Quantum Computing

Quantum computing (QC) has often felt like a theoretical concept due to the
many hurdles researchers must clear. Classical computer “bits” exist as 1s or
0s, qubits can be either — or both simultaneously.

Quantum computers have a reputation for being unreliable since even the most minute
changes can create ‘noise’ that makes it difficult to get accurate results, if any. The
discovery by Microsoft and Quantinuum addresses this problem and reignites the
heated race between top tech companies like Microsoft, Google and IBM to conquer
quantum computing.

Quantum computers use quantum bits instead of classical bits. Their special quantum properties
allow them to represent both a '1' and a '0' at once in superposition and work together in an
entangled group. Without understanding the physics behind this and how it works, what matters
most from an end-user perspective is its impact on computational capabilities.

10 Companies Utilizing Quantum Computing

➔​ IBM Location: Armonk, New York

Quantum computing and artificial intelligence may prove to be mutual back-scratchers.

Advances in deep learning will likely increase our understanding of quantum mechanics while at
the same time fully realized quantum computers could far surpass conventional ones in data
pattern recognition. Regarding the latter, IBM’s quantum research team has found that entangling
qubits on the quantum computer that ran a data-classification experiment cut the error rate in half
compared to unentangled qubits.

“What this suggests,” an essay in the MIT Technology Review noted, “is that as quantum
computers get better at harnessing qubits and at entangling them, they’ll also get better at
tackling machine-learning problems.”

IBM’s research came in the wake of another promising machine-learning classification

algorithm: a quantum-classical hybrid run on a 19-qubit machine built by Rigetti Computing.
“Harnessing [quantum computers’ statistical distribution] has the potential to accelerate or
otherwise improve machine learning relative to purely classical performance,” Rigetti
researchers wrote. The hybridization of classical computers and quantum processors overcame “a
key challenge” in realizing that aim, they explained. Both are important steps toward the ultimate
goal of significantly accelerating AI through quantum computing. Which might mean virtual
assistants that understand you the first time. Or non-player-controlled video game characters that
behave hyper-realistically.

➔​ JPMorganChase Location: New York, New York

At IBM’s Q Network, JPMorgan Chase stands out amid a sea of tech-focused members as well
as government and higher-ed research institutions. That hugely profitable financial services
companies would want to leverage paradigm-shifting technology is hardly a shocker, but
quantum and financial modeling are a truly natural match thanks to structural similarities. As a
group of European researchers wrote, “The entire financial market can be modeled as a quantum
process, where quantities that are important to finance, such as the covariance matrix, emerge
naturally.”

A lot of research has focused specifically on quantum’s potential to dramatically speed up the
so-called Monte Carlo model, which essentially gauges the probability of various outcomes and
their corresponding risks. A 2019 paper co-written by IBM researchers and members of
JPMorgan’s Quantitative Research team included a methodology to price option contracts using
a quantum computer.

➔​ Microsoft Location: Redmond, Washington

Much of the planet’s fertilizer is made by heating and pressurizing atmospheric nitrogen into
ammonia, a process pioneered in the early 1900s by German chemist Fritz Haber. And this is a
problem.

The so-called Haber process, though revolutionary, proved quite energy-consuming: some three
percent of annual global energy output goes into running Haber, which accounts for more than
one percent of greenhouse gas emissions. More maddening, some bacteria perform that process
naturally — we simply have no idea how and therefore can’t leverage it.
With an adequate quantum computer, however, we could probably figure out how — and, in
doing so, significantly conserve energy. In 2017, researchers from Microsoft isolated the cofactor
molecule that’s necessary to simulate. And they’ll do that just as soon as the quantum hardware
has a sufficient qubit count and noise stabilization.

➔​ Rigetti Computing Location: Berkeley, California

Recent research into whether quantum computing might vastly improve weather prediction has
determined it’s a topic worth researching. And while we still have little understanding of that
relationship, many in the field view it as a notable use case.

Ray Johnson, the former CTO at Lockheed Martin and now an independent director at quantum
startup Rigetti Computing, is among those who’ve indicated that quantum computing’s method
of simultaneous (rather than sequential) calculation will likely be successful in “analyzing the
very, very complex system of variables that is weather.”

While we currently use some of the world’s most powerful supercomputers to model
high-resolution weather forecasts, accurate numerical weather prediction is notoriously difficult.
In fact, it probably hasn’t been that long since you cursed an off-the-mark meteorologist.

➔​ Post-Quantum Location: London, England

To former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, Google’s 2019 quantum milestone meant that
“no code is uncrackable.” He was referring to a much-discussed notion that the unprecedented
factorization power of quantum computers would severely undermine common internet
encryption systems.

But Google’s device (like all current QC devices) is far too error-prone to pose the immediate
cybersecurity threat that Yang implied. In fact, according to theoretical computer scientist Scott
Aaronson, such a machine won’t exist for quite a while. But the looming danger is serious. And
the years-long push toward quantum-resistant algorithms — like the National Institute of
Standards and Technology’s ongoing competition to build such models — illustrates how
seriously the security community takes the threat.

One of just 26 so-called post-quantum algorithms to make the NIST’s “semifinals” comes from,
appropriately enough, British-based cybersecurity leader Post-Quantum. Experts say the careful
and deliberate process exemplified by the NIST’s project is precisely what quantum-focused
security needs. As Dr. Deborah Franke of the National Security Agency told Nextgov, “There are
two ways you could make a mistake with quantum-resistant encryption: One is you could jump
to the algorithm too soon, and the other is you jump to the algorithm too late.” As a result of this
competition, NIST announced four cryptographic models in 2022 and is in the process of
standardizing the algorithms before releasing them for widespread use in 2024.

➔​ ProteinQure Location: Toronto, Ontario

One company focusing computational heft on molecular simulation, specifically protein

behavior, is Toronto-based biotech startup ProteinQure. It partners with quantum-computing
leaders (IBM, Microsoft and Rigetti Computing) and pharma research outfits (SRI International,
AstraZeneca) to explore QC’s potential in modeling protein.

That’s the deeply complex but high-yield route of drug development in which proteins are
engineered for targeted medical purposes. Although it’s vastly more precise than the old-school
trial-and-error method of running chemical experiments, it’s infinitely more challenging from a
computational standpoint.

➔​ Daimler Truck AG Location: Stuttgart, Germany

QC’s potential to simulate quantum mechanics could be equally transformative in other

chemistry-related realms beyond drug development. The auto industry, for example, wants to
harness the technology to build better car batteries.

In 2018, German car manufacturer Daimler AG (the parent company of Mercedes-Benz)

announced two distinct partnerships with quantum-computing powerhouses Google and IBM.
Electric vehicles are “mainly based on a well-functioning cell chemistry of the batteries,” the
company wrote in its magazine at the time. Quantum computing, it added, inspires “justified
hope” for “initial results” in areas like cellular simulation and the aging of battery cells.
Improved batteries for electric vehicles could help increase adoption of those vehicles.
Daimler is also looking into how QC could potentially supercharge AI, improve the process for
developing more sustainable batteries, plus manage an autonomous-vehicle-choked traffic future
and accelerate its logistics.

➔​ Volkswagen AG Location: Wolfsburg, Germany

Volkswagen’s exploration of optimization brings up a point worth emphasizing: Despite some
common framing, the main breakthrough of quantum computing isn’t just the speed at which it
will solve challenges, but the kinds of challenges it will solve.

The “traveling salesman” problem, for instance, is one of the most famous in computation. It
aims to determine the shortest possible route between multiple cities, hitting each city once and
returning to the starting point. Known as an optimization problem, it’s incredibly difficult for a
classical computer to tackle. For fully realized QCs, though, it could be much easier.

➔​ IonQ Location: College Park, Maryland

In the search for sustainable energy alternatives, hydrogen fuel, when produced without the use
of fossil fuels, is serving to be a viable solution for reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Most hydrogen fuel production is currently rooted in fossil fuel use, though quantum computing
could create an efficient avenue to turn this around.

Electrolysis, the process of deconstructing water into basal hydrogen and oxygen molecules, can
work to extract hydrogen for fuel in an environmentally-friendly manner. Quantum computing
has already been helping research how to utilize electrolysis for the most efficient and
sustainable hydrogen production possible.

In 2019, IonQ performed the first simulation of a water molecule on a quantum device, marking
as evidence that computing is able to approach accurate chemical predictions. In 2022, IonQ
released Forte, its newest generation of quantum systems allowing software configurability and
greater flexibility for researchers and other users. More recently, the company has released two
new quantum computing systems and has found a way to facilitate communication between
quantum systems.
 ➔​ Infleqtion Location: Boulder, Colorado

Infleqtion (formerly known as ColdQuanta) is known for its use of cold atom quantum
computing, in which laser-cooled atoms can act the role of qubits. With this method, fragile
atoms can be kept cold while the operating system remains at room temperature, allowing
quantum devices to be used in various environments.

To aid in research conducted by NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory, Infleqtion’s Quantum Core
technology was successfully shipped to the International Space Station in 2019. The technology
has since been expected to support communications, global positioning, and signal processing
applications. Infleqtion has also been signed in multi-million dollar contracts by

To aid in research conducted by NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory, Infleqtion’s Quantum Core
technology was successfully shipped to the International Space Station in 2019. The technology
has since been expected to support communications, global positioning, and signal processing
applications. Infleqtion has also been signed in multi-million dollar contracts by U.S.
government agencies to develop quantum atomic clock and ion trap system technologies as of
2021.

The company plans to commercialize its technology in the coming years, with the initial goal of
creating error-corrected logical qubits and a quantum computer.