Amazon has revealed its first quantum computing chip, Ocelot, which marks a major milestone in the company’s effort to build efficient and scalable quantum systems.
This announcement comes just one week after Microsoft showcased their first quantum chip. positioning both tech giants in the fast-evolving quantum computing space.
Ocelot: A Step Toward Scalable Quantum Computing
The Ocelot Chip is designed to address the quantum systems’ challenges of scaling out by reducing the resource requirements.
According to Fernando Brandão, AWS’s Director of Applied Science, and Oskar Painter, the Quantum Hardware Chief Engineer at AWS, the chip has the potential to scale quantum computing using a notable fraction of the resources that are needed by traditional methods, thus accelerating the path toward practical quantum computing.
Amazon’s main objective is to create a quantum computer that is capable of producing and delivering transformative societal impact.
However the Ocelot, with only nine qubits, is far from the ideal number needed for commercial viability, with experts suggesting that at least a million qubits would be necessary to solve real-world problems effectively.
Quantum Computing’s journey to Commercialisation
While Ocelot is a significant step forward. Amazon’s vision of bringing quantum computing to businesses and consumers faces hurdles. Quantum computers use qubits which are able to exist in various states simultaneously unlike traditional bits.
Although the technology has a lot of potential, it still lies in the initial stages of development. Experts predict that complete practical commercial quantum computing will not fit within any feasible timeline of 10 to 30 years.
Companies like PsiQuantum and Phasecraft are also racing towards the fruition of successful quantum advancements.
In the meantime Amazon is positioning itself to make quantum computing services available through its AWS cloud platform. The Amazon Braket service recently allows developers to experiment with quantum computers from other companies and future iterations of Amazon’s own quantum chips will be available through this service.
As Amazon continues significant investment across its quantum capabilities, the company is setting the stage for what could eventually be a transformative technology, though the industry is still in its infancy.
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