Alphabet's stock price rose by 5% in Tuesday's Trade, after the company praised its latest quantum computing chip as a "breakthrough."
On Monday, Google released a quantum computing chip named "Willow," stating that it performs significantly better in quantum computing benchmarks than its predecessor from 2019. Like similar quantum chips, Willow uses uncertain "qubits" to represent numbers instead of the transistors used in traditional Semiconductors. Google noted that as quantum chips scale up, its technology can more rapidly reduce anticipated errors, which has always been a bottleneck in developing better quantum computers.
Google stated that Willow is the second milestone in a six-step strategy to develop quantum computers capable of executing useful applications. The chip has about 100 qubits, but Google plans to ultimately build a system with one million qubits.
In a blog post, Google wrote, "Willow brings us a step closer to running practical, commercially relevant algorithms that traditional computers cannot replicate." It added that this experiment provides evidence that reality consists of parallel universes.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated on X, "We believe that Willow is an important step in building useful quantum computers, with real-world applications in drug discovery, fusion energy, Battery design, and more."
When quantum computing matures, it is expected to be used for large-scale simulations and cryptography breakdown, but this may not be achievable for years or even decades. Google is not the only tech giant dedicated to quantum computing. Alongside startups and university researchers, NVIDIA, Microsoft, and IBM are also researching this technology.
Google's announcement was praised on Social Media by several tech business figures, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Pichai responded to Musk, saying: "One day, we should build a quantum cluster in space using starships."