Skip to main content

Lockheed-Martin Purchases D-Wave's First Quantum Computer

D-WaveD-Wave out of Canada has just sold the first of its commercial quantum computers and they sold it to Lockheed-Martin. However, it wasn't as easy as your average sale. Despite the fact that D-Wave managed to make the sale, the company had to do it despite a debate over whether it truly was a quantum computer.

Back in February 2007 D-Wave demonstrated a machine that could solve problems regular computers are incapable of solving, in principle that is. The reason it is only in principle is because the tests run on the computer were not impossible on a regular computer. This created a fair bit of doubt among some that the chip was actually performing quantum-mechanical computations.

The computer works differently than the regular "gate model" of quantum computing where a series of quantum bits can be encoded as either 0, 1 or both simultaneously. D-Wave's machine uses something researchers are calling "adiabatic quantum computing" or "quantum annealing". However, some people disagree that this process is actually, truly quantum computing.

But despite all this, Lockheed-Martin wasn't turned away. The company just recently signed a deal with D-Wave to purchase a quantum computer for an estimated $10 million. This agreement will span multiple years and include system maintenance as well as various other professional services.

As of right now, it is unclear what Lockheed-Martin plans on doing with the computer. However, according to D-Wave's President and CEO Vern Brownell, "Our combined strength will provide capacity for innovation needed to tackle important unresolved computational problems of today and tomorrow. Our relationship will allow us to significantly advance the potential of quantum computing."

This is the second biggest deal the company has signed in the past couple of years with the biggest being a tie-up with Google in order to improve image search algorithms. Despite the fact that D-Wave's technology has not been 100% proven, Lockheed-Martin has still seen it as worthy of a $10 million investment. If anything, it gives them first access to this kind of technology.

Source: Wired - D-Wave sells its first 'quantum' computer

SMBnow.com is news of, for and by SMBs!
SMBnow.com... The Small & Medium Business Magazine!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Windows 10 Spying Concerns: Are They Still Viable?

When Windows 10 first launched many users quick to flock to the new operating system as they were in a hurry to get away from Windows 8. However, a lot of those users became unsure of Windows 10 when reports started coming in that the operating system was practically spying on everything you did. Some of the reports were completely false while others held some truth but were completely blown out of proportion. With the operating system now available for over 8 months, it's time to take a look at all the concerns people had and whether or not those worries are still relevant today. Read more about this topic on the ComputerServiceNow Blog !
Post a Comment
Read more

Apple's all new 12" MacBook and a higher-res sixth-gen iPad for 2014

Apple has a newly designed 12-inch MacBook featuring a high-resolution display, and a new 9.7-inch sixth-generation iPad with an even higher pixel count than the most current Retina display. Both are to be released next year according to knowledgeable insider Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo, who is an an analyst working for KGI Securities , has said that Apple has a ton of major new products in the works for 2014. The biggest one being the new 12-inch MacBook which will feature what he said is an "ultra-slim clamshell form factor." He says this new and improved MacBook will bring the best of both worlds from both the portability of the 11-inch MacBook Air and the greater productivity brought by the 13-inch model. The display is said to be up to par with Apple's high-resolution MacBook Pro Retina display. Kuo says that the newest MacBook being worked on will "redefine laptop computing once again following the milestone created by the MacBook Air." Despite all the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lenovo CEO Shares Bonus With Employees

With a large abundance of PC manufacturers out there all trying to sell you the same things, Lenovo, a Chinese multinational technology firm,  and their CEO Yang Yuanqing are implementing some generous small business tactics that may be contributing to their success. Lenovo has pushed their way into the top of PC manufacturing, surpassing $34 billion in sales. This company brings you all the day to day technology you would use including PC's, tablets, workstations, servers, electronic storage devices, and IT management software. Lenovo is also becoming a smartphone manufacturer, with rumors saying that they may even buy out Blackberry. It's hard to ignore the apparent success of Lenovo, and it's even harder not to connect it to the selfless actions of their CEO, Yang Yuanqing.   Instead of simply pocketing his $3+ million dollar bonus due to the company's success, Yang Yuanqing took it upon himself to share his bonus with his 10,000 manufacturing employee...
Post a Comment
Read more