Tech Desk 
Feb 06, 2025
In a bid to outperform archrival Nvidia, which is aiming to roll out quantum computing applications not before two decades, Google has unveiled plans to launch quantum computing systems within five years.
"We’re optimistic that within five years we’ll see real-world applications that are possible only on quantum computers," said AI Hartmut Neven, founder and head of quantum at Google, according to Reuters.
What is Quantum computing?
Utilities of these quantum applications in real life, as discussed by Google, embody materials science including the production of extraordinary batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), new drugs, and energy alternatives.
In general, quantum computing is said to have something in common with artificial intelligence (AI), according to scientists, as AI before ChatGPT's launch in 2022 was mainly grasped by scientists who were stealthily developing to broaden the field but the actual, commercial implication of AI remained uncertain.
The tech giant's ambitious plans have emerged amid widespread uncertainty regarding the attainment of such an extraterrestrial accomplishment.
In contrast to what's in Google's plans, leading investors and experts in the realm of quantum computing believe that such a breakthrough will at least take a little less or over two decades to happen.
The subject of quantum computing has remained a primary discourse for scientists, as it's said to bring about machines equipped with capabilities millionfold of traditional computers. Letting humans take a sneak peek into the mind-boggling prowess of quantum computing is a fact that while a typical computer processes information one number at a time, quantum computers do it in "qubits" that represent several numbers at once.
While Google seems to be armed with the required workforce and resources to attain the remarkable feat of high-tech space, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during an analyst event at CES 2025 remarked that quantum computing is not something to come by within five years, predicting the practical use of quantum computers to arrive in 20 years.
