Deep inside a data centre in Manhattan, a quantum computer is enshrined in an alcove like an idol. To reach it, visitors pass two sets of sliding doors and banks of the conventional machines it is predicted to surpass.
The computer’s maker, UK-based company Oxford Quantum Circuits, has installed it for companies to use via cloud or fibre connections, giving them an opportunity to experiment with the technology first-hand. Nvidia AI hardware helps the column of copper and steel achieve extraordinary calculating powers, thanks to its ability to analyse and predict complex systems such as financial flows or chemical reactions.
After years of false dawns, many of the world’s leading tech companies are now betting that quantum computers will start to outperform their conventional counterparts by 2030 – with a potentially huge impact on fields ranging from cryptocurrencies and financial services to drug discovery.