Quantum computing is a fast-growing, much-hyped industry. But suggestions that it’s purely hype — and when the bubble bursts we’ll be left with nothing of any value — is a misconception and a failure to understand where we are and where we’ll end up.
First a disclaimer: I’m far from an objective bystander. I’m the professor of quantum technologies in the Materials Department at Oxford, cofounder of the London-Oxford company Quantum Motion, and for two decades I’ve worked on how to build a quantum computer.
Many quantum computing companies exist today, but they generally aren’t making any money yet. But those companies are obviously now in R&D mode. For example, Psi Quantum, among the largest of the new players having raised over $665mm, does not engage commercially at all. It simply tells investors it will take time. And it will. I believe it may be the end of the decade before we have really impactful quantum computers.