Commercially, BCG predicts Quantum Computation to have a trillion dollar impact for high value industry use cases, with number 1 being search/advertisement optimization, 2 logistics optimization, 3 Pharmaceuticals.
The technical perspective of the impact of quantum tech can be summed up in the following: “The power of quantum computing is rediscovering all the problems that computers cannot solve, and having a path to solving them.” IBM Dario Gil. Here’s a few ways that quantum software addresses previously intractable problems:
- Quantum Algorithms for New Problem Classes
•Traditional computers handle certain types of problems poorly (e.g., factoring large numbers, complex simulations). •Quantum algorithms (like Shor’s for factoring, or others for simulating chemical reactions) offer fundamentally new ways to tackle these, exploiting superposition and entanglement.- Example: Quantum simulation of the nitrogenase reaction could take a quantum computer hours/days, compared to billions of years for classical supercomputers. The ability to solve for more complex chemical processes would be a massive unlock for industries such as health and pharma.
- Quantum Machine Learning and Optimization
Quantum software is being developed for machine learning and pattern recognition tasks (e.g., in finance, cybersecurity, and recommendation systems). The ability to enhance machine learning and pattern recognition would exponentially improve AI systems.
Core growth inpedements to the Quantum industry are challenges in Qubit error correction and scalability. In the past 5 years Google has advanced their quantum processor from a 54 qubit processor in 2019, a 105 processor in 2023, and recently Google’s Willow Qubit provides error correction and scalability. Commercial impact is predicted to be at a minimum threshold of a 1,000 qubit processor with near perfect fidelity. Googles advancements continue to show positive momentum in addressing the core challenges in Quantum tech.
While direct interface to Quantum computing may not be used on a daily basis by the regular user, Quantum software will be in the technological environment of the day to day user, such as cars driven as the product of manufacturing optimization (means will be more affordable right?), logistical route optimization, improved healthcare solutions, and encryption security. When exaclty commercial application of Quantum will be unlocked is still unknown, Quantum Tech hardware continues to progress, with it, dollars to help fuel growth, and ideally quantum commercial applications to impact a matrix spectrum of industries in finance, cybersecurity, optimization, pharma chemistry, aerospace and more.
“Nature isn’t classical, dammit, and if you want to make a simulation of nature, you’d better make it quantum mechanical” – Richard Feynman