NVIDIA (NVDA, Financial) CEO Jensen Huang made a rare public admission of error regarding his previous predictions on the timeline for quantum computing applications. During NVIDIA's GTC conference, Huang compared the development timeline of quantum computing to NVIDIA's own growth, which took over 20 years. He acknowledged that his earlier estimate of 15 to 20 years for practical quantum computing might have been too conservative, given the technology's complexity and potential impact.
This event, known as "Quantum Day," was attended by representatives from 12 quantum computing companies, including D-Wave Quantum and Rigetti Computing, as well as tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon AWS, both of which are exploring quantum computing advancements. In January, Huang predicted that quantum computers would take approximately 20 years to become practical, which had previously led to a decline in quantum computing-related stocks and criticism from the industry.
Huang's latest remarks at the "Quantum Day" event caused another downturn in related stocks. By the close of the U.S. stock market, shares of quantum computing companies saw significant declines, with D-Wave Quantum dropping over 18% and Rigetti Computing down by 17.6%.
In addition, NVIDIA announced the establishment of a research center in Boston aimed at advancing quantum computing through cutting-edge technology. The NVIDIA Accelerated Quantum Computing Center (NVAQC) will integrate quantum hardware with AI supercomputers to develop "accelerated quantum supercomputing" technology. The center will collaborate with various quantum computing firms and academic institutions, including Quantinuum, Quantum Machines, QuEra Computing, Harvard's Quantum Initiative, and MIT's Engineering Quantum Systems.
