Whilst countries and tech firms are pouring billions into quantum computing, aiming to unlock its potential for solving problems once deemed impossible, quantum technology is finally shifting from theory to reality and progress is accelerating in fields like cryptography, drug discovery, climate modelling, and financial analysis.

In this competitive landscape, Google has unveiled its latest breakthrough: the Willow quantum chip. With over a decade of research in quantum computing, Google has reached several key milestones, building on its 2019 claim of quantum supremacy with the Sycamore processor.

Willow represents the next stage in this evolution, developed by Google Quantum AI to push the boundaries of computational power. Unlike previous quantum processors, which struggled with error rates and scalability, Willow delivers exponentially lower error rates and unprecedented speed.

It can complete a (carefully chosen Ed.) task in under five minutes that would take today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years—a timespan far beyond the age of the Universe.