Quantum computing was already gathering pace in Japan and elsewhere in Asia when the University of Tokyo and IBM launched their new quantum computer last year. The computer was the second such system built outside the United States by IBM — the latest in a string of key moves in quantum research. The university and IBM have led the Quantum Innovation Initiative Consortium alongside heavyweights of Japanese industry like Toyota and Sony — all with a view to nailing the quantum question. Quantum computing refers to the use of quantum mechanics to run calculations. Quantum computing can run multiple processes at once by using quantum bits, unlike binary bits which power traditional computing. The new technology will ultimately speed up the computational power that drives many industries and could affect everything from drug discovery to how data is secured. Several countries are racing to get quantum computers fully operational.
Christopher Lavoie, CEO of quantum computing firm Zapata, who spent much of his career in Japan, said technological development has been very U.S.-centric. But now, Asian nations don’t want to be left behind on quantum computing, he added. Nation states like India, Japan and China are very much interested in not being the only folks without a capability there. They don’t want to see the kind of hegemony that’s arisen where the large cloud aggregators by and large are only US companies. Referring to the likes of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
China, for example, has committed a great deal of brainpower to the quantum race. Researchers have touted debates are simmering over whether China has surpassed the U.S. on some fronts.
India, for its part, announced plans earlier this year to invest $1 billion in a five-year plan to develop a quantum computer in the country.
James Sanders, an analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence, told CNBC that governments around the world have been taking more interest in quantum computing in recent years. In March, Sanders published a report that found governments have pledged around $4.2 billion to support quantum research. Some notable examples include South Korea’s $40 million investment in the field and Singapore’s Ministry of Education’s funding of a research center, The Center for Quantum Technologies.
Where will it be used?
All of these efforts have a long lens on the future. And for some, the benefits of quantum can seem nebulous. According to Sanders, the benefits of quantum computing aren’t going to be immediately evident for everyday consumers. “On a bad day, I’m talking people down from the idea of quantum cell phones. That’s not realistic, that’s not going to be a thing,” he said. What is likely to happen is that quantum computers will wind up utilized in designing products that consumers eventually buy.
There are two major areas where quantum’s breakthrough will be felt — industry and defense. Areas where you have HPC [high-performance computing] are areas where we will be seeing quantum computers having an impact. It’s things like material simulation, aerodynamic simulation, these kinds of things, very high, difficult computational problems, and then machine learning artificial intelligence.
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