ZuriQ is rewriting the foundations of quantum computing by letting qubits fly
Ah, quantum computing… that moonshot expertise filled with potential, filled with promise — and jam-packed with sufficient jargon to make the common particular person cry.
Qubits, entanglement, superposition, trapped-ions, Schrödinger’s cat. These phrases sound unusual as a result of the world of quantum mechanics — the place issues can exist in a number of states directly — is unusual.
And that’s why I would like you to bear with me whereas I relay this newest piece of stories from the buzzing quantum computing startup scene.
ZuriQ, a spin-out from ETH Zurich in Switzerland, has raised $4.2mn to commercialise a brand new chip structure that might dramatically improve the variety of qubits a trapped-ion quantum laptop can deal with, supercharging its computational energy.
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“The area for few-qubit units that act as toy fashions is already saturated, and units with 20-40 qubits gained’t drive massive earnings,” mentioned Pavel Hrmo, CEO of ZuriQ. “We have to give attention to long-term scalability.”
ZuriQ needs to construct a quantum laptop with hundreds of qubits, highly effective sufficient to unravel wickedly advanced issues and revolutionise fields from medication to cryptography.
How can it do this, you ask? Properly, it’s obtained one thing vaguely to do with aeroplanes, vehicles, and magnetic fields. However first, a fast science lesson.
Qubits are the essential items of data in a quantum laptop. In contrast to bits in a daily laptop, which might solely be 0 or 1, qubits might be 0, 1, or each on the similar time. This enables quantum computer systems to unravel many issues concurrently, making them light-years quicker than even the highest supercomputers of at present.
Now, there are two fundamental sorts of quantum computer systems in growth. The primary and commonest are superconducting quantum computer systems, pioneered by the likes of Google and IBM. They use tiny loops of supercooled metallic to create qubits. These machines are lightning-fast. Nevertheless, they have to be saved at −273°C always and are extra error-prone than their fundamental rival, the trapped-ion machine.
Trapped-ion quantum computer systems use charged atoms (ions) as qubits. Electrical and magnetic fields entice these ions in place, and lasers management them to carry out calculations. They’re very secure and exact however slower than superconducting quantum computer systems as a result of one deadly flaw: ions organized in a line, like vehicles in a visitors jam, turn into overcrowded and inefficient as extra qubits are added.
That’s why scaling up the variety of qubits in a trapped-ion quantum laptop has proved a significant roadblock for corporations creating them, like IonQ and Quantinium — placing a cap on their skills. That’s, maybe, till now.
Setting qubits free
ZuriQ has developed a very new approach to design trapped-ion quantum computer systems by permitting ions (the qubits) to maneuver freely in two dimensions on a quantum chip as an alternative of being restricted to one-dimensional chains. This enables qubits to maneuver in all spatial instructions like an aeroplane, as an alternative of like vehicles driving alongside roads and thru junctions.
If the startup’s expertise is all it’s cracked as much as be, it might allow trapped-ion quantum computer systems to far exceed the capabilities of their superconducting counterparts.
Fuelled by contemporary funding, ZuriQ is on monitor to display its first prototype machine by the top of this yr. The startup mentioned it goals to turn into the flagship supplier of quantum computing worldwide.
“We’ve been extremely impressed by the pace of execution of ZuriQ’s founding staff and the tempo of progress in the direction of technical milestones which were elusive in the neighborhood to date,” mentioned Pascal Mathis, accomplice at Switzerland-based VC Founderful, which led the funding spherical.
The funding arrives at thrilling instances for quantum computing. Curiosity within the discipline has been abuzz since Google unveiled an experimental machine that was capable of resolve a mathematical equation in 5 minutes {that a} conventional supercomputer couldn’t grasp in 10 septillion years — that’s older than the universe. The breakthrough introduced the dream of quantum computing a step nearer to actuality. However, Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang was fast to pour cold water on the hype, cautioning at CES 2025 that sensible quantum purposes are nonetheless 15-30 years away.