. According to Moore's Law, computing power doubles roughly every two years, according to the journal IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. But in order to enable this, engineers have to fit more and more transistors onto a circuit board. A transistor is like a microscopic light switch which can be either off or on. This is how a computer processes a zero or a one that you find in binary code.

To solve more complex problems, you need more of those transistors. But no matter how small you make them there's only so many you can fit onto a circuit board. So what does that mean? It means sooner or later, traditional computers are going to be as smart as we can possibly make them, according to the Young Scientists Journal. That is where quantum machines can change things.

The quest to build quantum computers has turned into something of a global race, with some of the biggest companies and indeed governments on the planet vying to push the technology ever further, prompting a rise in interest in quantum computing stocks on the money markets.

One example is the device created by D-Wave. It has built the Advantage system which it says is the first and only quantum computer designed for business use, according to a press release from the company.

D-wave said it has been designed with a new processor architecture with over 5,000 qubits and 15-way qubit connectivity, which it said enables companies to solve their largest and most complex business problems.

The firm claims the machine is the first and only quantum computer that enables customers to develop and run real-world, in-production quantum applications at scale in the cloud. The firm said the Advantage is 30 times faster and delivers equal or better solutions 94% of the time compared to its previous generation system.

But despite the huge, theoretical computational power of quantum computers, there is no need to consign your old laptop to the wheelie bin just yet. Conventional computers will still have a role to play in any new era, and are far more suited to everyday tasks such as spreadsheets, emailing and word processing, according to Quantum Computing Inc. (QCI).

Where quantum computing could really bring about radical change though is in predictive analytics. Because a quantum computer can make analyses and predictions at breakneck speeds, it would be able to predict weather patterns and perform traffic modelling, things where there are millions if not billions of variables that are constantly changing.

Standard computers can do what they are told well enough if they are fed the right computer programme by a human. But when it comes to predicting things, they are not so smart. This is why the weather forecast is not always accurate. There are too many variables, too many things changing too quickly for any conventional computer to keep up.

Because of their limitations, there are some computations which an ordinary computer may never be able to solve, or it might take literally a billion years. Not much good if you need a quick prediction or piece of analysis.

But a quantum computer is so fast, almost infinitely so, that it could respond to changing information quickly and examine a limitless number of outcomes and permutations simultaneously, according to research by Rigetti Computing.

Quantum computers are also relatively small because they do not rely on transistors like traditional machines. They also consume comparatively less power, meaning they could in theory be better for the environment.

You can read about how to get started in quantum computing in this article by Nature. To learn more about the future of quantum computing, you can watch this TED Talk by PhD student Jason Ball.

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Quantum computing: Definition, facts & uses - Livescience.com

Together with 24 German research institutions and companies, the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS) is working on a quantum computer with improved error rates in the collaborative project QSolid coordinated by Forschungszentrum Jlich.

The goal is to make Germany a leader in the field of quantum technology and thus to maintain its independence and open up numerous new applications in science and industry. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research has allocated 76.3 million in funding for the next five years.

Dr Benjamin Lilienthal-Uhlig, business unit manager for Next Generation Computing at Fraunhofer IPMS states: We intend to use our know-how and infrastructure to enable scalable quantum processors that build on the achievements and advantages of silicon-based semiconductor manufacturing.

This concerns, for example, manufacturing processes like deposition and nanopatterning or wafer-scale electrical characterization. Together with GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID an interposer technology will be developed focusing on high density superconducting interconnects and thermal decoupling through advanced packaging, added Lilienthal-Uhlig.

Fraunhofer IPMS is part of the newly launched German funded project QSolid (Quantum Computer in the solid state). The project centres on quantum bits or qubits for short of very high quality, i.e. with a low error rate. The quantum computer will be integrated into Forschungszentrum Jlichs supercomputing infrastructure at an early stage and will contain several next-generation superconducting quantum processors, including a moonshot system that has been proven to exceed the computing power of conventional computers. The first demonstrator will go into operation in mid-2024 and will make it possible to test applications as well as benchmarks for industry standards.

Fraunhofer IPMS Center Nanelectronic Technologies contributes a 4000 m clean room and its expertise in state-of-the-art, industry-compatible CMOS semiconductor fabrication on 300 mm wafer standard. Additionally, cryogenic characterization of Globalfoundries CMOS technology for scalable control will be studied, explains Lilienthal-Uhlig.

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Fraunhofer IPMS part of a national project to develop the first German Quantum Computer - Scientific Computing World

Investment and new milestones in quantum computing are bringing the prospect of an ultra-powerful computer that can crack any code closer to reality. Alphabet Incs Google and International Business Machines Corp. are racing to increase the number of qubits the quantum equivalent of bits that encode data on classical computers on a quantum chip. Firms like Canadas D-Wave Systems Inc. and French startup Alice&Bob are offering quantum computing services to clients that want broad processing power to solve complex problems.

But any technological advance comes with concerns. While a fully-fledged quantum computer doesnt appear to exist yet, there is already worry about its ability to crack encryption underpinning critical communications between companies and between armed forces.

Andersen Cheng, founder and chief executive officer of London quantum-encryption firm Post Quantum, joined me on Twitter Spaces on Wednesday to talk about why NATO, banks and other entities need to prepare for a world where quantum attacks are possible. Here is an edited transcript of our conversation.

Parmy Olson: How significant is the prospect of quantum computers usurping the machines we use today?

Andersen Cheng: Its going to impact every single one of us. I trained as a computer auditor over 30 years ago so I have seen enough in cybersecurity, and the biggest existential threat we are facing now is a quantum attack. Remember a few months ago when Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram went dark for a few hours? Imagine if they went dark and never came back up? Or what if we couldnt buy our stuff on Amazon? That is the thing we have to worry about in terms of what a quantum machine can do.

One thing that is now emerging is the possibility of a quantum machine that can also crack encryption. When a quantum machine comes in, itll be like an x-ray machine. A hacker no longer needs to steal my wallet. All they have to do is to go to the lock on your front door and take an X-ray image of it. They then know what the key looks like and can replicate it.

PO: Machines today cant crack the encryption underpinning networks like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Signal. Can the quantum-computing services provided by IBM or D-Wave already do that?

AC: No. We cannot tell at this point if someone has already got the first functioning quantum machine somewhere. All the computers were using today are what we call classical computers. A quantum machine cannot do very complicated computation, but it can do millions of tries in one go. A quantum machine is useless in doing 99% of the work that we see today, but its extremely fast in doing many very simple tries simultaneously.

The opinion has been that this machine is 10 to 20 years away. But in the intelligence world, people are now worried it will be within five years. Theres been more urgency in the last two and a half years. This is why you see a lot more initiatives going on now in terms of claiming quantum supremacy. Nation states have put billions of dollars into building a quantum machine. There have been several lab-based breakthroughs in the past few years, which have got people worried.

PO: Lets say somebody gets hold of a quantum computer that can break encryption. What could they do?

AC: One option is a harvest-now-and-decrypt-later attack. Right now Im using my iPhone, using a public key that is encrypted. If someone is trying to intercept and store our information, they are just harvesting it. They cannot decrypt it today. But one day they could open up all the secrets [with a quantum computer].

PO: NATO has started experimenting with your virtual private network which has quantum encryption embedded into it. Why are they trialing this?

AC: The current algorithms we use inside a VPN (a tool used to securely tunnel into a corporate network or through a national firewall) either use a standard from RSA Laboratories or elliptic-curve cryptography. Neither are quantum safe.

PO: Meaning they could be cracked by a quantum computer?

AC: Correct. If you start collecting my data, one day with a quantum machine you could actually crack [the passwords protecting it]. That is the worry from a lot of organizations. NATO has got 30 members states so interoperability is important. If you send allied troops into Ukraine, they have to talk to each other. Since different armies use different communication protocols, you have to think about the harvest-now-decrypt-later risk. So this is why they are at forefront of looking for a quantum-safe solution.

PO: What else is at risk from a quantum attack?

AC: Bitcoin and the blockchain. I would say 99% of all cryptocurrencies are using elliptic-curve cryptography, which is not quantum safe. Whoevers got the first working machine will be able to recover hundreds of billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency.

PO: Which countries are on the forefront of using quantum encryption?

AC: Canada (where quantum computing firm D-Wave Systems is based) is at the forefront of quantum innovation. Then Australia, the Netherlands, France, the U.K. and then you have the U.S. In 2017, Donald Trump made an executive order for a $1.2 billion quantum computing initiative. Thats actually nothing compared to other nation states. China has openly committed between $12 billion and $15 billion to quantum supremacy. France has committed 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) to quantum.

PO: What about the commercial sector?

AC: The American commercial sector has been very innovative with quantum computing, including Google, IBM, Honeywell International Inc.

I cannot name names but some of the largest banks are all quietly building up what we call the PQC teams, or the post-quantum crypto teams, to prepare for the migration. Some of them do see it as an existential threat and they also see it as a marketing advantage to tell customers they are quantum-safe. I know one of the largest systems integrators in the world has committed $200 million to build out a quantum consulting division. They see this as like Y2K happening every month in the next 10 years.

PO: Y2K refers to when everybody thought the worlds computers would blow up when the date changed on Jan. 1, 2000.

AC: It was a once-in-a-lifetime event which did not happen. I was working for JP Morgan Chase & Co. at the time on the Y2K migration committee. Three days after Jan. 1, Sandy Warner, then-CEO, sent an email to every employee saying, Wow, we only spent $286 million on Y2K and nothing happened, so we are very pleased.

PO: How much of the worries over quantum are being overblown by consultants keen to earn fees to set up these new systems? Bearing in mind youre in this market too.

AC: The consultants are thinking Christmas has come early. Everyones been procrastinating until NIST (Maryland-based National Institute of Standards and Technology) updated its standards to include quantum cryptography. I believe the first wave of huge revenues will go to consulting firms, and then the next wave will come down to vendors like us.

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Why banks and NATO are worrying about a future Quantum attack - The Indian Express

Let me try distracting you from war and disease with a joke. Schrdinger takes his cat to the vet for a check-up. The vet comes back 10 minutes later and says, Well, I have good news and bad news.. If you snickered at this, you know a bit about the Schrdingers Cat paradox, and therefore perhaps a little bit about quantum physics. For those who did not, the paradox explains the seeming contradiction between what we see with our naked eye and what quantum theory tells us actually exists in its microscopic state. The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics states that a particle exists in all states at once until observed. Schrdingers cat is in a box, and could be alive or dead. But till the box is opened, you would not be able to know. Thus, the vets quandary.

This principle, among others, powers one of the most exciting and bleeding- edge advances in technology: Quantum computing. I have written about it before in Mint, but to summarize: Our current powerful computers follow the principles of the Turing machine, where information is encoded in bits (1 and 0) and a series of operations (and, or, not, etc) make these bits compute. A quantum computer uses qubits or the quantum version of bits; a qubit is not permanently a 0 or 1, but it can be both at the same time. Only at the end of the computation (when the box is opened), can you know whether its 0 or 1. During the computation process, its exact state is indeterminate and can contain bits of both. If this whooshed over your head, console yourself with what Bill Gates said in a 2017 interview: I know a lot of physics and a lot of math. But the one place where they put up slides and it is hieroglyphics, its quantum."

A quantum computer can exploit these properties of quantum physics to perform certain calculations far more efficiently and faster than any computer or supercomputer, inspiring the likes of Microsoft, IBM and Google to work feverishly on this form of computing. This is especially urgent because Moores Law is flattening but our problems are becoming more complex: climate change, artificial general intelligence, drug personalization. While this is super exciting, a recent BBC article (bbc.in/3pA7pIY ) about the quantum apocalypse made me pause.

As a hidden force behind e-commerce, online banking and trading, crypto trading, social networking and internet messaging, almost everything we do involves encryption. Most encryption uses public and private keys, and that in turn uses arcane mathematical calculations involving prime numbers. Using a Turing computer to crack this encryption is virtually impossible. It would take thousands of years. However, a quantum computer can potentially do this in mere seconds. Every minute, huge amounts of encrypted data is harvested without our knowledge and stored in vast data banks, waiting for the day that it can finally be decrypted. Today, there is nothing data thieves can do with this treasure trove, but once a functioning quantum computer appears that will be able to break that encryption... it can almost instantly create the ability for whoevers developed it to clear bank accounts, to completely shut down government defence systemsBitcoin wallets will be drained." says lyas Khan, chief executive of Quantinuum. Moreover, current encryption methods will be useless, halting online banking transactions, e-commerce, social media interactions, everything. The security of every public blockchain will be under threat from quantum computing power, since it relies on heavy duty cryptography; it was no coincidence that the price of Bitcoin dropped sharply the day Google made its announcement of achieving quantum supremacy a year ago. It was a portent of the quantum apocalypse.

The world is gearing up for this post-quantum world. Google, Microsoft, Intel and IBM are working on solutions. So are specialist startups like Post-Quantum and Quantinuum. The UK government claims that all its top-secret data is already post-quantum. The BBC talks of a beauty parade taking place to establish a standardised defence strategy that will protect industry, government, academia and critical national infrastructure against the perils of the quantum apocalypse." New cryptographic methods like quantum key distribution are being developed, by which even if the message gets intercepted, no one can read it, much like the cat.

All this will not be cheap, nor will it be easy. But we have no choicemost of our world runs digitally now and its wheels need to be kept humming. To do that, we need to think out of the box.

Jaspreet Bindra is the chief tech whisperer at Findability Sciences, and learning AI, Ethics and Society at Cambridge University.

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Schrdingers cat and the worry of a quantum apocalypse ahead - Mint

Manufacturing breakthrough will lead to quantum chips with the precision required to build the worlds first useful quantum computer

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 15, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PsiQuantum's partnership with GlobalFoundries (GF) has been included in Fast Companys prestigious annual list of the Worlds Most Innovative Companies. PsiQuantum is using GFs advanced semiconductor manufacturing facilities to build the worlds first useful quantum computer, and the Fast Company award recognizes this unprecedented collaboration.

This years list honors businesses that are making the biggest impact on their industries and culture as a whole. These companies are creating the future today with some of the most inspiring accomplishments of the 21st century. In addition to the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies, 528 organizations are recognized across 52 categories.

Quantum computing is anticipated to unlock the solutions to otherwise impossible problems and enable extraordinary advances across a broad range of applications including climate, healthcare, life sciences, energy and beyond. Whether its improving carbon capture catalysts, optimizing the energy grid, or modelling the chemistries of lifesaving drugs or new battery materials, quantum computers are key to solving many of the worlds most demanding challenges that will forever be beyond the capabilities of any conventional computer.

World-changing applications require a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer built in a scalable and proven manufacturing environment. Silicon photonics and semiconductor chip manufacturing offer the scalability and manufacturability needed to deliver a commercially useful quantum computer on any sensible time or money scale.

PsiQuantum is building the worlds first commercially useful, fault-tolerant quantum computer based on breakthroughs in silicon photonics and quantum architecture. Its team of world-renowned quantum computing experts has developed unique technology in which single photons (particles of light) are manipulated using complex photonic circuits, patterned onto a silicon chip using standard semiconductor manufacturing techniques.

Story continues

PsiQuantum and GF demonstrated a world-first ability to manufacture core quantum components, such as single-photon sources and single-photon detectors, with precision and in volume, representing a significant milestone in PsiQuantums roadmap to deliver a large-scale quantum computer. Fast Company recognized the collaboration between PsiQuantum and GF as one of the 10 most innovative joint ventures of 2022, an award category defined by Fast Company as "the best business pairings, whether one-off collaborations or new companies".

"A commercially useful quantum computer has to be large, fault-tolerant, manufacturable, and scalable," said Fariba Danesh, chief operating officer at PsiQuantum. "We have identified a clear path for building a large-scale quantum computer, leveraging our unique technology in silicon photonics and quantum system architecture, and the scalable and proven manufacturing processes of our semiconductor partner GF."

"We are proud that our partnership with PsiQuantum has been recognized as one of the most innovative business pairings of 2022," said Amir Faintuch, senior vice president and general manager of Computing and Wired Infrastructure at GF. "Our partnership is a powerful combination of PsiQuantums photonic quantum computing expertise and GFs silicon photonics manufacturing capability that will transform industries and technology applications across climate, energy, healthcare, materials science, and government."

Fast Companys editors and writers sought out the most groundbreaking businesses across the globe and industries. They also judged nominations received through their application process. The Worlds Most Innovative Companies is Fast Companys signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated editorial efforts of the year. It provides both a snapshot and a road map for the future of innovation across the most dynamic sectors of the economy.

"The worlds most innovative companies play an essential role in addressing the most pressing issues facing society, whether theyre fighting climate change by spurring decarbonization efforts, ameliorating the strain on supply chains, or helping us reconnect with one another over shared passions," said Fast Company Deputy Editor David Lidsky.

For the second year in a row, coinciding with the issue launch, Fast Company will host its Most Innovative Companies Summit on April 26 27. The virtual, multi-day summit celebrates the Most Innovative Companies in business and provides an early look at major business trends and an inside look at what it takes to innovate in 2022. Fast Companys Most Innovative Companies issue (March/April 2022) is available online here, as well as in app form via iTunes and on newsstands beginning March 15. The hashtag is #FCMostInnovative.

About PsiQuantum

Powered by breakthroughs in silicon photonics and quantum architecture, PsiQuantum is building the first commercially useful quantum computer to solve some of the worlds most important challenges. PsiQuantum believes silicon photonics is the only way to achieve the necessary scale required to deliver a fault-tolerant, general-purpose quantum computer. With quantum chips now being manufactured in a world-leading semiconductor fab, PsiQuantum is uniquely positioned to deliver quantum capabilities that will drive advances in climate, healthcare, finance, energy, agriculture, transportation, communications, and beyond. To learn more, visit http://www.psiquantum.com.

Follow PsiQuantum: LinkedIn

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at http://www.fastcompany.com.

2022 PsiQuantum. PsiQuantum and our logo are trademarks of PsiQuantum, Corp. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220315005492/en/

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PsiQuantums Partnership with GlobalFoundries Named to Fast Companys Worlds Most Innovative Companies List - Yahoo Finance