Quantum computing is coming faster than you think, and cars can explain it
Advanced Computing, AI/ML, Chips, and Extended Reality
Good morning,
DOGE controversy persists as Democrats try to find their footing in the topsy-turvy D.C. environment. Bill Gates and Google’s head of quantum, Al Hartmut Neven, dispute Nvidia’s Huang’s assertion that useful QC is 20 years away. Gates and Neven believe it’s 3-5 years out. D-Wave continues flailing their arms on the sidelines trying to get attention for their quantum annealing computing that’s already deployed.
In AI, Google has returned to the DoD fold, years after stepping away after employee demands that the company abandon the Project Maven effort. That employee coup was largely predicated on total misunderstanding of AI and the ethics of defense technology.
Alright, this week, we’re digging into the Uncertainty Principle as we explore quantum technology at a very high level.
Quantum Mechanics for Dummies, Part 3
The Uncertainty Principle: Embracing Nature’s Built-in Blurriness
Last week we talked about the dual nature of light—how it can act both as a wave and as a particle. This week, we turn our attention to another fundamental concept that challenges our everyday intuition: the Uncertainty Principle.
What Is the Uncertainty Principle?
At its heart, the Uncertainty Principle tells us that there are fundamental limits to how precisely we can know certain pairs of properties about a quantum object. The most famous example is the relationship between a particle’s position (where it is) and its momentum (how fast it’s moving and in what direction—or in other words, where it’s going). In the quantum world, the more accurately you determine a particle’s position, the less precisely you can know its momentum, and vice versa.
It’s Not Just a Measurement Problem
You might think, “Surely, we just need better tools or more precise instruments!” But here’s the twist: this isn’t a flaw in our measurement devices—it’s a built-in feature of nature at very small scales. In quantum mechanics, this limitation isn’t about human error; it’s an intrinsic property of particles. Think of it as nature’s way of keeping some secrets hidden.
A Simple Analogy
Imagine you’re trying to take a photo of a speeding car at night. If you use a long exposure, you capture the light trails, showing you the path of the car but blurring its exact position at any given moment. On the other hand, if you use a very fast shutter speed, you might capture the car’s precise location, but you lose the sense of its motion. In a similar way, trying to pin down both a quantum particle’s exact position and momentum simultaneously is impossible—the more one is defined, the fuzzier the other becomes.
Why Does This Matter?
The Uncertainty Principle isn’t just a quirky aspect of quantum mechanics; it’s a cornerstone of how the quantum world operates. Here’s why it’s so important:
Fundamental Limits: It sets a natural limit on our ability to predict the behavior of quantum systems, ensuring that randomness plays a central role in the microscopic world.
Technological Impact: This principle underlies many modern technologies. For instance, it plays a role in the behavior of electrons in semiconductors, which are the foundation of all our digital devices.
A New View of Reality: It challenges our classical ideas of a deterministic universe, inviting us to embrace a world where probabilities, rather than certainties, govern the smallest particles.
The uncertainty principle imposes limits on the precision with which we can measure and control quantum systems, posing challenges like decoherence and quantum noise that demand advanced error correction in quantum computing. However, these very uncertainties also enable essential quantum phenomena—such as superposition and entanglement—that allow quantum computers to process complex calculations in parallel, paradoxically making the uncertainty principle both a constraint and the source of quantum computational power.
The Bigger Picture
The Uncertainty Principle forces us to rethink the nature of reality. In our everyday lives, we’re used to things being solid, precise, and predictable. But in the quantum realm, a little bit of “blurriness” isn’t a sign of imperfection—it’s a fundamental aspect of how the universe works. Embracing this uncertainty opens up a new perspective on the world, one where unpredictability isn’t a flaw, but a feature that allows us to affect the microscopic world in interesting ways and ultimately unlocking incredible opportunities for advanced computing.
Next week, we’ll dive into the mysterious world of quantum tunneling which provides the foundation for quantum annealing, a computing technique used by companies like D-Wave.
Alright, let’s dig in to the news.
News Headlines:
Trump says Musk to uncover billions in ‘fraud and abuse’ at US Pentagon (AlJ)
Trump says he has spoken to Putin about ending the Ukraine war (RT)
Trump says some white South Africans are oppressed and could be resettled in the US; they say no thanks (AP)
Dr. No can eat his heart out; Musk’s DOGE work at Dept. of Energy could give him access to nukes (TV)
Musk wants judge that enforced ‘need to know’ standards impeached (TH)
Corey Booker has a plan to push back on what he sees as executive overreach (TH)
Quantum Tech:
Google says commercial quantum computing applications arriving within five years (RT)
Bill Gates also thinks we could see useful QC inn 3-5 years (YF)
Top Chinese defense tech, quantum tech, and AI tech talent have mysteriously disappeared (SCMP)
DARPA continues quest to validate quantum computing utility by 2033 (DN)
SECQAI integrates quantum into large language models (QI)
Quantum teleportation used to distribute a calculation (AT)
Researchers twist layers of graphene unlocking new quantum properties that freeze electrons while allowing electrical current (ST)
D-Wave launches ‘Quantum Realized’ campaign to raise awareness of currently available quantum computing benefits (STTN)
Xanadu Quantum Technologies builds world’s first universal photonic quantum computer (DCD)
Quantinuum unveils first-ever quantum-generated data framework for AI applications (TM)
AI / ML
Pentagon prototypes AI platform to better analyze adversaries' news media (DS)
Nearly 7 years after abandoning Project Maven, Google is willing to help with autonomous weapons again (DO)
Army finalizing contracting approach for scaled-up version of enterprise data platform (DS)
OpenAI launches ChatGPT Gov, to support government, non-public, sensitive information (FS)
Marines use genAI tech during long deployment to the Pacific (DS)
France unveiled a $112.5B AI investment plan (RT)
Palantir partners with data-labeling startup Enabled Intelligence to improve accuracy of AI models (DS)
UAE to invest billions of euros in France to help develop a new AI campus--the largest in Europe (FTN)
Apple’s ELEGNT framework could make home robots feel less like machines and more like companions (VB)
DeepMind claims its AI performs better than International Mathematical Olympiad gold medalists (TC)
AR / VR / XR
Meta invests $100B into AR / VR, smart glasses (XRT)
Apple discontinues work on new AR glasses (TR)
Designium launches innovative WebAR template service to allow companies to better interact with webusers (PRN)
Deal Flow:
Funds
SEALSQ allocates up to $20M to invest in quantum, AI startups (QI)
VC
OpenAI is in talks to raise capital from Abu Dhabi investment group MGX as part of historic $40B fundraise led by SoftBank at a $300B valuation (RT)
Safe Superintelligence, an AI startup founded by OpenAI's ex-chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, is in talks to raise funding at a $20B valuation (RT)
ElevenLabs, an AI audio company, raised a $180M Series C at a $3.3B valuation led by a16z and ICONIQ Growth (TC)
Semgrep raised a $100M Series D led by Menlo Ventures to deploy AI to analyze source code for potential security flaws (PRN)
Salience Labs, a photonic solutions startup targeting connectivity for AI datacenter infrastructure, raised a $30M Series A led by ICM HPQC Fund and Applied Ventures (BW)
IONATE, a deeptech hardware/software solutions for smart electricity grids, raised a $17M Series A round led by AlbionVC (EUS)
PE / M&A / Exits / Other
SoftBank is in advanced talks to acquire chip design startup Ampere Computing at $6.5B valuation, including debt (BBG)
Applied Intuition acquires AI software firm EpiSci for an undisclosed amount (GCW)
Opportunities:
DARPA wants proposals about robust quantum sensing (SAM)
The Agency will also be hosting a proposer’s day with industry for its SABER program to build an AI red team (SAM)
Lighter Side:
Keep Building,
BOF
Very good coverage and especially appreciate the quantum news.