The next quantum race: who can use it for the first time?

TOKYO-Japan’s first commercial quantum computer at the event last month, more than global competitors entered the race to gain the advantage by controlling next-generation technology, with Germany emerging as the Hero of Paris.

Kawasaki, a city in the Tokyo metropolitan area, is home to a commercial enterprise of IBM Computer with Kawasaki Business Incubation Center. Toyota Motor, Hitachi and Toshiba are among the companies that use the tool.

Quantum computers are expected to break the boundaries of conventional computing. In 2019, Google surprised the world by using technology to solve problems in 3 minutes and 20 seconds, since for a conventional computer it must take 10 000 years. But it’s a narrow problem that involves generating random numbers and doesn’t have much to use.

Today, however, companies around the world are exploring the use of technology. While much of the focus on quantum computing has been on the race for Google and IBM to develop the tool, the competition is now in full swing to see who can use it faster than the others.

“After the research in quantum technology is concerned, Germany is one of the best in the world, and I intend to remain among the best in the world,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel during the events in June to mark the installation of a commercial IBM quantum computer near Stuttgart, adding that the results of the research should be applied to as many companies as possible.

The high-profile research of the country’s Fraunhofer Institute plays an important role in the project and has a great track record in applied research, including cooperation between industry and the university.

The groups have German industrial members, including Volkswagen and Bosch in the automotive sector, Merck and BASF in the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors, and Siemens and SAP. It aims to use quantum computers to improve competition, such as improving battery performance for electric vehicles and handling information.

A typical example of how quantum computers can prove useful in simulations that replace chemical experiments. This can lead to innovations in materials and drugs, as well as a dramatic reduction in development time. Quantum technology is good in that it calculates an optimal solution when presented with a wide choice between combinations.

In finance, it can be used to achieve the best asset mix of the portfolio.

The use of quantum technology in artificial intelligence is also receiving greater attention. The AI technology that uses machine learning has been destroyed by the phenomena known as” overlearning”, which learn too much about the nature of personal data and cannot generalize and deal with unknown data.

In July, the Japanese startup Grid caused a stir when published paper shows based on the numerical experiments and theory, but overlearning is unlikely to occur if a quantum computer is used.

The use of a quantum computer with some applications will begin in a few years. In Japan, there is a hub for the IBM Q Network Cloud Quantum Computing system introduced by Keio University in 2018, Mitsubishi Chemical, JSR, Mizuho Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and others. These companies, along with Keio University, will also participate in the council that has led the University of Tokyo, which aims to speed up the search by using commercial OR equipment in Kawasaki.

Startups search algorithms could also play the important role in the use of quantum computers. In Japan, QunaSys is known in this area. The company announced in June to launch joint research at Toyota Central R&D Labs in future applications.

Hope for the use of quantum computers may now be ahead of the facts, but the potential is still great. According to the Boston Consulting Group’s forecast released in July, the technology can generate and reach the annual value of $ 10 billion by 2030, the expansion of the $ 850 billion around 2040. The battle for the great future of the market is likely to heat up.