Can competitions speed up the commercialisation of deep technologies such as quantum? The XPrize Foundation thinks so
Photo credits: AliseFox / BigStock
Despite many promises, quantum computing researchers have yet to develop algorithms that can make quantum hardware outperform classical computer systems in a useful way. The European Commission’s view, set out in its quantum strategy, is that both quantum hardware and software are still not mature, and it will take another 10 to 15 years to bring the technology to market using conventional methods.
But some think that injecting some market-like competition could speed things up. This is the motivation behind the XPrize Quantum Applications prize, a $5 million international competition to create quantum computing algorithms for real-world use.
The 20 semi-finalists announced on 17 October hope to generate powerful quantum…
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