Quantum Computing Timeline

Quantum Computing 25

1980 Paul Benioff describes a quantum Turing machine First model of a quantum computer Paul Benioff of Argonne National Laboratory shows that a computer could in principle run according to the laws of quantum mechanics, in the first detailed model of a quantum computer.
1981 Richard Feynman proposes simulating nature with quantum computers Simulating Physics with Computers At a conference at MIT, Richard Feynman argues that ordinary computers cannot efficiently simulate quantum systems, and that a computer built from quantum parts could. The talk becomes the founding argument of the field.
1984 Bennett and Brassard invent quantum key distribution The BB84 protocol Charles Bennett of IBM and Gilles Brassard of the University of Montreal publish BB84, a way to share an encryption key whose secrecy rests on the laws of physics. It starts the field of quantum cryptography.
1985 David Deutsch describes the universal quantum computer Oxford Oxford physicist David Deutsch defines a universal quantum computer, able to simulate any physical process, and gives the first hint that it could beat a classical machine at some tasks.
1992 Deutsch and Jozsa find a problem quantum computers solve faster The Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm David Deutsch and Richard Jozsa publish an algorithm that solves a contrived problem exponentially faster than any deterministic classical method, the first clear example of quantum speed-up.
1994 Peter Shor's algorithm shows quantum computers could break RSA Shor's factoring algorithm Peter Shor of Bell Labs shows that a quantum computer could factor large numbers exponentially faster than known classical methods. Because RSA and other common encryption rely on factoring being hard, the result turns quantum computing into a security question.
1995 First quantum logic gate built at NIST A trapped-ion controlled-NOT gate Christopher Monroe and David Wineland at NIST in Boulder make a controlled-NOT gate with a single trapped beryllium ion, following a proposal by Ignacio Cirac and Peter Zoller earlier that year.
1995 Peter Shor devises quantum error correction The nine-qubit code Shor shows that fragile quantum information can be protected by spreading one logical qubit over nine physical ones. Error correction becomes the route to large, reliable machines.
1996 Lov Grover's quantum search algorithm Bell Labs Lov Grover of Bell Labs publishes a quantum algorithm that searches an unsorted list in roughly the square root of the steps a classical computer needs.
1998 First quantum algorithms run on NMR machines Two qubits in a test tube Teams at Oxford and at IBM, Berkeley and MIT use nuclear magnetic resonance on molecules in liquid to run the Deutsch-Jozsa and Grover algorithms on two qubits, the first quantum algorithms run on real hardware.
1999 First superconducting qubit demonstrated at NEC The Cooper-pair box Yasunobu Nakamura, Yuri Pashkin and Jaw-Shen Tsai at NEC in Japan control a qubit made from a superconducting circuit. Superconducting qubits later become the basis of the IBM and Google machines.
2001 IBM factors 15 with Shor's algorithm Seven qubits Researchers at IBM Almaden and Stanford use a seven-qubit NMR machine to run Shor's algorithm and find that 15 equals 3 times 5, the first demonstration of quantum factoring.
2007 Yale researchers invent the transmon qubit A more stable superconducting qubit A Yale team led by Robert Schoelkopf designs the transmon, a superconducting qubit far less sensitive to electrical noise. It becomes the most widely used qubit design.
2011 D-Wave sells the first commercial quantum computer D-Wave One The Canadian company D-Wave Systems sells its D-Wave One, a quantum annealer with 128 qubits, to Lockheed Martin. Whether such annealers give a real quantum speed-up remains debated.
2016 IBM quantum computing — first public quantum computer IBM makes a 5-qubit quantum computer available via the cloud in May 2016 — the first time anyone can access a real quantum computer without owning one. The IBM Quantum Experience allows researchers, students and developers to run experiments on real quantum hardware. IBM expands its quantum systems to 27 qubits (2019), 65 qubits (2020) and 433 qubits (2022). IBM's quantum programme is the most open and accessible in the world and positions IBM as the leader in practical quantum computing.
2019 IBM unveils Q System One The first integrated quantum computer At CES in Las Vegas, IBM shows Q System One, a 20-qubit quantum computer in a sealed glass case, presented as the first integrated system built for commercial use.
2019 Google claims quantum supremacy Quantum computer solves problem in 200 seconds Google announced that its Sycamore quantum processor had achieved quantum supremacy on October 23, 2019, performing a specific calculation in 200 seconds that would take a classical supercomputer 10,000 years.
2020 China's Jiuzhang claims photonic quantum advantage University of Science and Technology of China A team led by Pan Jianwei reports that Jiuzhang, a machine that computes with photons, performed a boson-sampling task in minutes that they estimate would take a supercomputer billions of years.
2022 IBM 433-qubit quantum processor IBM unveils the Osprey quantum processor with 433 qubits in November 2022 — more than tripling its previous record. IBM's quantum roadmap targets 100,000 qubits by 2033. While quantum computers cannot yet outperform classical computers on practical business problems, IBM's systematic progress on qubit count, coherence times and error correction demonstrates genuine engineering advancement. IBM Quantum Network has over 200 member organisations including Fortune 500 companies, national laboratories and universities.
2022 Aspect, Clauser and Zeilinger win the Nobel Prize in Physics Nobel Prize in Physics 2022 Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger, for experiments with entangled photons that pioneered quantum information science.
2023 Harvard and QuEra run algorithms on 48 logical qubits Error-corrected computing Physicists at Harvard, MIT and the start-up QuEra use arrays of neutral atoms to run algorithms on 48 error-corrected logical qubits, a step towards fault-tolerant machines.
2023 IBM unveils Condor, the first 1,000-qubit processor 1,121 qubits IBM presents Condor, a superconducting processor with 1,121 qubits, alongside the smaller but more accurate Heron chip, and shifts its focus from qubit count to error rates.
2024 Google's Willow chip cuts errors as it grows Below the error-correction threshold Google Quantum AI announces Willow, a 105-qubit chip on which adding more qubits to a logical qubit makes it more reliable, not less, a long-sought milestone for error correction.
2025 Microsoft unveils Majorana 1 A topological qubit chip Microsoft announces Majorana 1, a chip it says is built on topological qubits that should be naturally protected from errors. Other physicists question whether the evidence shows true topological states.
2025 Clarke, Devoret and Martinis win the Nobel Prize in Physics Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis, for macroscopic quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.