The number of quantum startups funded by venture capital is growing rapidly, with many boldly claiming that their technology could one day revolutionize the world economy. However, it is still difficult to answer a fundamental question: What can quantum computers actually do?
Currently, the quantum computing industry is still in the so-called NISQ era – noisy, medium-scale quantum computing. Among them, the error rate and the limited size of the quantum processor greatly limit the capabilities of quantum computers. A mature quantum computer capable of solving complex calculations that today's supercomputers can't handle will be years away. But now, some of the biggest industries, such as finance or pharmaceuticals, are waiting for large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers to understand them and harness them. Commenting on this era of technological development, Ekaterina Almasque, general partner at venture capital firm OpenOcean, explains: "The speed at which enterprises adopt quantum technology depends largely on the testing of these methods today. When quantum hardware reaches quantum superiority on a broad set of algorithms, these early gains will enable enterprises to leapfrog competitors with severe acceleration. ”
Many companies have already worked with quantum companies to identify use cases that could benefit from quantum computing and develop algorithms to implement them.
