Digital computers have made it simpler for us to process information. However, quantum computing is set to advance computing to a completely new level. With the help of quantum physics and a rapidly evolving technology, problems that are too complex for computers can now be solved.

The market value of quantum computing in 2016 was $89 million. By 2025, this amount is projected to increase more than ten times, reaching $949 million. This projection was created using a CAGR of 30% between 2017 and 2025. By 2035, the value of quantum computing could be close to $1.3 trillion.

What Is Quantum Computing?

Quantum computers run calculations based on quantum mechanical concepts. It makes use of the properties of both particles and waves at the atomic level by using specialized hardware. A powerful quantum computer might be able to crack popular encryption protocols and speed up physical simulations.

Quantum computing and classical computing are fundamentally distinct in how they process information and harness computing power. While classical computing dominates in most everyday tasks and is well-established, quantum computing shows promising potential for solving intricate problems at an unprecedented pace, promising a new era of computational capabilities and technological breakthroughs.

Information Processing

Classical computing: In classical computing, data is processed using bits, represented as either 0s or 1s. These bits are the fundamental units of information, and computations are carried out using logic gates that manipulate these binary states. Algorithms follow sequential steps to arrive at a solution, making it a deterministic process.

Quantum computing: Quantum computing, on the other hand, processes information using quantum bits or qubits. Unlike classical bits, qubits can exist in multiple states simultaneously due to the principle of superposition.

This enables quantum computers to perform multiple computations at once, significantly speeding up certain calculations. Quantum algorithms exploit properties like entanglement and interference to tackle complex problems in parallel, making it a powerful approach for specific applications.

Calculating Power Increments

Classical computing: Classical computing power increases by adding more bits to the system, resulting in an exponential growth in computing capacity. However, this growth is limited by physical constraints, such as energy consumption and the size of transistors, which has led to the slowdown of Moore’s Law.

Quantum computing: Quantum computing’s calculating power increases exponentially with the number of qubits in a quantum system. As the number of qubits grows, the quantum computer’s capacity to perform complex computations increases exponentially.

This phenomenon is known as quantum parallelism, and it offers the potential to solve problems that are practically impossible for classical computers to tackle within a reasonable timeframe.

Advantages of Quantum Computing

• Chemical Simulation

Quantum computing offers significant advantages in the area of chemical simulation. Quantum chemical simulations use numerous techniques with various degrees of accuracy and computational expenses.

Due to the exponential complexity of the quantum world — which classical computers have trouble simulating accurately — scientists could potentially explore larger and more complex molecular structures using this increased computational power. This allows them to achieve more accurate and detailed simulations of chemical systems.

• Optimization

Route planning and logistics are also changing as a result of quantum technology. By providing global routing optimization and regular re-optimizations, the use of quantum computers can drastically lower the cost of freight transportation and increase customer satisfaction.

The Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) is one of the most well-known algorithms in the area of quantum optimization. To arrive at an approximate solution to optimization issues, QAOA combines traditional optimization methods with quantum computing.

• Machine Learning

Quantum computing has a potential role in the advancement of future artificial intelligence (AI). For machine learning (ML), which is frequently hampered by a constrained scope, an inability to adapt to novel conditions and a lack of generalization skills, the capacity of quantum computing to handle complexity has proved beneficial.

What Does the Future Hold for Quantum Computing?

Quantum technology will help to speed up the process of solving complex issues by operating orders several times quicker than the best processors now in use. Though quantum technology is still in its early stages, massive government and industry investment indicates that hardware and software development are likely to advance quickly in the coming years.

Business leaders will intensify their efforts to comprehend and reduce the threats that the technology poses, from slowing current cryptography to changing the nature of conflict. Progress in quantum computing will be measured by researchers by connecting chips and making them global.

Building modules with several thousand qubits and starting to combine them to create coherent links are the only ways to scale quantum computing. These linkages require a fiber-optic network with quantum repeaters or some fiber that connects to a ground station and a satellite network.

For instance, IBM plans to introduce a processor in response to the current trend of using more and more quantum bits or “qubits,” in computation. Qubits are the basic building blocks of quantum computers which include superconducting circuitry, trapped ions and photons, which are quantum particles of light.

As IBM explores quantum technology, the number of superconducting qubits that it can fit on a chip has steadily increased over the years. It introduced one in 2021 that had a record-breaking 127 of them and it plans to release Condor in 2023, which is a 1,121-qubit processor — the world’s first universal quantum computer with more than 1,000 qubits.

IBM also plans to launch Heron, the first of a new type of modular quantum processors that according to the company, may help it produce quantum computers with more than 4,000 qubits by 2025!

Another Helsinki-based company, Algorithmiq, is also advancing this technology by searching for unconventional frameworks to operate quantum devices. The recently released drug discovery platform Aurora from Algorithmiq mixes the outcomes of quantum computing with conventional algorithms.

According to Algorithmiq, a proof that a quantum system can outperform a conventional computer on real-world, applicable calculations, will be created by the end of this year.

The policy front is also expected to change as government officials of commerce for industry and security, may soon bring about trade limitations relating to quantum technologies. Despite intensifying competition on a global scale, most developments in quantum technology are still open to collaboration.

The future of computing will be significantly impacted by quantum computing, which is developing swiftly. A quantum computer has the potential to revolutionize the way we think about computation by exponentially speeding up processing and opening up previously inaccessible data.

Based on a recent study, there will be an enormous spike in the number of quantum computers being used globally in around ten years. They would be extensively used in finance, sophisticated manufacturing and logistics due to their capacity to handle optimization issues.