Boffins claim to have found path to 'real-world applications' by running hot

Dr Henry Yang and Professor Andrew Dzurak: hot qubits are a game-changer for quantum computing development. Pic credit: Paul Henderson-Kelly

Scientists in Australia are claiming to have made a breakthrough in the field of quantum computing which could ease the technology's progress to affordability and mass production.

A paper by researchers led by Professor Andrew Dzurak at Sydney's University of New South Wales published in Nature today says they have demonstrated quantum computing at temperatures 15 times warmer than previously thought possible.

Temperature is important to quantum computing because quantum bits (qubits) the equivalent classical computing bits running the computer displaying this story can exist in superconducting circuits or form within semiconductors only at very low temperatures.

Most quantum computers being developed by the likes of IBM and Google form qubits at temperatures within 0.1 degrees above absolute zero or -273.15C (-459.67F). These solid-state platforms require cooling to extremely low temperatures because vibrations generated by heat disrupt the qubits, which can impede performance. Getting this cold requires expensive dilution refrigerators.

Artistic representation of quantum entanglement. Pic credit: Luca Petit for QuTech

But Dzurak's team has shown that they can maintain stable "hotbits" at temperatures up to 15 times higher than existing technologies. That is a sweltering 1.5 Kelvin (-271.65C). It might not seem like much, but it could make a big difference when it comes to scaling quantum computers and getting them one step closer to practical applications.

"For most solid-state qubit technologies for example, those using superconducting circuits or semiconductor spins scaling poses a considerable challenge because every additional qubit increases the heat generated, whereas the cooling power of dilution refrigerators is severely limited at their operating temperature. As temperatures rise above 1 Kelvin, the cost drops substantially and the efficiency improves. In addition, using silicon-based platforms is attractive, as this can assist integration into classical systems that use existing silicon-based hardware," the paper says.

Keeping temperature at around 1.5 Kelvin can be achieved using a few thousand dollars' worth of refrigeration, rather than the millions of dollars needed to cool chips to 0.1 Kelvin, Dzurak said.

"Our new results open a path from experimental devices to affordable quantum computers for real-world business and government applications," he added.

The researchers used "isotopically enriched silicon" but the proof of concept published today promises cheaper and more robust quantum computing which can be built on hardware using conventional silicon chip foundries, they said.

Nature published another independent study by Dr Menno Veldhorst and colleagues at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands which details a quantum circuit that operates at 1.1 Kelvin, confirming the breakthrough.

If made more practical and cheaper, quantum computers could represent a leap forward in information science. Whereas the bit in classical computing either represents a one or a zero, qubits superimpose one and zero, representing both states at the same time. This creates an exponential improvement in performances such that so eight qubits theoretically have two to eight times the performance of eight bits. For example, Google and NASA have demonstrated that a quantum computer with 1,097 qubits outperformed existing supercomputers by more than 3,600 times and personal computers by 100 million.

While the experimental nature and cost of quantum computing means it is unlikely to make it into any business setup soon, anything to make the approach more practical could make a big difference to scientific computational challenges such as protein folding. The problem of how to predict the structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence is important for understanding how proteins function in a wide range of biological processes and could potentially help design better medicines.

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Quantum computing heats up down under as researchers reckon they know how to cut costs and improve stability - The Register

AWS, Microsoft and other IaaS providers have jumped on the quantum computing bandwagon as they try to get ahead of the curve on this emerging technology.

Developers use quantum computing to encode problems as qubits, which compute multiple combinations of variables at once rather than exploring each possibility discretely. In theory, this could allow researchers to quickly solve problems involving different combinations of variables, such as breaking encryption keys, testing the properties of different chemical compounds or simulating different business models. Researchers have begun to demonstrate real-world examples of how these early quantum computers could be put to use.

However, this technology is still being developed, so experts caution that it could take more than a decade for quantum computing to deliver practical value. In the meantime, there are a few cloud services, such as Amazon Bracket and Microsoft Quantum, that aim to get developers up to speed on writing quantum applications.

Quantum computing in the cloud has the potential to disrupt industries in a similar way as other emerging technologies, such as AI and machine learning. But quantum computing is still being established in university classrooms and career paths, said Bob Sutor, vice president of IBM Quantum Ecosystem Development. Similarly, major cloud providers are focusing primarily on education at this early stage.

"The cloud services today are aimed at preparing the industry for the soon-to-arrive day when quantum computers will begin being useful," said Itamar Sivan, co-founder and CEO of Quantum Machines, an orchestration platform for quantum computing.

There's still much to iron out regarding quantum computing and the cloud, but the two technologies appear to be a logical fit, for now.

Cloud-based quantum computing is more difficult to pull off than AI, so the ramp up will be slower and the learning curve steeper, said Martin Reynolds, distinguished vice president of research at Gartner. For starters, quantum computers require highly specialized room conditions that are dramatically different from how cloud providers build and operate their existing data centers.

Reynolds believes practical quantum computers are at least a decade away. The biggest drawback lies in aligning the quantum state of qubits in the computer with a given problem, especially since quantumcomputersstill haven't been proven to solve problems better than traditional computers.

Coders also must learn new math and logic skills to utilize quantum computing. This makes it hard for them since they can't apply traditional digital programming techniques. IT teams need to develop specialized skills to understand how to apply quantum computing in the cloud so they can fine tune the algorithms, as well as the hardware, to make this technology work.

Current limitations aside, the cloud is an ideal way to consume quantum computing, because quantum computing has low I/O but deep computation, Reynolds said. Because cloud vendors have the technological resources and a large pool of users, they will inevitably be some of the first quantum-as-a-service providers and will look for ways to provide the best software development and deployment stacks.

Quantum computing could even supplement general compute and AI services cloud providers currently offer, said Tony Uttley, president of Honeywell Quantum Solutions.In that scenario, the cloud would integrate with classical computing cloud resources in a co-processing environment.

The cloud plays two key roles in quantum computing today, according to Hyoun Park, CEO and principal analyst at Amalgam Insights. The first is to provide an application development and test environment for developers to simulate the use of quantum computers through standard computing resources.

The second is to offer access to the few quantum computers that are currently available, in the way mainframe leasing was common a generation ago. This improves the financial viability of quantum computing, since multiple users can increase machine utilization.

It takes significant computing power to simulate quantum algorithm behavior from a development and testing perspective. For the most part, cloud vendors want to provide an environment to develop quantum algorithms before loading these quantum applications onto dedicated hardware from other providers, which can be quite expensive.

However, classical simulations of quantum algorithms that use large numbers of qubits are not practical. "The issue is that the size of the classical computer needed will grow exponentially with the number of qubits in the machine," said Doug Finke, publisher of the Quantum Computing Report.So, a classical simulation of a 50-qubit quantum computer would require a classical computer with roughly 1 petabyte of memory. This requirement will double with every additional qubit.

Nobody knows which approach is best, or which materials are best. We're at the Edison light bulb filament stage. Martin ReynoldsDistinguished vice president of research at Gartner

But classical simulations for problems using a smaller number of qubits are useful both as a tool to teach quantum algorithms to students and also for quantum software engineers to test and debug algorithms with "toy models" for their problem, Finke said.Once they debug their software, they should be able to scale it up to solve larger problems on a real quantum computer.

In terms of putting quantum computing to use, organizations can currently use it to support last-mile optimization, encryption and other computationally challenging issues, Park said. This technology could also aid teams across logistics, cybersecurity, predictive equipment maintenance, weather predictions and more. Researchers can explore multiple combinations of variables in these kinds of problems simultaneously, whereas a traditional computer needs to compute each combination separately.

However, there are some drawbacks to quantum computing in the cloud. Developers should proceed cautiously when experimenting with applications that involve sensitive data, said Finke. To address this, many organizations prefer to install quantum hardware in their own facilities despite the operational hassles, Finke said.

Also, a machine may not be immediately available when a quantum developer wants to submit a job through quantum services on the public cloud. "The machines will have job queues and sometimes there may be several jobs ahead of you when you want to run your own job," Finke said. Some of the vendors have implemented a reservation capability so a user can book a quantum computer for a set time period to eliminate this problem.

IBM was first to market with its Quantum Experience offering, which launched in 2016 and now has over 15 quantum computers connected to the cloud. Over 210,000 registered users have executed more than 70 billion circuits through the IBM Cloud and published over 200 papers based on the system, according to IBM.

IBM also started the Qiskit open source quantum software development platform and has been building an open community around it. According to GitHub statistics, it is currently the leading quantum development environment.

In late 2019, AWS and Microsoft introduced quantum cloud services offered through partners.

Microsoft Quantum provides a quantum algorithm development environment, and from there users can transfer quantum algorithms to Honeywell, IonQ or Quantum Circuits Inc. hardware. Microsoft's Q# scripting offers a familiar Visual Studio experience for quantum problems, said Michael Morris, CEO of Topcoder, an on-demand digital talent platform.

Currently, this transfer involves the cloud providers installing a high-speed communication link from their data center to the quantum computer facilities, Finke said. This approach has many advantages from a logistics standpoint, because it makes things like maintenance, spare parts, calibration and physical infrastructure a lot easier.

Amazon Braket similarly provides a quantum development environment and, when generally available, will provide time-based pricing to access D-Wave, IonQ and Rigetti hardware. Amazon says it will add more hardware partners as well. Braket offers a variety of different hardware architecture options through a common high-level programming interface, so users can test out the machines from the various partners and determine which one would work best with their application, Finke said.

Google has done considerable core research on quantum computing in the cloud and is expected to launch a cloud computing service later this year. Google has been more focused on developing its in-house quantum computing capabilities and hardware rather than providing access to these tools to its cloud users, Park said. In the meantime, developers can test out quantum algorithms locally using Google's Circ programming environment for writing apps in Python.

In addition to the larger offerings from the major cloud providers, there are several alternative approaches to implementing quantum computers that are being provided through the cloud.

D-Wave is the furthest along, with a quantum annealer well-suited for many optimization problems. Other alternatives include QuTech, which is working on a cloud offering of its small quantum machine utilizing its spin qubits technology. Xanadu is another and is developing a quantum machine based on a photonic technology.

Researchers are pursuing a variety of approaches to quantum computing -- using electrons, ions or photons -- and it's not yet clear which approaches will pan out for practical applications first.

"Nobody knows which approach is best, or which materials are best. We're at the Edison light bulb filament stage, where Edison reportedly tested thousands of ways to make a carbon filament until he got to one that lasted 1,500 hours," Reynolds said. In the meantime, recent cloud offerings promise to enable developers to start experimenting with these different approaches to get a taste of what's to come.

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The future of quantum computing in the cloud - TechTarget

DUBLIN, April 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Emerging Opportunities of Quantum Technologies in Electronics Industry" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

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Key Questions Addressed

Quantum technology, which enables the manipulation of atoms and sub-atomic particles, will allow for a new class of ultra-sensitive devices with key potential to profoundly impact and disrupt significant applications in areas such as defense, aerospace, industrial, commercial, infrastructure, transportation and logistics markets.

The ability to control and predict the behavior of atoms and ions has key opportunities to enable exquisitely sensitive sensors for application such as ultra-precise navigation, improved location of buried objects, enhanced geophysical or resource exploration, as well as ultra-precise measurement of time, computers able to solve very complex problems much faster than classical computers, considerably more secure and rapid data communications, and imaging in previously impossible conditions with greatly enhanced resolution.

Quantum technology is also driving advancements in more compact lasers, microfabricated atom/ion traps and diffraction gratings for trapping and cooling atoms, single-photon detectors for applications such as enhanced imaging and quantum cryptography, microfabricated vapor cells containing atomic vapors or optically cooled atoms.

Key Topics Covered

1. Executive Summary1.1 Scope of Research1.2 Research Methodology1.3 Research Methodology Explained1.4 Key Findings - Quantum Electronics Finds Applications in Submarines and Satellites1.5 Key Findings - Quantum Magnetometers Generate Interest in Navigation

2. Quantum Electronics Technology Landscape - Status Review2.1 Quantum Electronics will Disrupt Industrial, Defense, Security, and Healthcare Markets2.2 Applications of Different Types of Quantum Electronics2.3 Factors Driving the Adoption of Quantum Electronics2.4 Miniaturization is a Major Challenge for Adoption of Quantum Electronics

3. Quantum Inertial Sensors3.1 Quantum Gyroscopes and Accelerometers Provide Enhanced Sensitivity3.2 Quantum Inertial Sensors Have Opportunities to Disrupt Conventional Navigation Systems and MEMS Sensors3.3 Application Impact of Quantum Inertial Sensors3.4 Recent Developments with Stakeholders - Quantum Inertial Sensors3.5 Quantum Inertial Sensors are Gaining Investments

4. Quantum Gravity Sensors4.1 Quantum Gravity Sensors - Overview4.2 Gravity Sensing: An Earlier Opportunity for Quantum Accelerometers4.3 Application Landscape of Quantum Gravity Sensors4.4 Gap Analysis: Quantum Gravity Sensors Opportunities and Challenges4.5 Recent Developments with Stakeholders - Quantum Gravity Sensors

5. Quantum Magnetometers5.1 Quantum Magnetometers - Overview5.2 Application Diversity of Quantum Magnetometers5.3 Quantum Magnetometers find Applications in Precision Location Detection5.4 Opportunities Driving Adoption of Quantum Magnetometers5.5 Factors Hindering Adoption of Quantum Magnetometers5.6 Stakeholder Developments - Quantum Magnetometers

6. Quantum Clocks6.1 Quantum Clocks Enable Precision Timing6.2 Opportunities of Quantum Clocks6.3 Challenges Hindering Adoption of Quantum Atomic Clocks6.4 Applications for Quantum Atomic Clocks6.5 Stakeholder Developments - Quantum Magnetometers6.6 Stakeholders are Collaborating with Universities for Quantum Developments

7. Quantum Computing7.1 Quantum Computers have Unprecedented Computational Power7.2 Opportunities of Quantum Computing7.3 Factors Hindering Adoption of Quantum Computing7.4 Applications of Quantum Computing Across Different Industries7.5 Stakeholder Developments and Recent Research in Quantum Computing7.6 Kagome Metal finds Applications in Quantum Computers7.7 Nitrogen-Vacancy Diamonds have the Potential to Retain Quantum Information

8. Quantum Communications8.1 Quantum Repeaters and Quantum Key Distribution play Key Roles in Enabling Quantum Communication8.2 Opportunities Driving Quantum Communications8.3 Factors Hindering Adoption of Quantum Communications8.4 Stakeholder Developments - Quantum Computing8.5 Recent Research in Quantum Computing Enables Development of Quantum Random Number Generator

9. Impact of Quantum Technologies on COVID-199.1 Opportunities to Combat Coronavirus (COVID-19)9.2 Use of Supercomputers to Study COVID-19 Impact Creates Potential Applications of Quantum Computing

10. Quantum Electronics Ecosystem and Supply Chain Analysis10.1 Quantum Technology Ecosystem Components10.2 Key Types of Participants in the Quantum Supply Chain10.3 Other Participants in the Quantum Supply Chain

11. Industry Best Practices - Assessment of Partnerships/Alliances and Recent Developments11.1 Advancements in Quantum Entanglement Pave the Way for Quantum Internet11.2 Recent Partnerships Drive Developments in Quantum Computing

12. Technology Roadmap & Growth Opportunities12.1 Quantum Electronics Roadmap12.2 Strategic Investments Drive Adoption of Quantum Technologies

13. Industry Contacts13.1 Key Industry Contacts

Story continues

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Quantum Technologies 2020: Impact on COVID-19, Ecosystem & Supply Chain Analysis, Industry Best Practices, Technology Roadmap and Growth...

The wild finale of Alex Garlands sci-fi series Devs managed to do the impossible and reveal the full capabilities for the mysterious super computer. But like all good Garland creations, the answers only lead to more questions from the audience. Looking for clarity, we turned to the woman who runs the Devs operation, Katie, played by Alison Pill, for a conversation about whats next for the resolute right-hand of the Devs operation.

A longtime fan of Garlands work, Pill had previously read his novels The Beach and The Tesseract. In fact, the actress actually auditioned for a part in his 2018 film Annihilation, but it would seem that her track was destined to lead her to Devs.

Carmen Cuba texted my husband and said, Alex Garland is interested in your wife for this movie, can he email her?' Pill explained to Variety over the phone. After sending over all eight scripts of the mini-series, Pill was hooked. The next step? Become an expert on quantum mechanics.

I read A Briefer History of Time, which is excellent. I guess I can say it now, we were really trying to keep the multi-verse out of the conversation for the first little bit, but David Wallace, whos an incredible philosopher of science, wrote a great book about the many worlds theory. Its a tome.

Then I read a David Foster Wallace book on infinity, but Briefer History of Time was the most helpful in terms of the history of the science, the development of the ideas. In every single one of these books I could sort of grasp [the concepts] in the beginning and toward the end as the concepts become more and more abstract, the tethering to the physical world is just is gone. [Laughs] Its like, What are you talking about? Thats crazy! You cant have particles in two places at once, doing two things at once at the same time. My brain wont accept that! But then thats what physicists have been struggling with for a long time.

Alex was definitely helpful. Sonoya [Mizuno] was too because she had been on board a little bit before me, and she had done a lot of reading as well. Her recommendations were really helpful. The David Wallace books I just read on my own. His lectures are great. I think hes a fantastic speaker. Also in terms of character studies it was really interesting, too. What does somebody who thinks about this type of thing all the time do with their body? Interesting little character things. Theyre pretty eccentric folks considering that they think about the nature of reality and the unnatural nature of quantum physics. Theyre odd ducks.

The first decision I made was physical. I didnt want her to move very much because Im thinking about the self-consciousness that must be involved in every move you make, having already been decided. If thats your worldview you cant just unconsciously take your hand out of your pocket anymore, because you know that was what the universe was always going to have you do. That was my way in, just trying to keep her as still as possible.

Its also a really interesting show of power. As a woman, I often find myself smiling and talking a lot to try and make other people comfortable, to make myself comfortable. I will just fill in those gaps and just be a little too out there sometimes.

I imagined being somebody so completely sure of their place in the world, their own power, their brains, and just not giving a f. And that was really thrilling to play. Shes not going to smile politely. Shes not going to do the polite thing that we expect of womenMaking her not, not unemotional, but in control of her emotions was really important to me. Shes not heartless at all, the furthest thing from it. I think shes one of the most generous people Ive ever played. Shes not obsequious, shes not polite in the way that people expect, but she is emotional. And I think those complications are really interesting.

Alison Pill as Katie, Cailee Spaeny as Lyndon on the edge of the Crystal Springs Dam.

Her belief system is that theres not a world in which Lyndon doesnt stand on the other side of the dam. So its not that she wants him to, its not that she wishes that it happens, its just the way it is. And thats why in the finale, the idea that freewill could exist destroys her whole moral outlook. Once that becomes true, if determinism is real, but that freewill is possible if you know what is determined, then her whole moral view just crumbles.

Then I think she is at fault and I think she realizes that. But I think in the moment, its not something that she desires, its something that she wishes wouldnt happen. I think she really likes Lyndon. But also [she] believes that there are truly a near infinite number of universes where Lyndon doesnt fall, truly, and comes back to work at Devs Its a real moral quandary only if free will exists. And it also begs the question, could we do anything wrong in a truly deterministic universe? Could we be blamed for anything we did in a deterministic universe if there was never going to be another action taken?

Yeah. I dont think Katie believes shes morally culpable. I think shes really very sad about Lyndon. And its Cailee [Spaeny] who was the best, it was so hard.

Oh, no, hes very much up for those discussions. Luckily hes also a big believer in rehearsal, so I could come in and sit down and be like, Alex, physics of the observer, what are we going to do about it? You know, the statistics of near infinite variations, what do you do with statistics!?

So yes, he would allow me some time to go over stuff. We would have classroom moments with different groupings of us [the lab people] and have those discussion. And then on set to a degree because sometimes I would come in and just have read another excerpt from the Wallace book just going, What does it mean! [Laughs]

He is one of the more generous listeners Ive ever met. He doesnt play down anything, he doesnt make you feel dumb and hell take any question seriously and take time to consider it. Its a real gift. Yes, we had fascinating conversations about politics and gender and also quantum physics just because were all in that headspace of giving consideration. And I think thats what he expects as an audience.

Being around this group of people, to some degree, primed for this. I think were just curious people and I think most humans are incredibly curious. I dont think we give ourselves enough benefit of the doubt in terms of our intelligence. In terms of our ability to really challenge our brains with new concepts. I think its something that we just sort of give up on unnecessarily, because I think were better at it than we might suppose.

Alison Pills reading list for playing Katie in Hulus Devs.

Hmmmm many worlds is just, yeah, it doesnt make a difference? Which is to say, Im in this one, I can only live one. Would it feel better if I knew that in some [world] I might make a different choice? To a degree, but also the maths involved are so extraordinary. When you think about branching and the amount of branching that every person, every thing, every blade of grass, the wind blowing one way this time it becomes meaningless to me.

Determinism, however, its a really interesting concept that I still do struggle with and I dont think that human brains are particularly capable of dealing with it. We really are wired to believe that we have choice. So in both cases, while I consider determinism pretty likely which is a crazy thing to think about but you know what else is crazy? Space is a thing. You know what I mean? Space is a thing, the universe is expanding. Spanning into what? Space is already an existing thing. Its not nothing. It cant be nothing. Which is in itself a real quandary anyway.

The multiverse map, I just cant even. So each person, every instant of their life branching however many times. Infinity is crazy, I cant make my brain understand that to such a degree, I find it interesting to read about. But its not going to effect my everyday life neither is quantum physics because we cant see it. We could have been pretty happy humans with just Newtonian physics. It wouldnt have been entirely true, but its fine, I mean, it gets us by.

I was looking forward to it and had been thinking about it since I first got the scripts because what a rarity to have, I was just so excited to have this scene between two women. First that shes like, I want answers, let me talk to Forest. And I say, No, if you want answers, you should talk to me. Just the power dynamics, its such an interesting way to start a scene.

We shot it over two days. I love working with Sonoya. Its such an interesting thing because that much dialogue doesnt happen that often on TV, but at the same time its not theatrical dialogue. Its not as though someone said, Oh, it should be a play! Because so much of it is about the cinematography and the setting. Its something that you dont often get to see, which is just people thinking through their thoughts and taking their time and having these slower scenes. That whole episode is basically just a series of two-person scenes. Its just so ballsy to do that in the midst of this like techno thriller, plot-heavy, cool action thing and youre just like, and then we sit.

I was so aware of the importance of the scene in terms of explaining things but also wanting to make it real for Katie. There are emotional stakes for her too, because she does like Lily. She thinks shes really cool, she spent hours watching her. Its like meeting a celebrity, finally, in our kitchen. Alex and I talked, did she always set the pen out there before because its there, its on the table. [Was Katie] thinking about her the day before she goes to bed thinking, I have to put the pen there because Lilys going to be by soon.

Its not the expectation. The expectation is partly that Forest is going to sit down with Lilly.

Well its the only way he survives. She asks [Forest] whether he wants to deal with the fact that there will be a near infinite number, where Amaya will have died, where all of this will still happen. But that there will be somewhere he does get to be with Amaya. That has been his ultimate goal. That has been their ultimate goal. And thats what I mean about Katie being generous. She literally needs this man and says, yeah, Ill bring back your daughter for you.

I think thats also the happiness of working on this project. Its not her life goal until it becomes it over time. I do think Forest makes the decision to be part of the sim, and therefore I think Katie doesnt want to let it go. Because she wants to keep those two alive as long as she can.

Its so hard to know what the power will actually mean in the world. Even five years on, if the U.S. government knew everything, what would the world look like? Pretty fing scary! So I dont know if she would want to be part of the machine at that point. If Katie died of natural causes 40 years after the events that we see in episode 8, the changes that would have occurred in both quantum computing, would everybody have an everything machine? I dont know. Im cleaning out my office and Im just getting rid of a bunch of DVDs, and those are not that old. Thinking about 40 years from now, in terms of tech, especially in terms of quantum computing, I dont even know what it would mean? But if it was under government control Id say probably, no, she doesnt really like authority.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Alison Pill on the Devs Finale and Whats Next for Katie - Variety

RALEIGH IBM is scheduled to announced its latest quarterly earnings today after the markets close and a big question to be answered is: Will Raleigh-based Red Hat deliver another bottom-line boost even in the times of the COVID-19 crisis?

Last quarter which occurred as IBM (NYSE: IBM) was closing on the $34 billion acquistion of Red Hat the Hatters sales helped since its own sales surged 24 percent and cloud sales climbed 21 percent.

Wall Street financial firm Zacks Research notes that new CEO Arvind Krishna he took over April 6 is putting more emphasis on cloud as well as emerging tech sectors such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. (IBM works closely with NC State on quantum research.)

IBMs new CEO spells out priorities, especially cloud, and makes exec changes as he takes over

Last quarter, IBM surprised Wall Street with Q4 revenue growth, after five straight periods of declining sales. More specifically, Red Hat revenue jumped 24%, with total cloud revenue up 21%. Despite this solid expansion from vital growth units, IBMs overall quarterly sales only climbed 0.1%, Zacks reports.

And the coronavirus could hurt sales since it emerged as a pandemic.

Our Zacks estimates call for IBMs Q1 sales to slip 1.2% from the year-ago period to $17.97 billion, Zacks says.

Meanwhile, its adjusted quarterly earnings are projected to fall by 24.4% to hit $1.70 a share. Peeking ahead, IBMs adjusted fiscal 2020 EPS figure is expected to slip 4.8%, on 2.6% lower revenue.

On top of that, the historic tech giants consensus Q1 earnings estimate has slipped nearly 13% in the last 60 days.

IBM employs thousands of people across North Carolina, including Red Hat and one of Big Blues largest corporate campuses in RTP.

Read more online.

Red Hat names longtime exec Paul Cormier as CEO, replacing Jim Whitehurst

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Can Red Hat give IBM another boost in earnings? We'll find out soon - WRAL Tech Wire

In the most recent episode of his YouTube series Science vs. Cinema, UC Santa Barbara physicist Andy Howell takes on Star Trek: Picard, exploring how the CBS offerings presentation of supernovae and quantum computing stack up against real world science.

For Howell, the series that reviews the scientific accuracy and portrayal of scientists in Hollywoods top sci-fi films is as much an excuse to dive into exciting scientific concepts and cutting edge research.

Science fiction writers are fond of grappling with deep philosophical questions, he said. I was really excited to see that UCSB researchers were thinking about some of the same things in a more grounded way.

For the Star Trek episode, Howell spoke with series creators Alex Kurtzman and Michael Chabon, as well as a number of cast members, including Patrick Stewart. Joining him to discuss quantum science and consciousness were John Martinis a quantum expert at UC Santa Barbara and chief scientist of the Google quantum computing hardware group and fellow UCSB Physics professor Matthew Fisher. Fishers group is studying whether quantum mechanics plays a role in the brain, a topic taken up in the new Star Trek series.

Howell also talked supernovae and viticulture with friend and colleague Brian Schmidt, vice- chancellor of the Australian National University. Schmidt won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for helping to discover that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.

"We started Science vs. Cinema to use movies as a jumping-off point to talk science Howell said. Star Trek Picard seemed like the perfect fit. Star Trek has a huge cultural impact and was even one of the things that made me want to study astronomy.

Previous episodes of Science vs. Cinema have separated fact from fiction in films such as Star Wars, The Current War, Ad Astra, Arrival and The Martian. The success of prior episodes enabled Howell to get early access to the show and interview the cast and crew.

"What most people think about scientific subjects probably isn't what they learned in a university class, but what they saw in a movie, Howell remarked. That makes movies an ideal springboard for introducing scientific concepts. And while I can only reach dozens of students at a time in a classroom, I can reach millions on TV or the internet.

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Science of Star Trek - The UCSB Current

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Quantum Computing Market: Competitive Landscape

The last chapter of the Quantum Computing market research report focuses exclusively on the competitive landscape. It examines the main market players. In addition to a brief overview of the business, analysts provide information on their assessment and development. The list of important products in preparation is also mentioned. The competitive landscape is analyzed by understanding the companies strategies and the initiatives they have taken in recent years to overcome intense competition.

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In the following chapters, analysts have examined the regional segments of the Quantum Computing market. This gives readers a deeper insight into the global market and allows for a closer look at the elements that could determine its evolution. Countless regional aspects, such as the effects of culture, environment and government policies, which affect regional markets are highlighted.

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Tags: Quantum Computing Market Size, Quantum Computing Market Trends, Quantum Computing Market Forecast, Quantum Computing Market Growth, Quantum Computing Market Analysis

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Quantum Computing Market 2020 Break Down by Top Companies, Applications, Challenges, Opportunities and Forecast 2026 Cole Reports - Cole of Duty

The pace at which technology is evolving in this 21st century is mind-blowing. It could be a herculean task catching up with all the trends as they seem to be evolving at lightspeed. Especially for those who just newly started getting interested into those subjects.

Among top technologies that have gained huge attention and recognition in the past and present decade; Blockchain, AI, Quantum and 5G technologies seem to be erupting in a more disruptive manner. Today Ive decided to take an in-depth look at each of these technologies.

The technologies are leading the way for industry 4.0. They are attempting to bridge the gap between work inefficiencies and bloated workforce, and ultimately making life easier for everyone. It provides industries with the needed competitive edge.

These cutting-edge technologies are what is needed to streamline work processes, create unimaginable synergies and solve real-time problems. This is true to the extent at which you are able to leverage these technologies to build your businesses or use these technologies in your day to day business. Most beneficially they surely will be used in big industries and the government sector. Probably to a point where these technologies can start to become scary and shall not be tolerated, but that is another subject to separately write about.

The uniqueness of these technologies is that they enact on data in different ways, the possibilities are endless when two or more of these technologies are combined.

Many people think about blockchain technology with regard to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Blockchain, however, has found increasing use-cases across various industries. It has seen wide range applications across most industries where security and privacy are of utmost importance, thanks to blockchain immutability and tamper-proof ledger.

The positive impact of blockchain has been felt in almost all spheres of human endeavors. Even though blockchain is more pronounced in the financial and service payment sector, its impact, however, is fast rising in other sectors such as healthcare, supply chain, security, politics, real estate, legal industry, education, etc.

Blockchain is the most innovative technology of the present decade because of its promise of financial bureaucracy. Blockchain transparency has the potential of reducing the degree of fraudulent practices, data reveals that banks and other financial institutions lose close to $4 trillion to cyber-theft every year. Blockchain has the potentials to put an end to this.

Blockchain-related jobs have also been identified as the second-fastest growing category of jobs, with over 14 job openings for every one blockchain developer. Picking up a career in this sector looks very lucrative. It was estimated that global business value will rise to $3.1 trillion in 2030 as a result of the implementation of blockchain technology.

Businesses that fail to embrace this technology might stand the risk of becoming redundant. Using blockchain can have just unlimited scenarios and advantages if applied right, the most important problem which a blockchain can solve is the issue of trust.

Artificial Intelligence is the simulation of a human-like intelligence through computer systems. Usually, these computer systems are programmed in a way to mimic human-like actions. Due to the complex nature of human activities, the simulation process is nevertheless complicated as well.

Since the AI technology came to limelight, it has been breaking new grounds in almost all areas of human endeavors. A lot of speculations have it that AI will seize a larger part of the workforce, help entrepreneurs cut costs, and automate business processes. In some big industries AI is already fully operating and making its limited, but super accurate decisions.

Recent AI developments have contributed to major advancements in the world of medicine. In medicine, Artificial intelligence will be able to improve cancer diagnosis and prevent around 22,000 deaths a year by 2033.

In business, AI is aiding managers in business analytics and faster decision making. AI is also touching base with the professional and corporate workforce through the automation of business processes.

PwC predicts that by 2030 AI will rake in about $15.7 trillion to the world economy, causing world GDP to shoot up by 14%. It will achieve these feet by ultimately improving business processes, cutting down cost and increasing work efficiency. Canadian Genius Entrepreneur Geordie Rose who is the founder of Kindred AI believes that by 2030 AI will be more intelligent than all of us humans. He goes that far that he says that a super-smart AI can be seen like another entity, like a kind of a digital species or in his words like a super-intelligent Alien. A very informative Youtube Video where Geordie talks to students in a Vancouver university with the target of recruiting some geniuses.

A 4G enabled-device will let you download a 2-hour video in 3 minutes, with a 5G device, you will do the same in just 3 seconds. However, this technology is not just about downloading movies.

When 5G rolls out more widely in the coming years, it will accelerate the production of more sophisticated applications to address problems and improve industry-wide innovations. This technology is poised to provide wireless communication at the speed and latency required for complex applications in IoT devices.

When globally implemented, 5G can enable emerging markets to reach the same pace of operation as their already established counterparts. Service providers creating 5G-based solutions for business-specific applications will then have valuable advantage early-adoption.

Telecom networks such as Qualcomm, Huawei, AT&T, Verizon, and Nokia are competing on who will lead the pace of 5G development.

There are lot of conspiracies with health issues about 5G and recently seen videos of people damaging the 5G Antennas.

Quantum technology encompasses far more than just quantum computing, this is going to become the next wave of superfast personal and commercial computers.

Nonetheless, the broader category of quantum innovations exploits the strange behavior of small particles for a wide range of applications, including navigation aids, advanced imaging technology, and extremely accurate timing systems.

This technology has also found increased applications in communication, cryptography, sensors, and measurement instruments. Businesses within this space will be looking at adopting quantum technology to transform the way they enact on objects.

IBM explains in this wonderful 4-minute video what exactly the difference is between the normal ways of binary computing and the advanced way of computing with qubits and how they exactly work to solve a calculation.

2020 Looks Promising

The pace of the emergence of new technologies is leading the 21st-century innovation and creating myriad opportunities for businesses to expand and enhance service delivery at the ideal time. These four technologies are certainly taking the lead in providing endless benefits both in the short and the long run. Watch out, keep researching and stay tuned.

Matthias Mende

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Top 4 Emerging Technologies Of The Past And Present Decade To Know About - Thrive Global

Were four weeks into the massive time-out forced on us by coronavirus. Many of us have spent much of that time trying to get used to the radical lifestyle change the virus has brought. But were also beginning to think about the end of the crisis, and what the world will look like afterward.

So its a good time to round up some opinions about how the pandemic might change how we think about various aspects of life and work. We asked some executives, venture capitalists, and analysts for thoughts on the specific changes they expected to see in their worlds.

Naturally, many of them tended to see the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis in optimistic terms, at least when it comes to their own products, ideas, and causes. And at least some of them are probably right. But the general themes in their comments add up to preview of what might be ahead for tech companies and consumers once the virus is no longer the biggest news story in the world.

The responses below have been edited for publication.

Matthew Prince, CEO of CloudflareThe pandemic has resulted in what is effectively the largest work from home experiment ever conducted in human history . . . Were seeing the effect on the internet, in terms of traffic patterns that are shifting. People are accessing more educational resources online for their kids; finding unconventional ways to connect with coworkers, friends, and family; and employers are being more flexible in how they respond to employee needs through more dynamic, cloud-based technology. I think well see these shifts last well beyond the immediate fallout of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Jared Spataro, corporate vice president, Microsoft 365This time will go down as a turning point for the way people work and learn. We have a time machine as China navigates its return back to workand were not seeing usage of Microsoft Teams dip. People are carrying what they learned and experienced from remote work back to their new normal. Were learning so much about sustained remote work during this time.

Remote hiring of technical talent will become the norm.

Tim Bajarin, principal analyst at Creative StrategiesWe talked to CIOs recently, and they told us that they are becoming more comfortable with at least some of their staff working from home. Two CIOs even quantified it by saying they might consider letting as much as 25% of their staff work from home. That would mean less people in the office, and in turn, possibly less demand for office space. I believe that this could signal the death of open space work environments. The experience with COVID-19 will for years make people more aware of working in shoulder-to-shoulder open offices where it is easy for viruses to spread.

Eva Chen, CEO at Trend MicroThe COVID-19 experience will . . . build our courage to adopt new patterns to fix antiquated processes. As a result, organizations will ditch the notion of having a big office and revert back to a small-town model of working in cluster offices with more remote work. Even more so, company headquarters will be located in the cloud, shifting how we protect enterprise data in the virtual cloud and how we secure data from more diverse endpoints.

Sampriti Ganguli, CEO of the social venture firm Arabella AdvisorsWe are . . . all becoming BBC Man, meaning our kids and dogs routinely rush our meetings. Weve probably crossed the chasm between what is acceptable in the office and what is acceptable at home, and in many ways, these more intimate moments allow us to have deeper and more meaningful connections as humans. I dont think were going back to a world of working mostly from offices anytime soon, and as such, there are new business norms that work for home and work.

Steve Case, cofounder AOL, CEO and chairman of Revolution[We] believe the COVID-19 pandemic will encourage peopleentrepreneurs, investors, and employeesto consider opportunities outside of the coastal tech hubs. People who have been considering a move, to tap into the sector expertise (healthcare, food and agriculture, etc.) that exists in many parts of the country, or for a lifestyle change, or to be near family and friends, may choose this moment to relocate, accelerating a talent boomerang, and helping emerging startup cities rise. On top of that, the increased willingness to accept remote working as a viable arrangement following this prolonged work-from-home period will further propel this trend.

Vivek Ravisankar, CEO and cofounder of programming-challenge platform HackerRankRemote hiring of technical talent will become the norm, accelerated by the normalization of remote work. This is a win-win for the economy and the talent pool, as it allows companies to fill positions quickly with qualified talent and opens up high-paying tech positions to developers everywhere. We were already seeing the shift toward prioritizing skills over pedigree in hiring. That will now evolve to skills over geography, making our tech talent pool more diverse, and our businesses and economy stronger.

AJ Shankar, CEO and cofounder of EverlawIn the modern work environment, real-time communication mediums like chat allow for a certain blurring of the line between personal life and work life, an always-on mentality. But now, in a COVID world, that line has never been more blurred: There is no physical separation at all. So I predict that expectations around availability will changefor the better. For employee-friendly companies, evening hours will ultimately revert to family or personal time, as they should. This wont happen automatically; a change in mindset and process is required.

Stan Chudnovsky, VP of Messenger, FacebookIts becoming more clear every day that the way people are using technology to spend quality time with loved ones, engage with businesses, and perform their jobs is fundamentally shifting to a new normal. Loved ones who hadnt seen each other in years are now seeing each other daily, people are getting creative with virtual happy hours and keeping up with their formerly physical lives with shared workouts and virtual birthday parties on products like Messenger. Of course, there will be some tough consequences when we come out the other side of this, but I believe the growing acceptance of technology to help us feel connected will have lasting benefits.

Michael Hendrix, partner and global design director, IdeoRight now, the virus seems like an accelerator for digital change that was already underway . . . the surprise has been to see the resistance to this digital change suddenly evaporate. What organizations resisted for a decade is now core to survival and innovation. It is exciting, because this digital mindset will persist, and it is highly unlikely companies will try to return to what worked prior to the pandemic.

We could get to a state of nearly universal online access at home.

Alex Farr, founder and CEO of voice tech company ZammoUsing videoconferencing is not only going to become a more common part of life due to this pandemicthe way it shows up through our tech devices will multiply. At work and at home, well ask voice assistants to call our client, our boss, our mom, our friends, and on command, Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, etc., will take us right to those live video conversations.

Will Cathcart, head of WhatsAppAs people have been forced physically apart weve seen them make far more video calls on WhatsApp than ever before. These are intimate and private conversations that people expect no one else should seeno different than if you were talking in person. Not criminals, not hackers, not even a company. I believe that our shared experience of being physically isolated from one another will cause us to appreciate and value the privacy and security that comes with end-to-end encryption even more than we did before.

Simon Allen, CEO of McGraw-HillThe change we are seeing right now in education is not something that is likely to revert back to normal in the fall. Although teachers will always be integral to the education process, there will need to be continued flexibility and agility when it comes to things like the delivery of content, testing, and grading. I expect that we will see an increase in blended learning environments that include learning in both the physical classroom setting and online.

Adam Enbar, CEO of Flatiron SchoolRight now, educators are relying on Zoom and Slack to teach and engage with students. Were realizing its falling short in replicating the classroom experience, but the truth is that it was never meant to be a substitute. In fact, no ed-tech tool or platform can or should replicate the in-person classroom; techs role is to create new experiences altogether. Nothing spurs innovation like people experiencing problems. When things are back to normal, Zoom and Slack usage will go downand thats okay. Instead, well see a boom in technology that is built by entrepreneurs looking to create entirely new experiences custom to the remote education or work experience.

Sal Khan, founder and CEO of educational nonprofit Khan AcademyThe need for online access and devices in every home is now so dire that it may finally mobilize society to treat internet connectivity as a must-have rather than a nice-to-have. Were already seeing governments, school districts, philanthropists, and corporations step up to close the digital divide. If this continues to happen, we could get to a state of nearly universal online access at home.

Dr. Claire Novorol, cofounder and chief medical officer, Ada HealthThe adoption of digital health toolsfrom assessment services to telemedicinehas rapidly accelerated, with healthcare organizations across the world looking to digital solutions to support their efforts against the pandemic, and health tech companies keen to rise to the occasion in support of healthcare payers, providers and patients alike. Its clear that we are witnessing a step-change in the adoption of digital health solutions, and that this has long-term potential. The healthcare industry will be greatly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and we can expect digital health technologies to form an essential part of the way forward.

Pat Combes, worldwide technical leader, healthcare and life sciences at AWSThe biggest barrier to ensuring doctors have the most complete medical history on any patient, at every point of their care, is the lack of interoperability among systems, preventing data and electronic health records from following a patient throughout their care journey. Bringing this information together is a manual and time-consuming process. But, this is one of those pivotal moments in time when we have an opportunity to identify and work to fix the underlying problems that plague our system, with so many researchers, health systems, governments, and enterprises pooling efforts and data to better understand and combat COVID-19.

Ara Katz, cofounder and co-CEO, Seed HealthAt a time when misinformation is especially rampant, and in many recent cases, dangerous, it is imperative that those working in science collectively steward and uphold a standard for how information is translated and shared to the public. COVID-19 is a reminder of how science informs decisions, shapes policy, and can save lives. The antidote to this current infodemic may be as important to our collective future as a vaccine.

Harry Ritter, founder and CEO of wellness professional community AlmaThere will be a monumental shift in attitudes toward mental health. [S]ociety, having experienced this collective trauma and grief, will develop new levels of empathy and a willingness to talk about mental healthcare as an essential part of healthcare in ways we have not seen before. Employers are already seeing how emotional well-being is factoring into their workforces ability to perform under stress. Ideally they will come out of this better able to recognize their obligation to prioritize mental healthcare as an employee benefit.

Peter Chapman, CEO and president, quantum-computing company IonQWithin the next 12 to 18 months, were expecting quantum computers to start to routinely solve problems that supercomputers and cloud computing cannot. When humanity faces the next pandemic, Im hopeful that a quantum computer will be able to model the virus, its interactions within the human body that will drive possible solutions, and limit the future economic damage and human suffering.

David Barrett, CEO and founder of ExpensifyThe COVID-19 crisis has swiftly exposed the fragile underbellies of many companies, especially those in tech that have been propped up by huge funding rounds and strategies that require massive monthly burn rates. Theyre now teetering on the edge of collapse, with most facing layoffs across the board and some searching for buyers as a last resort. On the other hand, profitable companies . . . are simply tightening their belts and carrying on with business (mostly) as usual. Going forward, investors mindsets and qualifications about what constitutes a truly valuable company will change. Rather than focusing on the quantitative aspects like funding rounds and revenue, investors will place a greater emphasis on the qualitative aspects, such as an organizations structure, team, culture, flexibility, and profitability.

Restaurants might permanently link up with delivery service platforms or expand their reach via ghost kitchens.

Michael Masserman, global head of policy and social impact, LyftAs we look to the reopening of cities, people will be looking for affordable, reliable ways to stay socially distant while commuting, including turning to transportation options such as rideshare, bike share, and scooters. There will also be an opportunity for local governments, as well as key advocates and stakeholders, to consider reshaping our cities to be built around people and not cars.

Avi Meir, cofounder and CEO, TravelPerkCountries and regions will emerge from lockdown at different paces, leading to corridors of travel between destinations opening back up one by one. Were already beginning to see early signs of a modest pickup in travel again in Asia Pacific, as the local pressure of the virus lessens. When travel does begin to resume, domestic travel will be first. For most countries, that means taking a train, not least because theyre less crowded.

Ed Barriball, who leads McKinseys Public Sector Practice in North AmericaIn the short term, companies are concerned about the shortages of critical goods across the supply chain, and some are looking for alternative sources closer to home. In the long term, once we emerge from the current crisis, we expect businesses and governments to focus on better quantifying the risks faced and incorporating potential losses into business cases. These businesses will model the size and impact of various shock scenarios to determine actions they should take to rebuild their supply chains and simultaneously build resilience for the future. These actions could include bringing suppliers closer to home but could also include a range of other resilience investments.

Amar Hanspal, former CEO at Autodesk and now CEO at Bright MachinesThis pandemic will have a lasting impact . . . on the way physical products are made. Customers I talk to are grappling with supply chain and factory disruptions across the globe. This has been a wake-up call to manufacturers. The current way of building products in centralized factories with low-cost labor halfway around the world simply cant weather storms of uncertainty. Moving forward, factories and supply chains will require, and businesses will mandate, much more resilient manufacturing through nearshoring and even onshoring, full automation, and software-based management.

Sarah Stein Greenberg, executive director of the Stanford d.schoolIn times of great uncertainty, the most critical skill is to be able to adapt as conditions change. This is a kind of ambidexterity: focusing on surviving in the current moment while you also build toward thriving in a future that will look different. To get there, successful leaders are creating and holding space in organizations for people to be generative, despite the challenging and stressful environment. Drawing from one of the fundamental strengths of design: by separating the process of generating ideas from critiquing and selecting them, we are seeing organizations and individuals rewarded with a far wider range of potential solutions.

Will Lopez, head of accountant community at HR platform GustoCOVID-19 isnt the end of brick-and-mortar storestheyre vital to our communities and our economybut the way they operate will change. This crisis will force small businesses that have historically relied on foot traffic as their main source of income to develop alternative revenue streams so they can weather the next major event. For example, many restaurants might permanently link up with delivery service platforms or expand their geographic reach via ghost kitchens, and more boutiques will develop an online presence that reaches beyond their local neighborhoods.

Original post:
How will the coronavirus change our lives? - Fast Company

The Pentagons Defense Innovation Unit is looking to the private sector to develop space-based quantum sensing prototypes within two years the kind of sensors that could contribute to a space-based quantum internet.

Highlights:

Quantum technologies will render all previously existing stealth, encryption, and communications technologies obsolete, so naturally the Pentagon wants to develop quantum technologies as a matter of national security.

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has opened a solicitation to evaluate commercial solutions that utilize demonstrable quantum technology to achieve significant performance improvements for aerospace and other novel applications to include, but not limited to, inertial sensing, timing and gravimetry.

The DIU wants a prototype within 24 months that consists of acompact, high-performance quantum sensor for precision inertial measurement in deep space and other GPS-denied environments.

There are a lot of technical concepts that go into this technology, but for simplicitys sake, the DIU is looking for quantum sensing technology that can perform accurate measurements by overcoming the effects of gravity on time and space.

While the DIU did not go into any specifics about what the quantum sensing technology would actually be used for, we may gleam some ideas from what the military has already been researching specifically improved communications, precision navigation, and precision timing.

For example, the Air Force Research Laboratory has been investigating a variety of quantum-based sensors to create secure, jam-resistant alternatives to GPS, according to National Defense Magazine.

And because quantum sensors can detect radar signatures and beyond, they may be used by the military tobypass just about any stealth technology.

Other potential applications could include Earth defense mechanisms that could detect, prevent, or respond to missile attacks, asteroids, and comets, as well as keeping track of satellites and space debris that whiz around Earths orbit.

Additionally, a network of quantum technologies could offer the military security, sensing and timekeeping capabilities not possible with traditional networking approaches, according to the US Army Research Laboratory.

If we take the idea of quantum sensors a step further and into the realm of quantum sensing networks, then we are looking at one component of a quantum internet, when combined with quantum computing.

A quantum internet will be the platform of a quantum ecosystem, where computers, networks, and sensors exchange information in a fundamentally new manner where sensing, communication, and computing literally work together as one entity, Argonne Laboratory senior scientistDavid Awschalom told How Stuff Works.

The notion of a space-based quantum internet using satellite constellations is becoming even more enticing, as evidenced in the joint research paper, Spooky Action at a Global Distance Resource-Rate Analysis of a Space-Based Entanglement-Distribution Network for the Quantum Internet.

According to the scientists, Recent experimental breakthroughs in satellite quantum communications have opened up the possibility of creating a global quantum internet using satellite links, and, This approach appears to be particularly viable in the near term.

The paper seems to describe quantum technologies that are nearly identical to the ones the DIU is looking to build.

Aquantum internet would allow for the execution of other quantum-information-processing tasks, such as quantum teleportation, quantum clock synchronization, distributed quantum computation, and distributedquantum metrology and sensing, it reads.

SpaceX is already building a space-based internet through its Starlink program. Starlink looks to have 12,000 satellites orbiting the earth in a constellation that will beam high-speed internet to even the most remote parts of the planet.

The company led by Elon Musk has already launched some 360 satellites as part of the Starlink constellation.

All the news reports say that Starlink will provide either high-speed or broadband internet, and there are no mentions of SpaceX building a quantum internet, but the idea is an intriguing one.

SpaceX is already working with the Pentagon, the Air Force, NASA, and other government and defense entities.

In 2018, SpaceX won a $28.7 million fixed-price contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory for experiments in data connectivity involving ground sites, aircraft and space assets a project that could give a boost to the companys Starlink broadband satellite service, according to GeekWire.

Lets recap:

By the looks of it, the DIUs space-based quantum sensing prototypes could very well be components of a space-based quantum internet.

However, there has been no announcement from SpaceX saying that Starlink will be beaming down a quantum internet.

At any rate, well soon be looking at high-speed, broadband internet from above in the near future, quantum or otherwise.

Quantum computing: collaboration with the multiverse?

US Energy Dept lays foundation for quantum internet, funds $625M to establish quantum research centers over 5 years

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Pentagon wants commercial, space-based quantum sensors within 2 years - The Sociable