These 9 Companies Are Heavily Involved in Quantum Computing R&D

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An original article by Lorimer Wilson, the Founder and Managing Editor of munKNEE.com – a site for sore eyes and inquisitive minds and your Key to making money which was first posted on TalkMarkets.com under the title Quantum Computing Hardware Developers Index with 964 pageviews to date.

An Introduction

Imagine a problem that would take even the world’s fastest supercomputer years to solve being solved in seconds. This is the promise of quantum computing (QC) but, while today’s leading QC firms (see below) still haven’t cracked the code on qubits, the subatomic particles that will eventually replace binary 1s and 0s, the next renaissance in computing might not be that far off.

Experts can’t come to a consensus as to when QC will become mainstream due to the difficulties to engineer, build, and program QC systems, including noise, faults, loss of quantum coherence and, of course, the high price tag associated with QC systems. Some believe QC will be able to break any existing digital encryption as soon as 2029 while others speculate we won’t see commercially available QCs until 2050. According to McKinsey’s estimation, the number of operational quantum computers is expected to only reach around 5,000 by 2030, so practical quantum QC is still years away but it will change the world when it arrives. Either way, the QC industry is a rapidly evolving and expanding field and, according to Precedence Research, is expected to experience growth by a compound annual growth rate of 36.9% between now and then.

There are close to 200 companies whose primary focus is on quantum Software according to The Quantum Insider, while just over 20 companies worldwide are working on quantum computer Processors and Chips.

Below are 9 companies that have stock that trades on American stock exchanges and are heavily involved in the research and development of qubits.

1. Micron Technology (MU):
   • began sampling its own HBM3 chips in July which are a 50% improvement in bandwidth over currently available solutions with mass production expected to begin early in calendar 2024, and meaningful revenue from this product in fiscal 2024.
2. IBM (IBM):
   • has its own QC chips and systems, which are available for commercial use via its Quantum business unit and, in partnership with UC Berkeley, has presented evidence that noisy quantum computers such as its 127 qubits processor will be able to provide value sooner than expected, all thanks to advances in IBM Quantum hardware and the development of new error mitigation methods.
3. Honeywell International (HON):
   • has spun off its quantum computer unit into a separate business and merged it with start-up Cambridge Quantum Computing into an entity called Quantinuum in which Honeywell has a 54% ownership stake. It also supplies Quantinuum with hardware and software as it develops its QC technology.
4. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD):
   • focuses on CPUs and GPUs and is a major player in the embedded chip market. It will be launching its MI300X AI chip, the most powerful AI chip in history with the power of 2.4 times that of Nvidia’s top devices in just one chip as well as 1.6 times the memory bandwidth, which will eliminate the need for half the chips AI companies desperately need.
5. Intel (INTC):
   • is investing heavily in QC research and development making significant headway in developing its QC hardware, software, and algorithms. Its chip is based on what it knows best – silicon chip technology – using some of the same techniques it uses to make classical computing chips but silicon is something of an underdog in the QC realm right now. QC is not central to Intel’s plan to regain dominance in the semiconductor industry but it could become an important segment for the integrated chip design in the years to come if research yields positive results.
6. Rigetti Computing (RGTI):
   • specializes in superconducting qubit technology and has developed a suite of software tools and algorithms for programming and simulating quantum computations.
7. Baidu (BIDU):
   • is involved in the development of both QC hardware and software introducing its first superconducting quantum computer with a 10-qubit processor and a 36-qubit quantum chip in August, 2022. Additionally, Baidu has pioneered the development of a comprehensive quantum hardware-software integration solution, enabling access to a wide range of quantum chips through various platforms such as cloud services, mobile applications, and personal computers.
8. D-Wave Quantum (QBTS):
   • is the leading provider of QC systems and software with a focus on quantum annealing technology.
9. IonQ (IONQ):
   • develops QC hardware and is the first to have its computing systems available via all the major public cloud services. It generates little in the way of revenue right now and is not yet profitable and will need to continue spending heavily to develop its products and business for at least a few more years. It plans to build a network of quantum computers accessible via the cloud and is targeting rapid growth in 2023 as researchers begin using its hardware at greater scale.

There are an additional 4 mega-cap companies very active in QC research and development and they are Microsoft (MSFT), NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA), Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), and Amazon.com Inc.