QuEra Defies All Predictions and Promises Error-Correcting Quantum Computers by 2028
It is an announcement that, in some ways, leaves one astounded, made by QuEra Computing regarding its development plans. The Boston-based company has indeed communicated its intention to bring to market an error-resistant quantum computer in 2028, named Libra. This represents a significant acceleration compared to the timelines that most experts had predicted, which placed this achievement around the middle of the next decade.
QuEra Libra Changes the Game
In English, there is the expression "game changer": it is normally used to define an entity capable of redefining the rules of the game and, therefore, altering a market. The most famous example is that of the iPhone, which completely changed the telecommunications market. The QuEra Libra promises, at least on paper, to do the same.
The new quantum computer will have 256 logical qubits, meaning qubits capable of correcting errors that arise from interaction with the environment. Libra will be a device based on neutral or Rydberg atoms, meaning atoms brought nearly to the point of becoming positively charged ions, so that electrons move in orbits easily identifiable and comparable to those of Bohr's atomic model.
QuEra claims that Libra will have an error rate of 10⁻⁶, which means it will be able to perform one million operations with only a single error. This will open the door to the many applications that make quantum computing interesting, starting from material simulations for chemistry, pharmaceuticals, and engineering.
Libra will be available through AWS Braket, the service for accessing quantum computers from Amazon Web Services that also allows for easy integration with traditional infrastructures.
"Fault-tolerant quantum computing is moving from being a scientific milestone to a true engineering and implementation roadmap," states Andy Ory, CEO of QuEra Computing.
"We have developed this roadmap transparently, with milestones verified through peer review and demonstrated technological progress. Libra will bring error-tolerant computing to the cloud on a large scale by 2028. This is an important step, and future generations will further evolve, as we will illustrate in the dedicated roadmap webinar scheduled for the end of the month. We invite industry leaders to prepare by developing the skills, use cases, and operational processes needed to leverage these systems when they become available."
QuEra's plans are very ambitious: two years is a very short time when it comes to developing such complex technologies. If the company indeed succeeds in its intent (and there is currently no reason to doubt it), we will finally see the first applications that go beyond scientific research on simple molecules. The future, in short, is already here.