IBM to Sell Use of Its New 17-Qubit Quantum Computer over the Cloud

#IBM has created a 17- #qubit #quantumcomputer and is making plans to timeshare the machine with other companies via cloud computing. While this is an important step, it isn't quite enough to make quantum computers truly competitive compared to #supercomputers. What will it take to bring quantum computing into the commercial realm—and how long until we get there? Classical computing has been around for many years and has completely transformed the human race. Near instant communication between any two individuals used to be a dream. The idea of large calculations being done faster than you can blink was unimaginable. The concept of free information and education was too much for any University to handle. But it comes as no surprise that, now that these concepts are a reality, we've become dependent on them. This dependence places pressure on the industry to produce more powerful devices with every passing year. This was not an issue in the past since silicon devices were easy to scale down. But, with transistor gates as small as one-atom thick, shrinking may no longer be possible. Silicon, the building block of modern semiconductors, is already being phased out by Intel and future devices using feature sizes of 7nm and smaller will instead be made from materials such as Indium-Gallium-Arsenide (InGaAs).
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/ibm-to-sell-use-of-its-new-17-qubit-quantum-computer-over-the-cloud/