International Business Machines Corp has designed a new quantum computing chip that claimed to let quantum systems start to outperform classical computers at some tasks within the next two years, Reuters reports.
IBM said that its “Eagle” computing chip has 127 so-called “qubits,” representing information in the quantum form.
Classical computers work using “bits” that must be either a 1 or 0, but qubits can be both a 1 and a 0 simultaneously.
While Apple Inc’s latest M1 Max chip has 57 billion transistors, a rough proxy for bits, IBM claimed its new Eagle chip is the first to have over 100 qubits.
However, qubits are exceedingly hard to build and require huge cryogenic refrigerators to operate correctly.
The new techniques for chipbuilding will eventually produce more qubits when combined with other advances in the quantum computer’s refrigeration and control systems.
IBM plans an “Osprey” chip in 2022 with 433 qubits and a “Condor” chip with 1,121 qubits.
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