Commentary and a selection of the most important recent news, articles, and papers about Quantum.
Today’s Brief Commentary
This is my last quantum newsletter for 2024, and I’m anxious to get going with 2025. This year had many highlights but was marred by extra hype and public misunderstandings in the last several weeks. I don’t think these will magically stop with the turn of a calendar page, but at least they will be last year’s news and silliness.
When considering the recent run-ups in some AI, quantum, and other deep tech stocks, it’s essential to remember and understand the Dot Com Bubble of a quarter century ago. The first link below is a primer.
There will always be apologists who claim that things are radically different this time and that “irrational exuberance” is not at play. Maybe, but bubbles are bubbles, and you should not take investing advice from cheerleaders. Get guidance from those who know the tech, market, history, and financial fundamentals. I have read many industry social media posts that are sorely lacking in at least one of those four areas.
I offer this as constructive advice, not a bummer on the tech stock market. For more fun topics, see the links below to a podcast with Brian Siegelwax and me, a great summary of quantum in 2024, and some predictions for 2025.
Don’t forget to check out and bookmark my new sortable list of upcoming quantum technology conferences.
Earnings Announcements and Financial Dealings
What Was the Dot-Com Bubble & Why Did It Burst? | The Street
https://www.thestreet.com/dictionary/dot-com-bubble-and-burst
Author: Jeremy Salvucci
Date: Thursday, January 12, 2023
Commentary: I suspect there are some among my readers who were too young or are not familiar with the Dot Com Bubble and collapse in the the late 1990s and early 2000s. The economic situations then and now are not exactly the same, for example, regarding interest rates, but I think it is important to know this history before getting too bullish on AI and quantum stocks.
Excerpt: The dot-com bubble was a period during which rampant speculation and bullish investment led to the overvaluation (and subsequent crash) of the young internet technology industry on Wall Street.
Newsletters
The YEAR in Quantum Computing – (December 30th) | Wrapping up 2024!
https://quantumpirates.substack.com/p/the-year-in-quantum-computing-december
Author: Sergio Gago
Date: Monday, December 30, 2024
Commentary: I’m not doing a 2024 wrapup, but luckily Sergio Gago has done a fine job here for us.
Excerpt: Your 2024 Quantum Wrap!
Podcasts
Dancing with Dr. Bob Sutor | by Brian N. Siegelwax
Author: Brian N. Siegelwax
Date: Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Commentary: I had a lot of fun talking to Brian about a broad range of quantum topics, though I don’t think I mentioned my cats enough.
Excerpt: Enjoy some “easy listening” this holiday season as Dr. Bob Sutor and I play a game I invented called “trigger word association.” We also talked about caffeine, coffee, his books, and his newsletter, but hey, we played a game too!
Post-Quantum Cryptography and Security
Guidelines for Cryptography | Australian Signals Directorate
Date: Thursday, December 12, 2024
Commentary: These are the Australian guidelines for cryptography. Once you land on the page. I suggest you search for ‘quantum’ to see which forms of the new NIST post-quantum cryptography standards they are requiring and which classical methods they are deprecating and when.
Excerpt: Encryption of data at rest can be used to protect sensitive or classified data stored on information technology (IT) equipment and media. In addition, encryption of data in transit can be used to protect sensitive or classified data communicated over public network infrastructure. However, when an organisation uses encryption for data at rest, or data in transit, they are not reducing the sensitivity or classification of the data, they are simply reducing the immediate consequences of the data being accessed by malicious actors.
Quantum Computing
With NSF grant, Yale and industry team up to harness quantum’s potential | Yale News
https://news.yale.edu/2024/12/19/nsf-grant-yale-and-industry-team-harness-quantums-potential
Author: William Weir
Date: Thursday, December 19, 2024
Excerpt: A Yale-led project that aims to develop quantum technology into practical applications has been awarded a prestigious grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Erasure Qubits and Dynamic Circuits for Quantum Advantage (ERASE), a pilot project led by Yale physicist Steven Girvin, is a collaboration between academia and an industrial hardware partner, Quantum Circuits, Inc. (QCI), a Connecticut-based company that aims to bring to market the first practical quantum computers.
Rigetti Computing Launches 84-Qubit Ankaa™-3 System; Achieves 99.5% Median Two-Qubit Gate Fidelity Milestone
Date: Monday, December 23, 2024
Commentary: Looking forward to seeing the full specs at the qubit level and comparisons with recent chips from Google and IBM. “fSim” is an abbreviation for Fermionic Simulation.
Excerpt: Rigetti Computing, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGTI) (“Rigetti” or the “Company”), a pioneer in full-stack quantum-classical computing, announced today the public launch of its 84-qubit Ankaa-3 system. Ankaa-3 is Rigetti’s newest flagship quantum computer featuring an extensive hardware redesign that enables superior performance. Rigetti also celebrates major two-qubit gate fidelity milestones with Ankaa-3: successfully halving error rates in 2024 to achieve a median 99.0% iSWAP gate fidelity, as well as demonstrating 99.5% median fidelity fSim gates.
Norma Secures $18M Contract to Supply Quantum Computer to Saudi IT Company | Quantum Computing Report
Date: Thursday, December 26, 2024
Commentary: A system this small is only useful for research, education, and experimentation. You can easily simulate 3 to 4 times this many qubits on a classical computer.
Excerpt: Norma will deliver its superconducting quantum computer “Qrion”, capable of over 10 qubits, by mid-2025. The system includes the Q Platform for quantum programming and Quantum Artificial Intelligence (Q AI) features, providing a full-stack solution.
TQI’s 2025 Predictions For The Quantum Industry | The Quantum Insider
https://thequantuminsider.com/2024/12/30/tqis-2025-predictions-for-the-quantum-industry/
Author: Matt Swayne
Date: Monday, December 30, 2024
Commentary: We will see, especially about the IPOs, which I have doubts about unless there are big corporations behind the startups-turned-public, ready to bail them out.
Excerpt: The Quantum Insider’s presents its predictions on the quantum technology industry for the coming new year.
