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Useful, error-free quantum computers could be ready in just two years, researchers at the quantum computing firm QuEra have claimed.

Quantum computing is a quickly maturing technology, and the industry surrounding it is growing rapidly. The to today’s quantum computers having uses in chemistry, materials and drug development lies in how error-prone they are, which limits the complexity of computations they can run. Now, Yuval Boger at QuEra and his colleagues are confident that they will soon bypass this obstacle.

Libra, the firm’s fault-tolerant quantum computer – a computer that can catch and correct its own errors – is slated to arrive in 2028 and be available through the cloud through a collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Currently, a fully functional fault-tolerant quantum computer doesn’t exist. “Having the first fault-tolerant quantum computer will be like breaking the sound barrier,” says Boger.

The basic components of Libra, which are called qubits, will be made from extremely cold, electrically neutral atoms controlled with lasers. It will contain between 10,000 and 15,000 qubits, which will be partitioned into 256 groups called logical qubits, each of which will commit an error only once in a million times, even if individual qubits’ reliability within those groups is lower.

QuEra’s researchers project that this will enable Libra to run a “megaquop” or 1 million operations. In 2025, quantum computing expert at the California Institute of Technology told New ������ý that a megaquop machine could usher in a new era for quantum computing. But the leap that QuEra’s team must make to deliver on this promise is high. Currently, the largest array of neutral atom qubits contains 6100 of them, but they haven’t yet been used for computations. The largest number of error-corrected logical qubits made so far is 48. predict that they will be able to offer fault-tolerant quantum computers starting in 2029.

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at Atom Computing, which also makes neutral atom quantum computers, says that a fully functional computing system, as opposed to a laboratory demonstration, will require integrating many scientific and engineering advances. According to Boger, QuEra is currently running five experimental machines to perfect different aspects of Libra, such as replacing atoms that become faulty by getting warm, or managing the power of the large number of lasers needed, and to combining them.

“The balance has shifted from 90 per cent science to 10 per cent engineering to tipping more towards engineering,” says Boger. The firm’s scientists are also working on improving how conventional computers are used to control and monitor the qubits, as well as collaborating with the team at AWS on integrating Libra into the company’s conventional cloud infrastructure.

“There is still a lot to do,” says at Creighton University in Nebraska. “It’s plausible that they’ll get there by 2028, but it’s equally plausible that they’ll overshoot it by a couple of years or more.” at Horizon Quantum Computing says that the plan for Libra is certainly ambitious, but that the firm has already been involved in breakthroughs concerning error correction for quantum computers, so it has a strong track record. There are several different ways to make qubits, but the neutral atom approach lends itself to an easier conversion between qubits and logical qubits, which could prove to be a key advantage, he says.

Even if all goes according to plan, one question will remain: what can a megaquop machine do? Boger says it will be well-suited for complex simulations of systems from physics and materials science that are currently too difficult for conventional and existing quantum computers. And he hopes that researchers will use it to develop better quantum computing algorithms for the next generation of fault-tolerant machines. “I wouldn’t be surprised if most algorithms that end up being useful haven’t been discovered yet,” says Boger.

In Wong’s view, Libra stands a better chance of being a discovery machine more launching game-changing applications. “I’d say QuEra is hoping to shape the community’s research direction to help them figure out what to do with their 256 logical qubits,” he says.