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The primary challenge for practical quantum computing is error suppression, necessitating quantum error correction for extensive processing. However, implementing error-corrected logical qubits, where information is redundantly encoded across multiple physical qubits, presents significant challenges for achieving large-scale logical quantum computing.

A new study by Harvard scientists reports realizing a programmable quantum processor based on encoded logical qubits operating with up to 280 physical qubits. This is a critical milestone in the quest for stable, scalable quantum computing.

This new quantum processor can encode up to 48 logical qubits and execute hundreds of logical gate operations, a vast improvement over prior efforts. This system marks the initial showcase of running large-scale algorithms on an error-corrected quantum computer, signaling the arrival of early fault-tolerant quantum computation that operates reliably without interruption.

Denise Caldwell of the National Science Foundation said,This breakthrough is a tour de force of quantum engineering and design. The team has not only accelerated the development of quantum information processing by using neutral atoms but opened a new door to explorations of large-scale logical qubit devices, which could enable transformative benefits for science and society as a whole.

A quantum bit or qubit is one unit of information in quantum computing. In the world of quantum computing, in principle, it is possible to create physical qubits by manipulating quantum particles be they atoms, ions, or photons.

Harnessing the peculiarities of quantum mechanics for computation is more intricate than merely accumulating a sufficient number of qubits. Qubits are inherently unstable and susceptible to collapsing out of their quantum states.

The accurate measure of success lies in logical qubits, known as the coins of the realm. These are bundles of redundant, error-corrected physical qubits capable of storing information for quantum algorithms. Creating controllable logical qubits, akin to classical bits poses a significant challenge for the field. It is widely acknowledged that until quantum computers can operate reliably on logical qubits, the technology cannot truly advance.

Current computing systems have demonstrated only one or two logical qubits and a single quantum gate operationa unit of codebetween them.

The breakthrough by the Harvard team is built upon years of research on a quantum computing architecture called a neutral atom array, pioneered in Lukins lab. QuEra, a company commercializing this technology, recently entered into a licensing agreement with Harvards Office of Technology Development for a patent portfolio based on Lukins groups innovations.

A block of ultra-cold, suspended rubidium atoms is at the heart of the system. These atoms, serving as the systems physical qubits, can move around and form pairs or become entangled during computations.

Entangled pairs of atoms come together to form gates, representing units of computing power. The team had previously showcased low error rates in their entangling operations, establishing the reliability of their neutral atom array system.

In their logical quantum processor, the scientists have now demonstrated parallel, multiplexed control over an entire section of logical qubits using lasers. This approach is more efficient and scalable compared to individually controlling physical qubits.

Paper first author Dolev Bluvstein, a Griffin School of Arts and Sciences Ph.D. student in Lukins lab, said,We are trying to mark a transition in the field, toward starting to test algorithms with error-corrected qubits instead of physical ones, and enabling a path toward larger devices.

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Scientists created the first programmable, logical quantum processor - Tech Explorist

You can't miss out on these quantum computing picks

Quantum computing stocks should be on your radar. The vast potential of quantum technologies means well likely witness dramatic progress in AI, IoT, and clean energy technologies. These computers will give us the needed horsepower, but the tech is presently under a competitive research and development environment.

Regardless of the speculative nature of quantum computing stocks, we can already observe leaders. These companies are heading the pack in pioneering this new standard for the computing industry.

So, to know the three quantum computing stocks leading us forward, lets explore your best options.

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IBM (NYSE:IBM) warrants attention foremost.

Most recently, the company installed a 127-qubit quantum processor in its IBM Quantum System One machine at the University of Tokyo, Japan.

This significant development is not only one of the first quantum computers in East Asia, but also it challenges other regions for market dominance. Typically led by Europe and North America, this sets the stage for Asia to emerge as a pivotal player. And this may have critical competitive considerations for companies like IBM.

IBMs processor is expected to conduct high-level research in various fields ranging from finance to medicine to modeling complex biological processes.

Besides this recent development that should give quantum bulls a reason to smile, IBM is also undervalued on several key metrics. It effectively balances strong cash generation with a dividend yield of 4.14% and a price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.43.

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Alphabets (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) position in the quantum computing market is also formidable. The company made significant headway in February by reporting that it reduced computational errors in its quantum bits. Reducing these errors is crucial to making quantum computers usable and a key barrier to commercialization.

Complementing Alphabets goal of commercializing its quantum system this year is its impressive financials. Like IBM, its PEG ratio is 1.26, indicating expected growth at a reasonable price. Furthermore, it has retained robust top and bottom lines with a revenue of $297.13 billion and a net income of $66.73 billion.

Also, Wall Streets stance on Alphabet remains bullish. It carries a strong buy recommendation. Further, analysts predict an average 12-month price increase of 7.32%, with a high target of $180.

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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is building an ecosystem to support its quantum computing services with its Q# development suite. Also, it onboards developers early to test its code and tools.

Therefore, the development of MSFTs community is one of the key reasons to be bullish on MSFT. Q# is striving to become the de facto standard. In fact, its similar to the way certain programming languages once fought for dominance amongst the development community. Today, we are left with a handful of the most popular.

Further, MSFT is taking a calculated gamble on its development of quantum technology. Its investing heavily in research and developing novel ways to improve error correction and fault tolerance. This approach is riskier, but if it pays off. It could give MSFT one of the most stable quantum computing systems on the market upon release, if not the most stable, thus giving it a significant advantage over its peers.

On the date of publication, Matthew Farley did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed are those of the writer, subject to theInvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Matthew started writing coverage of the financial markets during the crypto boom of 2017 and was also a team member of several fintech startups. He then started writing about Australian and U.S. equities for various publications. His work has appeared in MarketBeat, FXStreet, Cryptoslate, Seeking Alpha, and the New Scientist magazine, among others.

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Frontiers in Quantum Computing: 3 Stocks Leading the Way - InvestorPlace

Solutions ReviewsContributed Content Series is a collection of contributed articles written by thought leaders in enterprise software categories. Zibby Kwecka of Quorum Cyber examines the current and future states of quantum computing, and the inevitable threat of a quantum attack.

The threat of quantum computing is very real, today. As of July 2022, 25 percent of Bitcoin and 66 percent of Ether are vulnerable to quantum attacks (Deloitte, 2023). These can be secured with action, however, even if a small number of these currencies are stolen, the market disruption may significantly devalue assets.Quantum computers have the potential to solve certain complex mathematical problems significantly faster than classical computers. One of the most notable implications is their ability to break encryption algorithms that rely on the difficulty of factoring large numbers or solving logarithm problems. There are theoretical methods to crack our current encryption methods that would be possible on a conventional computer, however widely inefficient. Quantum will allow the cracking of keys thousands of times more efficiently, making it possible to break todays encryption in just a few cycles. Thankfully, for now, scale remains a problem for quantum computing.

Once quantum computers become a tool thats commercially available and matured, its expected attackers will take advantage of this to break current encryption methods, creating a significant risk to the security of our sensitive data. Using this technology as a platform for an attack is a concern for organizations, not just on the cryptography front.The threat of quantum computing becoming part of an actors offensive toolbox is likely. Taking advantage of decryption techniques, forging certificates, or its potential ability of rapid machine learning, could vastly speed up network recon and eavesdropping, and forging identities.

Just because quantum computing isnt here yet doesnt mean we shouldnt be aware of the risk. Data may already have been stolen, or harvested, for later yield. While it may not be currently feasible to decrypt your data yet, once it becomes a viable and affordable measure through quantum computing, harvested data and communication traffic could be decrypted. This may be assisted by projects from Microsoft and IBM aiming to offer cloud-based multi-quantum computing facilities on a consumption model.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been calling for the development of encryption methods that would remain resistant to the advantages of quantum computing, with the first four quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms announced back in 2022 (NIST, 2022). There is a future of using quantum computers to vastly improve our digital security, but theres a risk of being in a very dangerous limbo between the threats posed and the future of greater security. Currently, there are several limitations preventing development at scale, which may take years to overcome.

The most likely quantum attack would involve breaking cryptographic systems of communication methods we use today. This isnt just a future problem; however, its happening already. The widely known Harvest Now, Decrypt Later operations store stolen information that will later be decrypted using advanced technology. This might be years away, but depending on the sensitive information, it could still enable extortion against organizations or individuals. Its a compelling argument to encourage businesses to purge old data thats no longer required.

Future cyber-attacks will involve hybrid approaches that combine classical and quantum computing techniques. Quantum computers are great at operating in parallel states, and thus, it would be natural to apply them to fuzzing systems and finding vulnerabilities. The added fuzzing ability of quantum computers could drastically speed up attacks aiming to penetrate a system. Fuzzing tests programs by using numerous randomized inputs, and could be a perfect use for quantum machines.

Current RSA encryption relies on 2048-bit numbers. In 2019, quantum computers were only able to factor a 6-bit number. In 2022, that number only increased to 48-bits under a highly specialized environment (Swayne, 2022). There is the expectation within the next 10 years we could be at a point where current encryption methods are at risk. The current development is exponential (Deloitte, 2023).A recent mandate from the US Congress declares a 2035 deadline for quantum-resistant cryptography to be implemented (Executive Office of The President, 2022), but it could be sooner.

The exponential development of artificial intelligence (AI) underway may, at some stage, support scientists in solving some of the challenges currently faced. For a quantum computer to undertake a task the problem statement must be translated into a format a quantum computer can actually work with first. This is a laborious task, and hence apart from the high cost of entry to the quantum computing attacks because of the hardware costs, there is an even higher ongoing cost associated with translating targeted problem statements into something that can be tested. This is why cryptographic use cases are currently prevalent when quantum is discussed. They are repetitive, as we only use a handful of cryptographic algorithms to secure the digital world. However, AI will one day enable us to rapidly create translations of human-readable problem statements, and software to be tested, into the code that can be processed by a quantum computer, and this is when the full capabilities of this technology will be reached.

There are several actions that should be considered:

To start using quantum machines to solve real-world problems, we feasibly need a machine capable of at least 1 million stable qubits (Microsoft, 2023). Currently, the qubits in existence suffer at scale for several reasons, one of which is quantum decoherence making each qubit only available for a short period of time. As far as research goes, weve only just reached over 100 qubits (Ball, 2021). Until these challenges are overcome the use of quantum computing is limited.

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The Threat of Quantum Computing - Solutions Review

After reaching impressive milestones in 2023, technology giant IBM (NASDAQ: IBM)has announced its quantum computing roadmap with plans to increase the capabilities of its systems tenfold.

In ablog post, IBM says it will adopt a 10-year plan, underscored by rapid quantum innovation, to realize its mission for practical use cases for the emerging technology. With a target for 2033, the road map unveils multiple generations of processors, with each offering building on the technical achievements of others.

The roadmap comes on the heels of the launch of the IBM Condor, a 1,121 qubit quantum processor, leveraging IBMs proprietary cross-resonance gate technology. IBM Condors release has been described as an innovation milestone as it marks the first time IBM has broken the 1000-qubit barrier.

IBM says it will proceed with the mainstream rollout of Heron, its highest performing quantum processor that will be the foundation of the hardware roadmap over the decade.

The roadmap lists several processors to be rolled out in the coming years, targeting 2029 as an inflection point in its quantum computing ambitions. IBM predicts a watershed moment in 2029 via its Starling process, which can execute 100 million gates, a huge gap from Herons 5,000 gates.

By the end of the 10-year roadmap, IBM says it will be able to execute 1 billion gates, a nine-order-of-magnitude increase since rolling out its first device back in 2016.

Then, in 2029, we hit an inflection point: executing 100 million gates over 200 qubits with our Starling processor employing error correction based on the novel Gross code, read the blog post. This is followed by Blue Jay, a system capable of executing 1 billion gates across 2,000 qubits by 2033.

Rather than focusing all its efforts on innovation, IBM says it will update its offering for utility, providing users with a Qiskit Runtime service to power experiments. The company confirmed a similar upgrade for its IBM Quantum Safe and an integration with watsonx for generative AI to push the frontiers for adoption.

Entering the era of utility opens up new opportunities for enterprises to engage with quantum computing and explore workforce integration, said IBM. We are expanding our enterprise offerings to continue to advance industry use cases for utility-scale quantum computing.

A worrying trend for the US and China

Despite taking the lead in quantum computing and otheremerging technologies, pundits have pointed to a growing innovation trend outside the U.S. and China in other emerging jurisdictions. In late November, IBMinstalledthe first utility-scale quantum system outside North America at the University of Tokyo, Japan.

China faces a dilemma after Alibabashut down its quantum computing unit to focus on AI, putting a dent in its plans to become an industry leader.

Experts say the chip embargo placed on China by the U.S. contributes to the shuttering of Alibabas (NASDAQ: BABA) quantum research arm, with the company pledging to donate its lab equipment to Zhejiang University.

Watch: Konstantinos Sgantzos talks AI and BSV blockchain with CoinGeek

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IBM quantum roadmap targets inflection point by 2029 - CoinGeek

IBM announced the unveiling of its 1,121-qubit Condor quantum computing processor on Dec. 4. This is the companys largest by qubit count and, arguably, the worlds most advanced gate-based, superconducting quantum system.

Alongside the new chip, IBM delivered an updated roadmap and a trove of information on the companys planned endeavors in the quantum computing space.

The 1,121-qubit processor represents the apex of IBMs previous roadmap. Its preceded by 2022s 433-qubit Osprey processor and by 2021s 127-qubit Eagle processor.

In quantum computing terms, qubit count isnt necessarily a measure of power or capability so much as it is potential. While more qubits should theoretically lead to more capable systems eventually, the industrys current focus is on error correction and fault tolerance.

Currently, IBM considers its experiments with 100-qubit systems to be the status quo, with much of the current work focused on increasing the number of quantum gates processors can function with.

For the first time, writes IBM fellow and vice president of quantum computing Jay Gambetta in a recent blog post, we have hardware and software capable of executing quantum circuits with no known a priori answer at a scale of 100 qubits and 3,000 gates.

Gates, like qubits, are a potential measure of the usefulness of a quantum system. The more gates a processor can implement, the more complex functions can be performed by the system. According to IBM, at the 3,000 gates scale, its 100-qubit quantum systems are now computational tools.

The next major inflection point, per the blog post, will occur in 2029 when IBM will execute 100 million gates over 200 qubits with a processor its calling Starling.

This is followed, writes Gambetta, by Blue Jay, a system capable of executing 1 billion gates across 2,000 qubits by 2033.

Related: IBM brings utility-scale quantum computing to Japan as China and Europe struggle to compete

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IBM says it will have hit a quantum computing 'inflection point' by 2029 - Cointelegraph