Timeline A history of quantum computing

TIMELINE

Quantum computing, first formulated in the 1980s by physicists including Richard Feynman, quantum computing and its related technologies are developing at pace. We explore the evolution of a computing revolution.

1981

Scientist proposes computer under quantum principles Scientist Paul Benioff is the first to propose a computer operating under the principles of quantum mechanics, based on Alan Turing’s paper tape computer described in a 1936 paper. Thirteen years later, in 1994, MIT mathematician Peter Shor would present an algorithm that could outperform the best classical computing approach.

Scientists create the world’s first functioning quantum computer In the first experiment to successfully provide concrete proof of quantum computing’s potential, researchers from Oxford University, IBM, UC Berkeley, Stanford University and MIT use nuclear magnetic resonance to create an array of two qubits in a working quantum computer. Two years later, scientists create a seven-qubit quantum computer.

1998

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2011

First commercially available quantum annealer

D-Wave Systems announce D-Wave One, described as "the world's first commercially available quantum computer", operating on a 128-qubit chipset using quantum annealing (a general method for finding the global minimum of a function by a process using quantum fluctuations) to solve optimisation problems.

Quantum computing made available through the cloud

IBM Research announces that it is making quantum computing available to members of the public via the cloud for the first time. In late 2017 and early 2018, IBM, Intel, and Google each report testing quantum processors containing 50, 49, and 72 qubits respectively.

‘Super fridge’ to cool tomorrow’s quantum data centres IBM reveals the world’s largest cryogenic dilution fridge, able to cool to 25 milli-Kelvin (mK), just thousandths of a degree above absolute zero. Large-scale cryogenic systems will be required to meet the cooling needs of tomorrow’s quantum data centres, as researchers aim for machines with one million qubits.

2019

Google declares it’s attained quantum supremacy Google claims it has achieved quantum supremacy, saying its experimental quantum computer, Sycamore, performed a series of operations in 200 seconds that would take a supercomputer about 10,000 years to complete. IBM responds, suggesting it could take 2.5 days instead of 10,000 years.

2022