Google has announced a groundbreaking advancement in quantum computing with the introduction of its latest chip, Willow. This state-of-the-art quantum processor achieved a historic milestone by solving a computation problem in under five minutes—an endeavor that would take the world's fastest supercomputers over 10 septillion years. With its capability to exponentially reduce errors as more qubits are added, Willow surpasses a critical error-correction threshold, overcoming a challenge that has eluded scientists for three decades. According to Google, this chip demonstrates quantum superiority over classical systems. It sets the stage for building large-scale, practical quantum computers with applications ranging from drug discovery and fusion energy to battery design and optimization.

Breakthrough in error correction

Willow's design incorporates key innovations that tackle one of quantum computing's biggest hurdles—error correction. “Willow can reduce errors exponentially as we scale up using more qubits, cracking a 30-year challenge in the field,” explained Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, in a post on quantum systems, a critical step toward transitioning from experimental devices to functional quantum computers.

We see Willow as an important step in our journey to build a useful quantum computer with practical applications in areas like drug discovery, fusion energy, battery design + more. Details here: https://t.co/dgPuXOoBSZ

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) December 9, 2024

Benchmarking supercomputer performance

In benchmarking tests, Willow demonstrated capabilities far beyond classical computation. A specific problem that would require more than 10^25 years for the world's top supercomputers was solved in less than five minutes by Willow. This milestone underscores the vast potential of quantum computing to outpace classical systems in solving problems that are infeasible today, such as molecular simulations for drug design and optimization challenges in energy and materials science.

Long way ahead

Despite Willow's impressive performance, experts caution that practical quantum computing for real-world problems is still years away. Hartmut Neven, founder and lead of Google Quantum AI, emphasized that Willow remains an experimental device. However, its breakthroughs are critical for developing robust, large-scale quantum computers that can address complex global challenges.

He added, "The Willow chip is a major step on a journey that began over 10 years ago. When I founded Google Quantum AI in 2012, the vision was to build a useful, large-scale quantum computer that could harness quantum mechanics—the "operating system" of nature, to the extent we know it today—to benefit society by advancing scientific discovery, developing helpful applications, and tackling some of society's greatest challenges. Research, our team has charted a long-term roadmap, and Willow moves us significantly along that path toward commercially relevant applications." 

Elon Musk's reaction

"Wow," Musk wrote, inviting an exchange between the SpaceX founder and the Google chief, who wrote back, "We should do a quantum cluster in space with Starship one day," with a smiley face. "That will probably happen," Musk replied. "Any self-respecting civilization should at least reach Kardashev Type II. In my opinion, we are currently only at <5% of Type I. To get to 30%, we would need to place solar panels in all desert or highly arid regions ."