{"id":822278,"date":"2025-01-26T23:12:03","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T05:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/26\/zuriq-is-rewriting-the-rules-of-quantum-computing-by-letting-qubits-fly\/"},"modified":"2025-01-26T23:12:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T05:12:03","slug":"zuriq-is-rewriting-the-rules-of-quantum-computing-by-letting-qubits-fly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/26\/zuriq-is-rewriting-the-rules-of-quantum-computing-by-letting-qubits-fly\/","title":{"rendered":"ZuriQ is rewriting the rules of quantum computing by letting qubits fly\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Ah, quantum computing<\/a>\u2026 that moonshot technology full of potential, full of promise \u2014 and jam-packed with enough jargon to make the average person cry.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Qubits, entanglement, superposition, <\/span>trapped-ions, Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s cat<\/span>. These terms sound strange because the world of quantum mechanics \u2014 where things can exist in multiple states at once \u2014 <\/span>is<\/span><\/i> strange.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why I want you to bear with me while I relay this latest piece of news from the buzzing quantum computing startup<\/a> scene.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

ZuriQ, a spin-out from ETH Zurich in Switzerland, <\/span>has raised $4.2mn to commercialise a new chip architecture that could dramatically increase the number of qubits a trapped-ion quantum computer can handle, supercharging its computational power.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe space for few-qubit devices that act as toy models is already saturated, and devices with 20-40 qubits won\u2019t drive large profits,\u201d said Pavel Hrmo, CEO of ZuriQ. \u201cWe need to focus on long-term scalability.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ZuriQ wants to build a quantum computer with thousands of qubits, powerful enough to solve wickedly complex problems and revolutionise fields from medicine to cryptography.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How can it do that, you ask? Well, it\u2019s got something vaguely to do with aeroplanes, cars, and magnetic fields. But first, a quick science lesson.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Qubits are the basic units of information in a quantum computer. Unlike bits in a regular computer, which can only be 0 or 1, qubits can be 0, 1, or both at the same time. This allows quantum computers to solve many problems simultaneously, making them light-years faster than even the top supercomputers of today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, there are two main kinds of quantum computers in development. The first and most common are superconducting quantum computers, pioneered by the likes of Google<\/a> and IBM. They use tiny loops of supercooled\u00a0metal to create qubits. These machines are lightning-fast. <\/span>However, they must be kept at <\/span>\u2212273\u00b0C<\/span> at all times and are more error-prone than their main rival, the trapped-ion machine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trapped-ion quantum computers use charged atoms (ions) as qubits. <\/span>Electric and magnetic fields trap these ions in place, and lasers control them to perform calculations.\u00a0They\u2019re very stable and precise but slower than superconducting quantum computers due to one fatal flaw: ions arranged in a line, like cars in a traffic jam, become overcrowded and inefficient as more qubits are added.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why scaling up the number of qubits in a trapped-ion quantum computer has proved a major roadblock for companies developing them, like IonQ and Quantinium \u2014 putting a cap on their abilities. That is, perhaps, until now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Setting qubits free<\/strong><\/h2>\n

ZuriQ has developed a completely new way to design trapped-ion quantum computers by allowing ions (the qubits) to move freely in two dimensions on a quantum chip instead of being restricted to one-dimensional chains. This allows qubits to move in all spatial directions like an aeroplane, instead of like cars driving along roads and through junctions.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the startup\u2019s technology is all it is cracked up to be, it could enable trapped-ion quantum computers to far exceed the capabilities of their superconducting counterparts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fuelled by fresh funding, ZuriQ is<\/span> on track to demonstrate its first prototype machine by the end of this year. The startup said it aims to become the flagship provider of quantum computing worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been highly impressed by the speed of execution of ZuriQ\u2019s founding team and the pace of progress towards technical milestones that have been elusive in the community so far,\u201d said Pascal Mathis, partner at <\/span>Switzerland-based VC Founderful<\/span><\/a>, which led the investment round.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The funding arrives at exciting times for quantum computing. <\/span>Interest in the field has been abuzz since Google <\/span>unveiled an experimental machine<\/span><\/a> that was able to solve a mathematical equation in five minutes that a traditional supercomputer could not master in 10 septillion years \u2014 that\u2019s older than the universe. The breakthrough brought the dream of quantum computing a step closer to reality. Nevertheless, Nvidia\u2019s CEO Jensen Huang was quick to<\/span> pour cold water on the hype<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>cautioning at CES 2025 that practical quantum applications are still 15-30 years away.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Si\u00f4n Geschwindt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ah, quantum computing\u2026 that moonshot technology full of potential, full of promise \u2014 and jam-packed with enough jargon to make the average person cry.\u00a0 Qubits, entanglement, superposition, trapped-ions, Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s cat . These terms sound strange because the world of quantum mechanics \u2014 where things can exist in multiple states at once \u2014 is strange.\u00a0 And<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":822279,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37573,46,141157],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-822278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rewriting","category-technology","category-zuriq"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=822278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/822279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=822278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=822278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=822278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}