Quantum computing promises society-changing breakthroughs in drug development and tackling climate change and on an unassuming English high street, the race to unleash the latest tech revolution is gathering pace.
The founder of Cambridge-based Riverlane, Steve Brierley, predicts that the technology will have its 鈥楽putnik鈥� breakthrough within years.
鈥楺uantum computing is not going to be just slightly better than the previous computer, it鈥檚 going to be a huge step forward,鈥� he said.
His company produces the world鈥檚 first dedicated quantum decoder chip, which detects and corrects the errors currently holding the technology back.
Building devices 鈥榯hat live up to the technology鈥檚 incredible promise requires a massive step change in scale and reliability, and that requires reliable error correction schemes鈥�, explained John Martinis, former quantum computing lead at Google Quantum AI.
In a sign of confidence in Riverlane鈥檚 work and the sector in general, the company announced on Tuesday that it had raised $75 million in Series C funding, typically the last round of venture capital financing聽prior to an initial public offering.
鈥極ver the next two to three years, we鈥檒l be able to get to systems that can support a million error-free operations,鈥� said Earl Campbell, vice-president of quantum science at聽Riverlane.
This is the threshold where a quantum computer should be able to perform certain tasks better than conventional computers, he added.聽
Quantum computers are 鈥榬eally good at simulating other quantum systems鈥�, explained Brierley, meaning they can simulate interactions between particles, atoms and molecules.
This could open the door to revolutionary medicines and also promises huge efficiency improvements in how fertilisers are made, transforming an industry that today produces around two per cent of global CO2 emissions.聽
It also paves the way for much more efficient batteries, another crucial weapon in the fight against climate change.
The amount of information that quantum computers can harness increases exponentially when the machine is scaled up, compared with conventional computers.
鈥業 think most people are more familiar with exponential after Covid, so we know how quickly something that鈥檚 exponential can spread,鈥� said Campbell, inside Riverlane鈥檚 testing lab, a den of oscilloscopes and chipboards.
In traditional computers, data is stored in bits, and each bit can take a value of 0 or 1, much like a light-switch can be 鈥榦n鈥� or 鈥榦ff鈥�.
One bit can therefore represent two states, such as black or white.
Quantum bits, or 鈥榪ubits鈥�, are more like dimmer switches, and one of them can store all values between 0 and 1, meaning all colours of the spectrum can be represented on one qubit.
But there is a catch. The strangeness of quantum behaviour means that the values have to be read many times and processed by complex algorithms, requiring 鈥榚xquisite control鈥� of the qubits.
The qubits are also highly susceptible to errors generated by noise, and the solution to this problem is the 鈥榢ey to unlocking useful quantum computing鈥�, said Brierley.
Tech giants such as Google, IBM, Microsoft and Amazon are all investing huge sums in generating qubits, and in trying to reduce errors, either through shielding the hardware or by combining qubits and then using algorithms to detect and correct mistakes.
鈥楾his is like the way an SSD (memory) card works. It鈥檚 built out of faulty components with active error correction on top,鈥� said Brierley.
All of which increases the number of components required and time taken to execute individual operations.
鈥榃e definitely won鈥檛 be using quantum computers to send email,鈥� explained Brierley.
Those drawbacks grow at a steady rate as the computer gets larger, whereas the benefits increase on an upward curve, explaining why they work better on larger, more complex tasks.
鈥楢nd this means that we鈥檒l be able to solve problems which would otherwise be unsolvable,鈥� said Brierley.
While today鈥檚 quantum computers can only perform around 1,000 operations before being overwhelmed by errors, the quality of the actual components has 鈥榞ot to the point where the physical qubits are good enough,鈥� said Brierley.聽
鈥楽o this is a super exciting time. The challenge now is to scale up... and to add error correction into the systems,鈥� he added.
Such progress, along with quantum computing鈥檚 potential to crack all existing cryptography and create potent new materials, is spurring regulators into action.
鈥楾here鈥檚 definitely a scrambling to聽understand what鈥檚 coming next in technology.聽It鈥檚 really important that we learn the lessons from 聽AI, to not be surprised by the technology and think early about what those implications are going to be,鈥� said Brierley.聽
鈥業 think there will ultimately be regulation around quantum computing, because it鈥檚 such an important technology.聽And I think this is a technology where no government wants to come second.鈥�