Google announced on Monday that it has overcome a major challenge in quantum computing, unveiling a new chip called Willow that solved a complex problem in just five minutes—a task that would take a classical computer longer than the entire history of the universe.
Quantum computing, a technology being pursued by tech giants like Microsoft and IBM, promises to offer significantly faster computing speeds compared to current systems. Although the problem solved by the Willow chip does not have immediate commercial applications, Google envisions quantum computers eventually tackling problems in fields like medicine, battery chemistry, and artificial intelligence—areas where classical computers struggle.
Willow, which contains 105 qubits, represents a breakthrough in quantum computing. Qubits, while fast, are prone to errors from external factors like subatomic particles, which can disrupt computations. As more qubits are added to a chip, the error rate increases, making it less effective than classical computers. Since the 1990s, researchers have been working on quantum error-correction methods to solve this issue.
Google’s latest innovation includes a method to connect Willow’s qubits in a way that minimizes error rates as more qubits are added. The company also achieved real-time error correction, a critical step toward practical quantum machines. Hartmut Neven, head of Google Quantum AI, stated, “We are past the break-even point.”
In a 2019 dispute with IBM, Google’s quantum chip was challenged for its claim to solve a problem in seconds that would take classical computers millennia. Google’s new chip further refines its previous results, showing that even under the best conditions, a classical computer would still take a billion years to solve the same problem.
With the Willow chip, Google has also established its own fabrication facility, accelerating the development of future chips.
