Researchers at the California Institute of Technology propose that operational quantum computers may require far fewer qubits than prior estimates, potentially enabling the first useful machines before the decade’s end. Working with a Caltech-linked startup, Oratomic, the team says reducing the high error rates in current devices could allow a fault-tolerant quantum computer built from roughly 10,000 to 20,000 qubits, rather than the millions once thought necessary.
A qubit is the quantum equivalent of a classical bit for encoding information. Caltech researchers describe a new error-correction architecture based on neutral-atom systems, where atoms are physically moved and linked over long distances using lasers known as optical tweezers. This capability to shuttle and directly entangle atoms enables far more efficient error correction.
Caltech theoretical physicist John Preskill said the approach “dramatically reduces the resource estimates for fault-tolerant quantum computing,” adding, “This progress makes me optimistic that broadly useful quantum computing will soon be a reality.”
Manuel Endres, a Caltech physics professor who recently assembled the largest qubit array to date, emphasized the platform’s connectivity: “Unlike other quantum computing platforms, neutral atom qubits can be directly connected over large distances. Optical tweezers can shuttle one atom to the other end of the array and directly entangle it with another atom.” According to the team, their methods can encode each logical qubit using as few as five physical qubits, compared with roughly a thousand required by conventional error-correction schemes—a step they call “ultra-efficient error correction.”
Oratomic will collaborate with Caltech’s Advanced Quantum Computing Mission on ongoing research aimed at building a utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer. The findings come amid heightened attention to quantum capabilities: a recent Google paper suggested quantum machines might need far less power to threaten current cryptography than previously believed, and Google has urged developers to migrate to post-quantum cryptography (PQC), setting a 2029 timeline for PQC migration efforts.
The Caltech work indicates that practical quantum computing and its related impacts on cryptography and computing could be closer than many expect. Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism; readers are encouraged to verify information independently. Read our Editorial Policy at https://cointelegraph.com/editorial-policy