China Claims To Have World’s Most Powerful Quantum Computer, Tops Google

A group of researchers in China has developed what they believe to be the world's most powerful quantum computer, marking the latest milestone in a series of fascinating quantum computing advancements, New Scientist reports. According to a preprint uploaded to arXiv, the quantum computer was able to solve a problem with 56 of its 66 qubits (the quantum equivalent of bits in a conventional computer); breaking the previous record by Google.

Back in 2019, Google announced that its 54-qubit Sycamore processor was the first to achieve quantum supremacy, which is the point at which quantum computers can solve problems that conventional computers can't, Interesting Engineering previously reported. Sycamore completed a calculation in 200 seconds that would have taken 10,000 years on the world’s most powerful supercomputer.

Outperforming Google, the Chinese team led by Jian-Wei Pan from the University of Science and Technology of China demonstrated the capabilities of their quantum processor. Called Zuchongzhi, the 2D programmable computer can manipulate up to 66 qubits at the same time. This means it can encode quantum information (the quantum state of a single electron) across 66 quantum bits.

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