Washington DC [US], October 23 (HBTV): In a significant step towards real-world applications of quantum computing, Google Quantum AI's Willow chip has achieved the 'first-ever verifiable quantum advantage', successfully running its Quantum Echoes algorithm at a speed 13,000 times faster than the best classical algorithm executed on the world’s fastest supercomputer.
Sharing the breakthrough on X, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted how the new algorithm can explain interactions between atoms in a molecule using nuclear magnetic resonance and could pave the way for discoveries in drug development and materials science.
‘New breakthrough quantum algorithm published in Nature today: Our Willow chip has achieved the first-ever verifiable quantum advantage. Willow ran the algorithm — which we've named Quantum Echoes — 13,000x faster than the best classical algorithm on one of the world's fastest supercomputers. This new algorithm can explain interactions between atoms in a molecule using nuclear magnetic resonance, paving a path towards potential future uses in drug discovery and materials science,’ Pichai wrote.
He added that the result obtained with the Willow chip is verifiable, meaning it can be replicated by other quantum computers or confirmed through experiments. ‘This breakthrough is a significant step toward the first real-world application of quantum computing, and we're excited to see where it leads,’ Pichai said.
According to Google, the Quantum Echoes algorithm allows computation of molecular structures and demonstrates the potential for quantum computers to simulate natural systems. The Willow chip had earlier shown major progress in quantum error suppression, solving a three-decade-old challenge in 2024.
The Quantum Echoes algorithm is based on an out-of-order time correlator (OTOC), a tool used in quantum mechanics to measure information scrambling and dynamics. Google said the technology can be applied to studying systems ranging from molecules and magnets to black holes.
In a separate proof-of-principle experiment, the company demonstrated Quantum computation of molecular geometry via many-body nuclear spin echoes, introducing a ‘molecular ruler’ capable of measuring longer distances than current techniques by leveraging nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data to extract detailed chemical information.
Google noted that this marks the first time in history a quantum computer has verifiably outperformed supercomputers in computation. The company explained that the results can be repeated on its quantum processor or others of similar capacity, confirming the findings.
‘This repeatable, beyond-classical computation is the basis for scalable verification, bringing quantum computers closer to becoming tools for practical applications,’ Google stated in its blog.
The new technique functions like an advanced echo — sending a finely tuned signal into the quantum system, perturbing one qubit, then reversing the signal’s evolution to detect the resulting ‘echo’ from the Willow chip’s qubits.
(ANI)