Inside Google’s new Quantum AI campus

The world is in need for a computing revolution. A slight departure from traditional computing to a leap in quantum can help solve issues like hunger, sustainable energy, drug discovery, etc. And to accelerate that Google aims to build an error corrected quantum computer.

At Google IO, the company’s new Quantum AI campus based in Santa Barbara, California was unveiled. The campus has the company’s first quantum data center, quantum hardware research lab, quantum processor chip fabrication facilities.

For any of the above innovations to be possible one needs to understand molecules better. Unfortunately, with classical computers you can run out of resources quick. The quantum computers use qubits. The error corrected quantum computers, that Google aims to build, will simulate the behavior and interaction of the molecules. This allows for testing and invention of chemical processes and materials to be tested before bringing out the expensive real-life prototypes.

Google aims to build 1,000,000 physical qubits that would work inside an error corrected quantum computer. Before that, a quantum transistor needs to be built that shows two qubits perform quantum operations together. To make this happen, you have to encode one logical qubit with 1000 physical qubits. Preceding that operation is the need to show that more physical qubits can participate in error correction, the more you can cut down on error. This research is currently happening on the Quantum AI campus.