Chinese search engine giant Baidu unveils its first quantum computer

Chinese search engine giant Baidu Inc unveiled its first quantum computer on Thursday and is ready to make it available to external users, joining the global race to apply the technology to practical uses.

The quantum computer developed by Baidu, dubbed “Qianshi”, has a 10 quantum bit (qubit) processor, Baidu said in a statement. The Beijing-based company has also developed a 36-qubit quantum chip, she said.

For years, governments and corporations around the world have been touting the potential of quantum computing, a form of high-speed computing in extremely cold temperatures that will take computers to unprecedented processing speeds.

However, current real-world applications in the field are still very basic and limited to a small group of early customers.

The United States, China and the European Union have launched massively funded projects in quantum computing, hoping to get a head start in this field, often seen as one of the cornerstones on which the new supremacy will be determined. world.

Governments and businesses around the world will invest around $16.4 billion in quantum development by the end of 2027, according to market researcher IDC.

US tech giant IBM said it plans to have a quantum computer ready for commercial use in 2025 with a processor of more than 4,000 qubits. IBM has so far released quantum processors with 127 qubits.

Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) Google also aims to develop a computer with 1,000,000 qubits by the end of this decade.