China’s first practical quantum computer has been around for a year
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Chinese company Origin has produced the country’s usable quantum computer that has real-world applications.
A report from Science and Technology Daily, one of the country’s state newspapers, confirmed Origin’s Wuyuan quantum computer has been up and running for a year now, but did not say which customer or industry used it.
China now joins the US and Canada as the only known countries to have this breakthrough technology on an appropriate scale.
More to come?
Origin’s Wuyuan has some impressive specs, featuring a 24-qubit processor with superconducting chip technology. It also has its own software package and the ability to work over the cloud so it can be used remotely.
In addition, Origin is working on its next quantum computer called Wukong, which is said to be released in the near future. Interestingly, in the ongoing chip war between the US and China, Origin is not blacklisted for using US quantum computing technologies like other sellers have (opens in new tab)suggesting that Origin’s creations may be entirely his own.
Even though it seems like only one Wuyuan is in use, there are reports (opens in new tab) that more may come or are in fact already taken by other customers.
Quantum computers are the next stage in supercomputing, using the principles of quantum mechanics to radically change the architecture of how computers work to achieve exponentially higher speeds than standard supercomputers. The high-level applications of quantum computers include weapon development, complex problem solving, code breaking, and scientific research, just to name a few.
Major chipmakers are joining in with this state-of-the-art technology. IBM, for example, recently developed a massive 433-qubit processor and hopes to go even further than this soon, boldly claiming that a 4,000-qubit processor will be made by 2025.
If such claims are realized and the general optimism surrounding quantum computing proves to be justified, seismic discoveries and breakthroughs in all sorts of fields could be lurking.
- For now, you’ll have to make do with the best computers you can currently buy