Oxford company promises ‘useful’ quantum computer in three years

Oxford Ionics has unveiled the world’s “highest performing” quantum chip that can be mass-produced in a standard semiconductor plant.

The Kidlington, England-based company said the new chip provides over twice the performance of previous world records and can be easily built at scale in existing factories, potentially reducing the costs of quantum computing.

According to Oxford Ionics, the chip was built using a “unique” approach that eliminates the need for lasers to control trapped ions – the only technology that has demonstrated the performance needed to build a useful quantum computer.

The company said that the results “indicate the dawn of useful quantum computing is far closer than previously thought.”

It said it would now build a scalable 256-qubit chip that can be manufactured on existing semiconductor production lines. Qubits, or quantum bits, are basic units of information in quantum computers.

While it is an important benchmark in comparing quantum industry leaders, the number of qubits does not necessarily mean better performance.

According to Oxford Ionics, its chip provides twice the performance using 10 times fewer qubits and does not need error correction – a prerequisite for useful quantum computers.

The industry’s biggest players, such as IBM and Microsoft, have taken different paths toward achieving their quantum goals. Oxford Ionics, according to its co-founder and chief executive Chris Ballance, has chosen a “rocket ship” approach.

Ballance said his team focused on “building robust technology by solving the really difficult challenges first.”

The new results are a “pivotal” step towards ion trap quantum computing that validates the scalability of the technology, said Michael Cuthbert, director of the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre.

He said the reported results “outperform other players’ achievements to date, meaning error correction becomes achievable with minimal overheads.”

Quantum computers utilize the principles of quantum mechanics to solve complex problems that are too sophisticated for regular computers. Quantum computing is expected to usher in a new age of technological advancement.

Oxford Ionics is a spin-off company from Oxford University’s Department of Physics. It is part of a new generation of quantum startups working to turn quantum computing into reality.

Many others include San Francisco-based Quantinuum, which is backed by JP Morgan, and French firm Pasqal, which has recently announced a partnership with the shipping giant CMA CGM Group.

Novo Nordisk, the Danish maker of the weight-loss drug Wegovy and diabetes medication Ozempic, said it wants to build a functioning quantum computer by 2034 and will invest more than $214 million in the form of grants to various research programs to make it happen.