# Quantum Computing: Where We Are and Where We’re Headed | NVIDIA GTC 2025 Fireside Chat Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XB-LsfpvCU Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/9XB-LsfpvCU Generated: 2025-09-26T18:52:44.334+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang hosted the first Quantum Day at GTC 2025, inviting leaders from competing quantum computing modalities—including trapped ions, neutral atoms, superconducting qubits, and photonics—to discuss the state-of-the-art, clarify his previous controversial remarks about quantum utility timelines, and announce NVIDIA's new quantum research lab in Boston partnering initially with Quantum Machines and Quantinuum. **Key Points:** - Jensen Huang initiated Quantum Day at GTC 2025 to learn directly from quantum leaders after his statement on quantum utility caused industry stocks to drop significantly, leading him to state, "the world's got this wrong." - NVIDIA clarified its role: "NVIDIA doesn't make quantum computers, but we dedicate ourselves to creating accelerated computing stacks to enable quantum computers," citing tools like CUDAQ, cuQuantum libraries, and DGX Quantum for error correction. - NVIDIA announced the start of a new, highly advanced accelerated computing, hybrid quantum computing research lab in Boston, intending to partner initially with Quantum Machines and Quantinuum. - Different modalities presented their status: QuEra (neutral atoms) emphasizes identical, well-isolated qubits and evolving connectivity; Rigetti (superconducting) highlights scalability and improved gate fidelity now reaching 99% to 99.5%; Quantinuum (trapped ion) claims the industry's highest fidelities, projecting 100 logical qubits in 18 months. - D-Wave, using superconducting annealing, reported a useful computation of magnetic material properties that would take nearly a million years classically, and introduced a distributed quantum application for blockchain proof-of-work. - The discussion emphasized that quantum machines should be seen as specialized, complementary "quantum processors" or "precision instruments" for hard quantum problems, not replacements for classical computers, which is a necessary reframing to manage expectations. - Future outlooks included goals for next year: Alan Baratz hoped for better model training/inference with lower power consumption; Peter Chapman predicted the first prototypes of a new kind of AGI based on quantum learning. **Context:** The Fireside Chat at NVIDIA GTC 2025, titled "Quantum Computing: Where We Are and Where We’re Headed," featured CEO Jensen Huang hosting leaders from various quantum computing companies for the first time. The event was convened partly because Huang's previous comments about the timeline for useful quantum computers caused a significant negative reaction in the quantum industry stock market, prompting him to invite the industry experts on stage to explain the current state of the art across diverse technological approaches like trapped ions, neutral atoms, and superconducting qubits. ## Detailed Analysis The session served as a comprehensive status update on the diverse field of quantum computing, with leaders from QuEra, Rigetti, Quantinuum, Pasqal, D-Wave, Atom Computing, Inflection, Seek, Alice and Bob, Quantum Circuits, and Side Quantum presenting their chosen modalities. QuEra (neutral atoms) focuses on laser control and evolving connectivity, enabling thousands of qubits. Rigetti (superconducting) noted achieving 99-99.5% two-qubit gate fidelity, leveraging semiconductor scaling, while advocating for an open, modular stack. Quantinuum (trapped ions) stressed their industry-leading fidelity, planning for 100 logical qubits soon. Pasqal (neutral atoms) focuses on engineering industrial products, having delivered four machines worldwide. D-Wave, using annealing, demonstrated a useful computation on magnetic materials beyond classical reach and explored quantum proof-of-work for blockchain. A major theme was the debate over terminology: Huang suggested reframing quantum computers as specialized "instruments" because holding them to the standard of general-purpose computers sets unrealistic expectations, a sentiment echoed by several panelists, though others, like Rob Shov, argued that applications like materials discovery go beyond mere instrumentation. NVIDIA's commitment is to the ecosystem, not building quantum computers directly, highlighted by the launch of the Boston research lab with Quantum Machines and Quantinuum as inaugural partners. Companies like Alice and Bob (superconducting cat qubits) focus on hardware-level error correction to slash qubit requirements, while Seek emphasizes extreme energy efficiency (3 nanowatts per qubit control) and digital control for seamless integration with GPUs, proposing a heterogeneous compute platform. ### NVIDIA's Role and New Initiative - NVIDIA creates accelerated computing stacks (CUDAQ, cuQuantum, DGX Quantum) but does not build quantum computers itself - NVIDIA announced a new quantum research lab in Boston, partnering initially with Quantum Machines and Quantinuum to collaborate with Harvard and MIT. ### Superconducting Modality Update - Rigetti achieved 99-99.5% two-qubit gate fidelity, emphasizing scalability via silicon chip knowledge - D-Wave uses annealing and demonstrated a useful computation on magnetic materials that would take millions of years classically - Alice and Bob use cat qubits for inherent hardware-level error correction, aiming for a 200-fold reduction in required qubits - Quantum Circuits employs dual-rail qubits for error detection at the hardware level under the mantra "correct first, then scale." ### Neutral Atom Modality Update - QuEra uses laser arrays to assemble atoms, achieving long coherence times and evolving connectivity - Pasqal focuses on engineering these systems into industrial products, having delivered four machines globally - Atom Computing breached the thousand-qubit mark, emphasizing high fidelity and all-to-all connectivity - Inflection leverages neutral atoms' room-temperature operation for flexibility, monetizing clocks and sensors alongside computing. ### Trapped Ion Modality Update - Quantinuum claims the industry's highest fidelities and projects reaching 100 logical qubits in about 18 months - IonQ, tracing roots to 1995 NIST experiments, notes trapped ions offer the best average two-qubit gate fidelities and potential for room-temperature, rack-based systems. ### Photonics and Digital Control - Side Quantum focuses on building million-qubit, fault-tolerant machines using single photons on silicon photonics chips, leveraging existing data center tech for manufacturing and cooling - Seek promotes its digitally controlled, multiplexed superconducting computer built for energy efficiency (3 nanowatts per qubit control) to facilitate seamless QPU-GPU integration. ### Defining Usefulness and Future Trajectory - Panelists largely agreed quantum computers are specialized "quantum processors" or "precision instruments" best used for inherently quantum problems that classical systems cannot solve, such as complex chemistry or material science discovery - The consensus for next year includes seeing the first tangible use cases of AI agents working in conjunction with quantum computers (gen Q AI) and achieving new scientific discoveries facilitated by these machines.