Nations and tech giants are investing billions to harness the potential of quantum mechanics for computational tasks previously thought impossible. This race has intensified as quantum computing moves from theoretical possibility to practical reality, with each advancement bringing us closer to solving complex problems in fields ranging from cryptography and drug discovery to climate modelling and financial analysis. Amidst this pursuit of quantum computing supremacy, Google has created its latest breakthrough: the Willow quantum chip. Google’s journey in quantum computing, which began over a decade ago, has been marked by several milestone achievements, including their 2019 claim of quantum supremacy with the Sycamore processor. Willow is the latest evolution in this trajectory, building upon years of research and development at Google Quantum AI, a division that has consistently pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in quantum computing. Unlike previous quantum processors that struggled with error rates and scalability, Willow achieves exponential error reduction and unprecedented computational speed, completing a task in under five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years – a number that vastly exceeds the age of the Universe.

Full commentary : Google’s quantum chip, Willow, completes a benchmark computation in under five minutes, that would take today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years.