Quantum Computing Prepares For A Revolutionary Leap Following AI’s Breakthrough

In Cambridge, there is a growing interest in quantum computing, which has the potential to revolutionize drug discovery and address climate change.


Steve Brierley, the founder of Cambridge-based Riverlane, expects that the technology will make its “Sputnik” breakthrough in the coming years.

“Quantum computing is not going to be just slightly better than the previous computer, it’s going to be a huge step forward,” he told me.

His firm creates the world’s first specialized quantum decoder chip, which finds and corrects the faults that are now impeding technological advancement.

According to John Martinis, former quantum computing lead at Google Quantum AI, building devices “that live up to the technology’s incredible promise requires a massive step change in scale and reliability, and that requires reliable error correction schemes”.

In a show of confidence in Riverlane’s work and the sector as a whole, the business revealed on Tuesday that it had raised $75 million in Series C funding, which is normally the final round of venture capital financing before an IPO.

“Over the next two to three years, we’ll be able to get to systems that can support a million error-free operations,” said Riverlane’s vice president of quantum physics, Earl Campbell.

This is the point at which a quantum computer should be able to outperform conventional computers in certain tasks, he explained.

Brierley described quantum computers as “really good at simulating other quantum systems,” which means they can simulate interactions between particles, atoms, and molecules.

This might pave the way for new medications, as well as significant efficiency improvements in fertilizer production, revolutionizing an industry that currently accounts for approximately 2% of global CO2 emissions.


It also paves the door for considerably more efficient batteries, which are another important tool in the fight against climate change.

When quantum computers are scaled up, the quantity of information they can access increases exponentially.

“I think most people are more familiar with exponential after Covid, so we know how quickly something that’s exponential can spread,” Campbell said inside Riverlane’s testing lab, a nest of oscilloscopes and chip boards.

Traditional computers store data in bits, with each bit having a value of 0 or 1, similar to how a light switch can be ‘on’ or ‘off’.

One bit can thus represent two states, such as black and white.

Quantum bits, or ‘qubits’, are similar to dimmer switches, and one of them can store all values between 0 and 1, allowing all colors of the spectrum to be represented on a single qubit.

But there’s a catch. Because of the peculiar nature of quantum behavior, the values must be read multiple times and processed by complicated algorithms, necessitating “exquisite control” over the qubits.

The qubits are also highly susceptible to noise-induced mistakes, and Brierley believes that solving this problem is the “key to unlocking useful quantum computing”.

Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon are all spending heavily in qubit generation and error reduction, either by insulating the hardware or combining qubits and then using algorithms to detect and repair problems.


“This is similar to how an SSD (memory card) operates. “It’s made up of faulty components with active error correction on top,” Brierley explained.

All of this increases the number of components needed and the time necessary to complete particular processes.

“We definitely will not be using quantum computers to send email,” Brierley stated.

Those negatives increase at a consistent pace as the computer grows in size, whereas the benefits increase on an upward curve, explaining why they perform better on larger, more complicated jobs.

“And this means that we’ll be able to solve problems which would otherwise be unsolvable,” according to Brierley.

While today’s quantum computers can only execute about 1,000 processes before being overrun by errors, the quality of the actual components has “gotten to the point where the physical qubits are good enough,” according to Brierley.

“So, this is a really exciting time. The problem now is to scale up… and incorporate mistake correction into the systems,” he explained.

Such advancements, together with quantum computing’s ability to crack all existing cryptography and generate powerful new materials, are prompting policymakers to act.

“There is obviously a scramble to figure out what’s next in technology. It’s critical that we learn from AI, avoid being startled by technology, and consider what the ramifications will be early on,” Brierley added.

“I believe there will eventually be regulation of quantum computing because it is such an essential technology. And I believe this is a technology in which no government wants to be second.