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- Nobel Laureate targets a new quantum supremacy era
- Why this quantum computer could matter far beyond physics labs
- The technical bet: reinventing manufacturing and wiring
- Timelines, costs and what this means for Earth
- A shared race, not a single winner
- What makes this new quantum computer project different from others?
- How could a powerful quantum computer help with climate and energy?
- Is this related to the original quantum supremacy experiment?
- When might industry see practical benefits from this quantum technology?
- Will this quantum computer replace classical supercomputers?
Light once needed a supercomputer the size of a room to simulate a handful of quantum particles. Today, a Nobel Laureate is betting that the next machine to tame that light will fit in a cryostat and outgun every existing Quantum Computer on Earth. The race just changed pace.
At the centre stands experimental physicist John Martinis, fresh from a Nobel prize for proving that “macroscopic quantumness” is real. His new company, QoLab, wants to build the world’s most powerful Quantum Computer by re-engineering the hardware stack from qubit to wiring. For everyone closely following Quantum Technology, this announcement seems more like a new starting line rather than just a milestone.
Nobel Laureate targets a new quantum supremacy era
Martinis already helped Google reach the first “quantum supremacy” milestone, when its Sycamore processor solved a task no classical machine could match in a reasonable time. For nearly five years, that chip defined the ceiling of practical Computing Power in Quantum Computing research.
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Today, QoLab has a more direct ambition: to create a usable, reliable, and scalable quantum processor capable of tackling real problems in chemistry, materials, and energy. The goal is not just to beat an academic benchmark, but to deliver a tool that will change the way labs design catalysts, batteries, or drugs.
From macroscopic quantumness to industrial quantum hardware
In the 1980s, Martinis and his colleagues demonstrated that macroscopic circuits in superconductors could behave like a single quantum particle. These Nobel-winning experiments paved the way for superconducting qubits that today power programs by NASA, IBM, or Google.
This same guiding principle underpins the new QoLab venture: leveraging real quantum physics, with its noise and material defects, rather than an ideal model. Where many projects remain dominated by theorists, his team reintroduces the experimental lab at the core of the design, from cryostats to microwave lines.
Why this quantum computer could matter far beyond physics labs
The core promise of this project is simple: if QoLab manages to integrate millions of reliable qubits into a single system, the effects will be felt from climate to pharmaceuticals. A quantum processor capable of accurately simulating the Quantum Mechanics of molecules could slash years off the development of new materials for batteries, solar panels, or CO₂ capture processes.
On Earth, this could mean more efficient photovoltaic cells, cheaper electrolytes for energy storage, or catalysts that consume fewer rare resources. Where classical simulation saturates even on a supercomputer, a quantum processor maps a quantum system directly onto another.
From cryptography fears to chemistry tools
Most of the public still associates Quantum Technology with threats to cryptography or futuristic scenarios. Martinis, however, prioritizes more tangible tasks: improving nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment resolution, optimizing complex chemical reactions, or exploring new superconductors for energy transport.
Ideas already detailed in works like this research on NMR spin shifts show how a quantum computer can extract more information from current signals. This type of application forms the core of studies gradually transforming a Scientific Breakthrough into an exploitable industrial tool.
The technical bet: reinventing manufacturing and wiring
QoLab bets on a disturbing insight for the sector: a large portion of superconducting quantum chips are still manufactured using methods reminiscent of those from the 1950s–1960s. These processes work for a few dozen qubits but hit a wall when attempting to achieve millions of reliable components.
For a truly error-tolerant machine, estimates often involve large-scale architectures with sophisticated correction layers. What’s blocking progress is not just theory but physical reality: every wire introduces noise, every interface adds defects, every solder joint complicates maintenance.
Solving the wiring jungle inside quantum cryostats
A simple photo of a superconducting quantum computer suffices to understand the problem: a golden cylinder crisscrossed by a tangle of coaxial cables descending to the cold heart of the system. This “jungle of wires” directly limits the size and stability of current processors.
QoLab is working on an architecture capable of integrating much of this electronics into the chip itself, with manufacturing techniques suited to modern chains akin to those of semiconductor giants. This approach targets three key gains: reduced cost per qubit, better uniformity of devices, and simplification of overall system engineering.
- Reduction of wires crossing the cryostat, which reduces thermal noise and failures.
- Manufacturing quantum chips in production lines closer to modern CMOS foundries.
- Joint optimization of qubit and control electronics design to gain Computing Power.
This strategy aligns with a trend described in analyses like the great ideas of the quantum era, where fine engineering matters as much as algorithms. The bet: that transitioning to “real” industrial hardware will do as much for the sector as the first microprocessor factories for classical computing.
Timelines, costs and what this means for Earth
The full financial details of QoLab have not been made public, but current rounds for quantum hardware are often in the hundreds of millions of dollars. This scale reflects the ambition: to build not a demonstrator but a platform that will outlast several generations of chips, as x86 or ARM architectures have done for the classical world.
In the short term, the first outcomes might impact chemistry and materials labs, which would gain quantum simulators dedicated to well-defined problems. In the longer run, the same tools could optimize sensor design for Earth observation, improve the alloys used in wind turbines, or accelerate the discovery of membranes for desalination.
A shared race, not a single winner
Martinis insists on one point: no player, not even a former Google leader, will win this race alone. QoLab relies on collaborations with hardware companies already adept at industrial paces, rather than an ivory tower strategy.
This vision aligns with the current logic of major agencies like NASA or ESA, which combine classical supercomputers, commercial clouds, and quantum prototypes to study climate, planetary atmospheres, and ice dynamics. The future most powerful computer will not just serve to prove abstract superiority; it could become the shared tool that helps understand a warming world, molecule by molecule.
What makes this new quantum computer project different from others?
QoLab focuses on rethinking the full hardware stack, especially manufacturing and wiring for superconducting qubits. Instead of scaling with decades-old fabrication methods, the team works to integrate control electronics into the chip and use more modern production techniques, aiming for millions of reliable qubits at a realistic cost.
How could a powerful quantum computer help with climate and energy?
A large-scale Quantum Computer can simulate molecules and materials governed by Quantum Mechanics much more efficiently than classical machines. This capability could speed up the discovery of better battery materials, more efficient solar cells, cleaner industrial catalysts and membranes for CO₂ capture or water treatment, all key to climate and energy transitions.
Is this related to the original quantum supremacy experiment?
Yes. John Martinis led Google’s team during the first quantum supremacy experiment, where their device performed a computation no classical Supercomputer could match in practical time. His new company builds on that experience but shifts the focus from one-off demonstrations to scalable, reliable hardware for real-world applications.
When might industry see practical benefits from this quantum technology?
Early benefits could appear as specialised quantum accelerators for chemistry and materials within the next decade, first in research labs and high-end industry R&D. Truly general-purpose, error-corrected systems with millions of qubits will take longer, but every generation of hardware will likely bring incremental gains in simulation and optimisation capabilities.
Will this quantum computer replace classical supercomputers?
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No. The most powerful Quantum Computers will complement, not replace, classical systems. Supercomputers remain better for many numerical and data-heavy tasks, while quantum processors will target specific problems such as molecular simulation or certain optimisation tasks. Future infrastructures will likely combine both to get the best overall Computing Power.
