On Thursday, Chinese search engine giant Baidu Inc unveiled its first Quantum Computer and announced plans to make it available to the public, joining the global race to put the technology to practical use.
According to a statement from Baidu, the “Qianshi” Quantum Computer has a 10-quantum-bit (qubit) processor. In addition, the Beijing-based company has created a 36-qubit quantum chip.
For years, governments and organizations around the world have touted the potential of quantum computing, a type of high-speed calculation at extremely cold temperatures that will propel computers to unprecedented processing speeds.
However, the field’s current real-world applications are still very elemental and restricted to a small group of early clients.
The United States, China, and the European Union have all launched massively funded quantum computing projects in the hope of gaining an advantage in the field, which is widely regarded as one of the pillars upon which the new global supremacy will be determined.
According to market researcher IDC, global governments and corporations will invest approximately $16.4 billion in quantum development by the end of 2027.
IBM (IBM.N), the U.S. tech behemoth has announced plans to commercialize a quantum computer with a more-than-4,000-qubit processor by 2025. IBM has released quantum processors with 127 qubits so far.
Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google also plans to develop a computer with one million qubits by the end of this decade.
