Google has introduced its latest quantum computing chip ‘Willow’, representing a major advancement in the field of quantum technology.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent firm Alphabet, wrote on X, “We see Willow as an important step in our journey to build a useful quantum computer with practical application in areas like drug discovery, fusion energy, battery design + more.”
Willow was fabricated in Google’s new, state-of-the-art fabrication facility in Santa Barbara, one of only a few facilities in the world built from the ground up for this purpose. Willow has state-of-the-art performance across several metrics, enabling two major achievements.
The new chip can reduce errors exponentially as we scale up using more qubits. This cracks a key challenge in quantum error correction that the field has pursued for almost 30 years.
The quantum chip performed a standard benchmark computation in under five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion (that is, 1025) years — a number that vastly exceeds the age of the Universe.
It promises to deliver top-tier performance by significantly reducing errors, a key challenge in the field. Google’s new chip has achieved roughly five times the performance of Google’s previous generation of quantum chips, Pichai noted.
With 105 qubits, the quantum chip now has best-in-class performance across the two system benchmarks: quantum error correction and random circuit sampling. Such algorithmic benchmarks are the best way to measure overall chip performance.
Potential Impact of Willow
The Willow chip brings quantum computing one step closer to becoming a powerful tool for solving problems that are currently out of reach for classical computers. As Google continues to refine this chip and scale its capabilities, the quantum chip could play a pivotal role in ushering in a new era of computing, with far-reaching applications across various industries.
Google has emphasized the importance of collaboration with academic institutions, research organizations, and industry players. The Willow chip is part of Google’s broader effort to push the envelope in quantum research, making quantum computing more accessible to developers and researchers worldwide.
