On Monday, following Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google's unveiling of Willow, the company's latest quantum computing chip, CEO Sundar Pichai and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had an interesting conversation.

What Happened: Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Pichai highlighted Willow's extraordinary capabilities, noting it solved a standard computation in under five minutes—a task that would take a leading supercomputer over 10^25 years.

The announcement sparked an intriguing dialogue with Musk, who responded with enthusiasm.

Pichai suggested they "should do a quantum cluster in space with Starship one day," to which Musk replied, "That will probably happen."

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Their exchange quickly escalated from quantum computing to broader technological ambitions, with Musk referencing the Kardashev scale and suggesting humanity is currently at less than 5% of a Type I civilization.

Pichai and Musk converged on a shared vision of solar energy's potential, with the Alphabet CEO pointing out that "the most obvious path is staring at our eyes, literally!"

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Why It Matters: The Willow chip represents a significant milestone in quantum computing. Developed by Google Quantum AI, it demonstrates exponential error reduction as qubit numbers increase—a 30-year challenge in the field.

With 105 qubits, Willow has already outperformed prior quantum systems, achieving breakthrough real-time error correction.

Last month, Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) partnered with Quantum AI to accelerate the development of cutting-edge quantum computing devices.

The collaboration was aimed at speeding up quantum simulations, shortening processes that previously took weeks, while also driving advancements in quantum hardware technology.

Price Action: At the time of writing, Alphabet's Class A stock rose by 0.93% in after-hours trading, reaching $177, while Class C stock climbed 0.88% to $178.65. In Monday's regular trading session, Class A shares gained 0.49%, closing at $175.37, and Class C shares increased by 0.46%, finishing at $177.10, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.