Google Quantum Exec says Tech is “five years after the real breakout”

One of Google’s Top executives working on quantum computers believe the technology is only five years away from running practical applications that modern computers cannot calculate.

Julian Kelly, hardware director for Google Quantum AI, told CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa that Quantum computers could perform cutting-edge physics and generate potentially new kinds of data.

“I think we’re about five years after a real breakout, some practical application that can only be solved with quantum computers,” Kelly said in an interview aired Tuesday.

Quantum Technology is gaining attention after Google announced an error correction breakthrough in December, saying the company suggested a path to workload computers.

MicrosoftMeanwhile, in February they unveiled a new quantum computing chip called Majorana. CEO Satya Nadella said the company had to create a “all-new substance state” to make the chip work.

While Google’s most advanced quantum computers have 105 qubits, or the basic components of quantum computers, experts say that useful applications require over a million qubits.

Quantum computers have been the dream of physicists and scientists since the 1980s. Traditional computers are based on a central or graphics processor with either a 0 or a bit, while quantum kibits are on or off based on probability.

“Quantum computers talk about quantum mechanics. They have access to how the universe works at its most basic level,” Kelly said.

The first application of technology likely involves using systems to simulate cutting-edge physics, Kelly said. That includes “areas where classic computers have systems that are out of reach of what they need to do.”

Kelly called this use “speculative”, but quantum computers can also generate data that is used to train AI. He said current artificial intelligence models cannot be basically worked with quantum computers.

“One of the potential applications that can be thought of on quantum computers is to generate new data,” Kelly said.

The Quantum Computing field has also benefited from the attention of manufactured artificial intelligence chips in recent months. nvidia As investors search for another type of next-generation processor that could cause a similar boom as graphics processing units during the recent wave of AI investments.

Although Nvidia does not manufacture quantum processors, last week the company held a Quantum Day event, where it is representatives of 12 major quantum companies. Amazon And Microsoft spoke about the possibilities of technology.

The chipmaker summit comes after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in January raised doubts about whether useful quantum computers will appear on the market over the next 15 years. These comments have led to a decline in stock prices in several public quantum companies.

Last week, Huang called his January comment “wrong” and showed that he still thinks technology has a long way to go.

“Of course, quantum computing has the potential and all hope that it can have an extraordinary impact,” Huang said last week. “But this technique is incredibly complicated.”