Quantum computing just took a confident step out of the lab and closer to real life. IBM unveiled two key pieces of the puzzle: its experimental Loon processor and the Nighthawk chip, designed to tame the biggest headache in quantum: fragile, error-prone qubits.
Meanwhile, Microsoft and Google are pushing hard too. Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip aims to create more stable qubits using exotic materials, and Google’s Willow chip claims it can do in five minutes what would take a classical computer 10 septillion years. The momentum is real, and it is not just hype.
Why this is exciting right now: IBM’s Loon showcases components needed to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer at scale, one that keeps working even when errors inevitably creep in. Nighthawk, for its part, can run more complex gates, the building blocks of quantum computations.
If you have ever wondered when quantum might move from cool science to useful tool, fault tolerance is the milestone everyone is chasing. IBM says it expects to reach fault-tolerant quantum computing by the end of the decade. McKinsey reports 72% of tech leaders think it could arrive by 2035.
What could this actually change? Drug discovery could move far faster, with companies like Biogen exploring how quantum might compare far larger molecules than today’s computers can handle. Carmakers and aerospace leaders such as BMW and Airbus are looking at quantum to design better materials and fuel cells.
In finance, quantum simulations could stress-test portfolios and markets in ways we cannot do today. And yes, there is a security dimension: quantum could eventually break some of today’s encryption, which is why the race to build it goes hand in hand with the race to upgrade cybersecurity.
If you are juggling a career, family, and everyday decisions, here is the bottom line: quantum could accelerate the development of better medicines, more efficient batteries, smarter logistics, and more robust financial modeling, things that ripple into daily life. The tech still has a road ahead, think about a decade, not tomorrow morning, but the trajectory is unmistakably forward.
For the full story and all the industry details, read the original coverage on CNN: A seismic shift in computing is on the horizon (and it’s not AI).
