1981
1985
In a lecture at MIT, the great physicist Richard Feynman proposes a powerful new computer built on quantum-mechanical principles. It could crack the hardest problems.
Oxford astrophysicist David Deutsch describes the first universal quantum computer and proves it can simulate any physical system: It could, in short, put every classical computer to shame.
1992
Theoretical physicist Ben Schumacher coins the term “qubit” to describe the fundamental unit of a quantum computer: a transistor that can be 1, 0, or something in between.
Deutsch and his colleague Richard Jozsa develop the first quantum algorithm that performs better than any possible classical algorithm on a given problem.
1994
At the annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science, Peter Shor debuts his quantum factoring algorithm. With just a few thousand qubits, quantum computers of the future will be able to break standard encryption! Quantum computers finally have a reason to exist.
1996
Lov Grover, a researcher at Bell Labs, develops another useful quantum algorithm. It can search unstructured databases—talk about practical!
1998
Researchers at IBM, MIT, and Berkeley build the first actual working quantum computer: a two-qubit device based on applying magnetic fields to a solution of chloroform molecules.
2OOO
Scientists show they can control a five-qubit quantum computer using nuclear magnetic resonance. The machine can run the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm.
2O11
A startup called D-Wave announces the world’s first commercial quantum computer—a $10 million device designed to solve optimization problems.
2O16
A new type of qubit emerges based on trapped ions. Researchers at the University of Innsbruck and MIT build a five-qubit quantum computer that can run Shor’s algorithm.
2O19
Google claims “quantum supremacy” with its 53-qubit Sycamore processor, performing a specific calculation faster than any classical computer. It uses a new approach based on superconducting qubits.
2O21
IBM breaks the 100-qubit barrier! Its previous processor, Hummingbird, had 65 qubits. This one, Eagle, has 127. (The following year’s model, Osprey, will have 433.)
2O24-2O25
Google launches Willow, a quantum chip with 105 qubits and improved error correction. It can do a task in five minutes that would take today’s supercomputers 10 septillion years. Alphabet’s stock price soars.
Oxford researchers announce a new method for creating high-fidelity connections between qubits, promising to cut down on decoherence and error.
2O25
Microsoft announces Majorana 1, a quantum chip powered by—it says—an entirely new state of matter. The company promises to bring full-scale quantum within reach in years rather than decades.
1981
1992
1985
1994
1996
1998
2OOO
2O11
2O16
2O19
2O21
2O24-2O25
2O25
In a lecture at MIT, the out-there physicist Richard Feynman imagines a hypothetical quantum device. No one knows what problems it could solve.
Oxford astrophysicist David Deutsch describes the first universal quantum computer, but good luck building it: It relies on pure quantum states that cannot be maintained in any lab environment.
The term “qubit” is coined—but it’s just a fancy bit of math. 1s and 0s at the same time? Even if that were possible, you’d need an entirely new class of algorithms.
Behold the first quantum algorithm! It’s an arbitrary math problem with zero practical application.
Grover’s algorithm can search unstructured databases, but the speedup is only quadratic: Where a classical algorithm does something in 100 steps, Grover’s can do it in 10. Not worth the engineering cost.
Scientists demonstrate a five-qubit quantum computer, but it’s noisy: Any useful information gets drowned out. It’ll never scale.
A five-qubit quantum computer based on trapped ions can run Shor’s algorithm. But it can only factor the number 15. (You could do that on a pocket calculator in two seconds, or in your head
in one.)
IBM builds a chip with 100 qubits, but they decohere within microseconds. You’d need thousands more doing error correction. Plus, the giant fridges that cool the quantum chips down to near-absolute zero won’t scale either.
The AI boom threatens to steal quantum’s thunder—not just by sucking up so much funding, but also by stepping into its niche. There are fears of a quantum winter.
Shor’s famous algorithm—by which quantum computers can quickly factor large numbers—makes the first real-world case for quantum computers. But qubits are still struggling to exist in the real world: The slightest environmental interference can make them decohere back into
1 or 0.
The first working quantum computer has really high error rates—with more qubits added for error correction, you’d need millions of them to run Shor’s algorithm.
A startup called D-Wave announces the world’s first commercial quantum computer—but it uses something called quantum annealing, so it’s not really a quantum computer. Researchers find no speed increase compared to classical machines.
Google’s quantum supremacy breakthrough has no practical use, and IBM suggests that a classical computer could perform the same calculations in two and a half days (not the 10,000 years Google claimed).
In a talk at CES, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang says we’re still decades away from useful quantum. Shares of quantum companies like IonQ, Rigetti, and D-Wave drop by many millions of dollars.
Quantum experts pour a bucket of cold water on Microsoft’s claims of a new quantum breakthrough, pointing to a series of retractions from high-profile journals. The quantum uncertainty continues.
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1981
1992
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2011
2016
2019
1992
In a lecture at MIT, the great physicist Richard Feynman proposes a powerful new computer built on quantum-mechanical principles. It could crack the hardest problems.
Oxford astrophysicist David Deutsch describes the first universal quantum computer and proves it can simulate any physical system: It could, in short, put every classical computer to shame.
Theoretical physicist Ben Schumacher coins the term “qubit” to describe the fundamental unit of a quantum computer: a transistor that can be 1, 0, or something in between.
Deutsch and his colleague Richard Jozsa develop the first quantum algorithm that performs better than any possible classical algorithm on a given problem.
Lov Grover, a researcher at Bell Labs, develops another useful quantum algorithm. It can search unstructured databases—talk about practical!
Scientists show they can control a five-qubit quantum computer using nuclear magnetic resonance. The machine can run the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm.
A new type of qubit emerges based on trapped ions. Researchers at the University of Innsbruck and MIT build a five-qubit quantum computer that can run Shor’s algorithm.
IBM breaks the 100-qubit barrier! Its previous processor, Hummingbird, had 65 qubits. This one, Eagle, has 127. (The following year’s model, Osprey, will have 433.)
Oxford researchers announce a new method for creating high-fidelity connections between qubits, promising to cut down on decoherence and error.
At the annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science, Peter Shor debuts his quantum factoring algorithm. With just a few thousand qubits, quantum computers of the future will be able to break standard encryption! Quantum computers finally have a reason to exist.
Researchers at IBM, MIT, and Berkeley build the first actual working quantum computer: a two-qubit device based on applying magnetic fields to a solution of chloroform molecules.
A startup called D-Wave announces the world’s first commercial quantum computer—a $10 million device designed to solve optimization problems.
Google claims “quantum supremacy” with its 53-qubit Sycamore processor, performing a specific calculation faster than any classical computer. It uses a new approach based on superconducting qubits.
Google launches Willow, a quantum chip with 105 qubits and improved error correction. It can do a task in five minutes that would take today’s supercomputers 10 septillion years. Alphabet’s stock price soars.
Microsoft announces Majorana 1, a quantum chip powered by—it says—an entirely new state of matter. The company promises to bring full-scale quantum within reach in years rather than decades.
1981
1985
1992
2025
1996
2000
2016
2021
1994
1998
2011
2019
2024-2025