US Launches $215 Million Race to Build an Error-Corrected Quantum Computer by 2028

Quantum computers could eventually solve scientific problems beyond the reach of conventional supercomputers, but today’s machines are too error-prone for practical work. The US Department of Energy has now launched a $215 million competition challenging teams to build a scientifically useful, fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2028.

In recent years, both governments and companies have ploughed huge sums of money into quantum computing in the hope of cracking problems in fields like chemistry and materials science. But despite significant progress, the qubits these machines rely on remain fragile and prone to errors that can quickly derail calculations.

This means the technology has so far remained confined to tackling toy problems, and it’s now widely agreed that they won’t be of practical use until they achieve full fault-tolerance. But error-correction schemes rely on spreading information across many qubits to create so-called “logical qubits,” which requires much larger devices than have been demonstrated so far.

Now, the Department of Energy hopes to accelerate the advent of fault-tolerant quantum computers with the Quantum Genesis Q Competition. With a total prize pot of $215 million, the contest challenges private companies to deliver a machine with at least 100 logical qubits that can tackle scientifically relevant calculations by 2028.

“This competition will enable new quantum computing capabilities and unleash new computational frontiers, driving new scientific and technological discoveries that have previously only been theorized,” Darío Gil, the department’s under secretary for science, said in a statement.

The competition fleshes out a goal Gil first announced in March, when he told the inaugural meeting of the agency’s Office of Science Advisory Committee that the government would partner with industry to deliver the first generation of fault-tolerant quantum computers within three years.

The latest announcement spells out how the department plans to meet that ambitious target by providing companies with a roadmap and financial incentives. In the first phase of the competition, applicants can receive fixed awards of up to $1.5 million each for hitting early milestones, though those milestones have not been announced yet.

But the bulk of the money will be distributed in the second phase, with a $100 million to be split among teams that demonstrate a first-generation machine with at least 100 logical qubits. Two additional $50 million bonus pools will be divided between those that reach 150 and 200 logical qubits.