China Unveils World's First Light-Based Quantum Computer Surpassing Classical Machines

On May 3, the tech community received an exciting announcement: the world’s first optical quantum computer that surpasses early classic computers was born in China, marking the country’s entry into world‑leading quantum computing research.

Quantum computers exploit quantum superposition to achieve theoretically ultra‑fast parallel computation and simulation. If a traditional computer is likened to a bicycle, a quantum computer is comparable to an airplane; solving a massive equation set that would take a supercomputer 100 years can be done in 0.01 seconds with a trillion‑operation quantum machine.

The research team, building on a 2016 ten‑photon entanglement experiment, constructed a photonic quantum prototype whose boson‑sampling speed is 24,000 times faster than industry standards. Compared with classic algorithms, this prototype runs 10‑100 times faster than the first electronic‑tube computer (ENIAC) and the first transistor computer (TRADIC). The team expects to manipulate about 20 photonic qubits by the end of 2017.

In the superconducting domain, the team broke the U.S. record of nine‑qubit manipulation by independently developing a 10‑qubit superconducting circuit sample, achieving the world’s largest multi‑body pure entanglement of superconducting qubits and fully characterizing the 10‑qubit quantum state via tomography.

Two years ago, Alibaba and the Chinese Academy of Sciences co‑founded Asia’s first quantum computing laboratory, conducting forward‑looking research in quantum information science and bringing quantum computing from academia to real‑world applications. At the March Shenzhen Cloud Conference, Alibaba Cloud announced the world’s first cloud‑based quantum‑encrypted communication case, establishing multiple quantum‑secure transmission domains for unconditional data security.

Recently, Jack Ma announced Alibaba’s “NASA plan,” stating that quantum computing is the secret weapon to solve the computing resource scarcity anticipated in the next 10‑20 years.

It is projected that by 2025 quantum computing will reach the performance level of today’s fastest supercomputers, tackling major scientific challenges that are currently unsolvable.