Chinese scientists make quantum leap with first practical use computer

The 24-qubit Wuyuan is based on superconducting chip technology and was delivered to an unknown user more than a year ago
Company founder Guo Guoping says the technology will produce visible benefits to daily life within three to five years

Science

Zhang Tongin Beijing

Published: 6:00pm, 31 Jan 2023

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China has become the third country – after Canada and the US – capable of delivering a complete computer system using game changing quantum technology, according to a state media report on Monday.

The country’s first practical quantum computer – the 24-qubit Wuyuan, based on superconducting chip technology – was delivered to an unnamed user more than a year ago, the science ministry’s newspaper Science and Technology Daily said.

It was the first official confirmation that this disruptive technology – which uses elemental particles called qubits to replace the 0 and 1 used in traditional computing – has been used in a real-life application in China. No details were given of the user or the computer’s potential applications.

The report said Origin Quantum, a company founded in 2017 by Guo Guoping and Guo Guangcan – leading quantum physicists with the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) – had developed several computers since delivering the Wuyuan in 2021.

The unparalleled computing power of quantum technology is expected to transform many areas, but its numerous technical challenges have led some scientists to believe that a practical machine is still years, if not decades away.

Previous quantum processors – Google’s Sycamore and the photonic quantum computer Jiuzhang, built by Pan Jianwei at the USTC in Hefei, Anhui province – have proven their ability to surpass classical computers in solving specific mathematical questions.

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But, they have not directly corresponded to any problems arising in actual production or life situations.

In an interview published by Shanghai-based news website The Paper on Monday, Origin Quantum co-founder Guo Guoping said the technology would produce visible benefits in daily life within the next three to five years.

“Quantum computers can act as accelerators. For example, a problem might take 10 traditional supercomputers a month to calculate. If a quantum computer is added to the computing group, the calculation time may be reduced to three to seven days,” he said.

Quantum computers also have intrinsic advantages in the development of new materials and medicines, which are built using the atomic-scale calculations described by quantum mechanics.

“Using the tools that follow quantum mechanics to study the quantum world is more efficient than traditional computers,” Guo said.

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The company’s quantum computers were built using two very different technical routes, he told The Paper. The superconducting version can more easily use quantum phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, but needs to operate in extremely cold temperatures.

In contrast, semiconductor quantum computers share the same chip technology used in classical computing and the equipment and skills needed are also highly consistent. “But scientifically speaking, nobody knows which path is the right one,” he said.

Over the past 20 years, Guo has witnessed the birth and development of China’s quantum technology. When he was a graduate student, the field of semiconductor quantum computing in China was a blank slate, he said.

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Today, Chinese quantum computing has moved beyond purely scientific research to a stage where engineering technology is also emphasised, Guo said.

For its Wuyuan computer, Origin Quantum established a quantum ecological chain with an operating system, software and a computing cloud platform. The company also developed a range of superconducting quantum chips.

A more powerful quantum computer, named Wukong after the legendary Monkey King, will be available “soon”, according to Guo.

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Despite the dawn of quantum computing products and applications, the company has yet to make a profit. In an interview last year with China Science Daily, Guo said the cost of research – 100 to 200 million yuan (US$14.8 to US$29.6 million) per year – meant Origin Quantum was living beyond its means.

“The company may not be profitable for the next 10 years,” he said.

But the goal is clear: to develop an engineered quantum computer that can be used interactively by users, so that China has independent and controllable quantum computing capabilities.