The concept of quantum computing isn’t new, but its use by businesses is.
Funding of start-ups focussed on quantum technologies rose to $1.4 billion in 2021 as businesses began to unlock its real-world value. This investment shows no sign of slowing down, but what exactly is quantum computing and how can it help you?
According to AWS, quantum computers “are able to solve certain types of problems faster than classical computers by taking advantage of quantum mechanical effects such as superposition and quantum interference. Some applications where quantum computers can provide such a speed boost include machine learning (ML), optimization, and simulation of physical systems.”
Computers that can solve complex problems very quickly? Sounds great! IBM think so too – they partnered with the Cleveland Clinic in March 2023 to unveil the Cleveland Clinic-IBM Discovery Accelerator, a quantum computer which also uses AI and hybrid cloud to accelerate biomedical research into screening and optimising drugs targeted to specific proteins, predicting cardiovascular risk following non-cardiac surgery, finding effective existing drugs to help patients with Alzheimer’s and other diseases, and developing treatments and vaccines for pathogens and virus-related diseases.
As well as life sciences, McKinsey & Co suggest that the automotive, financial services, and chemicals industries will also be able to harness the benefits of quantum computing to increase their value by up to £1 trillion by 2035. This harnessing is already happening – in its February 2023 edition, entitled “The Quantum Leap”, Time magazine reported that companies like BASF and Bosch have run pilot projects using quantum algorithms to “double foreign-exchange trading profits and catch almost four times as many production-line defects.”
By using quantum computing to help with processes like financial modelling, route and traffic optimisation, manufacturing, chemical research, AI and machine learning, and battery optimisation, businesses can harness the power of quantum computing in real-life applications to accelerate and streamline key processes – and we all know that every business appreciates the importance of speed and simplicity on the ever-crucial bottom line.
So, what are you waiting for?
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